Friction in app development refers to any design or technical choice that makes it harder for the end-user to complete the task they’re trying to achieve. So, in short, “frictionless” is what users want from their experience - a streamlined and efficient system that does its job at speed.
Frictionless business. Frictionless usability. Frictionless payments. Frictionless authentication.
Frictionless applies to anything, and it should be applied to anything.
If you’re an analyst, you work in fintech, or you’re building (or have built) a mobile e-commerce app, you’ll know this all too well. Creating a frictionless process should be the backbone of your mobile app development methodology.
Accordingly to the Pacific Telecommunications Council, a frictionless business definition is:
“The sum total of all actions any business can take to create and keep customers, increase the volume of products sold to those customers with acceptable profit margins, and maintain or grow market share with superior return on investment.”
An example of a frictionless business would be a business that offers a smooth customer experience. For instance, a business could provide:
These are just a few out of many potential examples.
According to Oberlo, in 2021, the number of online shoppers has risen to 2.4 billion. To put that into perspective, that’s roughly 27% of the world’s population. 27% of the world’s population are now not experiencing face-to-face customer service, or they’re experiencing it at a significantly lower rate. However, the ‘in-person’ standards we hold for these services (such as a polite demeanor, efficient service, empathetic character, and adequate complaints system) haven’t gone with it. Instead, they’re just adjusting to the online world. This means businesses need to implement these things in virtual settings (and incorporate new systems) to ensure frictionless operations.
This starts from the ground up with mobile app development. When you’re developing an app, you’ll need to switch your focus to things like:
Customers value simplicity and speed, so reducing the amount of information they need to input is critical to avoid “abandon at checkout” situations.
To capture mobile shoppers, you’ll need a seamless, end-to-end experience.
78% of users would rather shop on an app than a mobile site. Statistics from Social Media Today have revealed why. Let’s take a look:
There are several types of friction that mobile users encounter. The most common are:
One-time Passwords, authentication apps and many more authentication methods take users out of their way to prove their identity. The objective is to secure users and their accounts, but the notion of the more friction, the higher security is outdated.
This can be caused by poorly targeted ads, sub-par landing pages, and information gaps.
This happens when buyers lack information about shipping times, product availability, or when the checkout process is too long.
This can be caused by slow delivery times, inadequate order tracking processes, complex returns processes, a lack of loyalty programs, and more.
The app development process is the best place to implement frictionless design and ensure a good user experience from launch. Knowledge is power when it comes to avoiding common mistakes. By analyzing how the leading mobile apps in the industry design their user experience, developers can easily match the best standard. However, general rules to avoid friction will usually involve:
Eliminating screens and form fields: The fewer fields users have to fill out, the less they will be slowed down or obstructed. This is especially vital for mobile development, as the smaller screens make it more challenging to fill out forms comfortably. Best practices like breaking forms up into smaller sections and illustrating how many steps are left can make the process less inconvenient. Also, it is important to consider standard methods like automatic form-filling or passwordless authentication. Invest in user testing regularly: User Feedback will help determine if there are areas of high friction in the mobile app design to be improved.
Mobile apps already provide data that could be analyzed for essential insights on friction, such as:
Flatten the learning curve: Users already use hundreds of apps. This is only possible because universal gestures like taps and swipes achieve similar results across the board. To avoid friction, don’t try to reinvent the wheel.
Whether in banks and fintech, retail and mobile commerce, or food delivery, seamless customer delivery is vital for businesses and users.
For more information about frictionless authentication solutions, read about Zero-Factor Authentication, a solution enabling mobile app developers worldwide to spare users from friction by authenticating them with no action whatsoever.