New research shows that user attention spans shorten for poorly performing apps – especially among women and millennials. According to the recently published App Attention Span Study, women are more likely than men to feel frustrated (when experienced with apps), while 74 percent of 18 to 24 year-olds have deleted up to five apps due to performance issues.

The findings of the study are a stark warning to the growing number of businesses relying on mobile websites and apps to compete in today’s digitally-driven economy. The research reveals that 86 percent of study participants had deleted or uninstalled at least one app because of problems with its performance.

With mobile applications now accounting for one quarter of all internet traffic, according to Kleiner Perkins, the success of a digital service – in the eyes of the user – increasingly stands and falls on its performance.

Indeed, 65 percent of study respondents confirmed their expectations of app performance were increasing over time – with almost half stating they are less tolerant of problems with apps or websites than they used to be. All of which illustrates how user attention spans are adapting in line with the technologies now available to them.

The bottom line is that today’s organizations need to deliver a reliable and consistent mobile experience if they want to protect increasingly important mobile device revenue streams and customer interactions – no matter how demanding the situation.

Because, as the study’s findings reveal, smartphone and tablet owners will reward businesses that get it right online: a total of 30 percent of study participants confirmed they would spend more money with an organization that had a good mobile app, while 29 percent said they would pay more for a product or service if an organization’s app performed better than its competitors.