Mobile consumers demand better connectivity and reliability as 60% think of switching

The majority of smartphone owners are unhappy with their mobile service and want to switch provider.

60 percent are dissatisfied with their connectivity and experience and would switch providers, according to the Accenture Screenager Report.

Connectivity was highly valued, with 71 percent of smartphone users saying they would pay more to a provider for better connectivity and 83 percent saying that they would buy more products and services if reliability and problem resolution were improved.

Accenture also found that the most common activities smartphones were used for were watching video and playing online games, cited by 81 percent and 69 percent respectively.

The survey also found that security and privacy were rising up the consumer agenda: 62 percent were concerned about the security of financial transactions, 47 percent were concerned about privacy and security.

Accenture’s findings also saw 83 percent of mobile owners unhappy with mobile advertising interfering with their experience.

The findings come amidst a wider slowdown in the devices market, with the percentage of consumers planning to increase spending on smartphones, tablets, laptops and PCs in the next 12 months dropping to 13 percent in 2015 compared to 33 percent in 2014. This represents a 60 percent decrease.

"Mixed data on consumer satisfaction coupled with flat growth in smart devices could be seen as a threat, but forward-looking providers will see an opportunity as consumers’ digital appetite has never been greater," said Marco Vernocchi, global digital lead of Accenture‘s Communications, Media & Technology operating group.

Vernocchi said that they was delivering "new, high-quality, multi-device and multi-channel experiences that meet the consumer’s expectations immediately."

"This requires smart, user-centric design that is guided by consumer insights gained through integrated analytics and supported with the connectivity, security and privacy consumers expect."

The 2016 Accenture Digital Consumer Survey, from which these figures are drawn, was conducted online between October and November, surveying 28,000 consumers from the ages of 14 to 55 in 28 countries including the UK and US.