The UK user experience market grew by 5% in 2010, and will grow by an estimated 8% year-on-year in 2011 to a value of approximately £222 million, according to new research.
According to Econsultancy’s User Experience Buyer’s Guide 2011, the market is maturing, as more companies think about the strategic importance of customer experience.
Econsultancy Research Manager Aliya Zaidi said: “It’s an exciting time for the user experience industry, with much technological innovation in this space. The web is becoming more social, and this is resulting in the online environment becoming broadly more ‘human’.
“New devices and formats, such as touch-screen technology add a whole new dimension to the user experience, but they represent both an opportunity and a challenge for marketers. The introduction of new web standards, such as HTML5 will also make the user experience more immersive, interactive and engaging.”
Econsultancy’s valuation takes into account the slowdown caused by the recession. Although businesses are recovering, the economic outlook remains unpredictable. Given the uncertainty, there will be a continued focus on demonstrating ROI from user experience.
Zaidi added: “The good news for marketers is that it is getting easier to benchmark success, thanks to analytics technology becoming more sophisticated. There is now a wealth of site monitoring, testing and optimisation tools, which allow marketers to place a tangible value on user experience.
“However, what is clear is that analytics alone do not provide the whole picture. The data must be combined with qualitative insights, such as user behaviour to deliver actionable information.”
The publication of this report follows on from the Econsultancy / Foviance Multichannel Customer Experience Report, which found that more than two thirds of companies (68%) recognise a strong link between long-term business performance and customer experience.
Key market trends in 2011:
• Companies focus on strategy as market matures
• Companies recognise the link between business performance and customer experience
• Humanisation of user experience online
• Analytics becomes important – but not the silver bullet
• Wider range of new formats and devices available
• The evolution of search impacts user experience
Download Econsultancy’s User Experience Buyer’s guide here.
http://econsultancy.com/reports/user-experience-buyers-guide
