With the start of the year-end shopping season, the Consumer Expectations 2024 Report, recently released by Appdome, the one-stop shop for mobile app defense, points to a promising scenario for online commerce. According to the study, 84.5% of Brazilians use mobile apps to make their purchases, a number that exceeds the global average by 53%. However, this increase in app usage is accompanied by a growing concern about data security, especially considering that almost half of the population has already suffered or knows someone who has been a victim of cyberattacks, according to the investigation.
This year marked the third consecutive survey in which Brazilian consumers reported using mobile apps more than websites for shopping and other transactions. The growth difference between mobile apps and online sites increased at a similar pace to the previous three years, making it unquestionable that mobile apps have replaced traditional websites as the most used part of consumers’ daily activities in Brazil.
In addition, Brazilians are using more mobile apps daily, with a higher growth in relation to the app quantity: 21.5% of Brazilians use 11 to 20 apps per day, and 13.9% use more than 20, numbers 24.1% and 73.3% higher than the global standard, respectively. The use of less than 5 apps per day has dropped significantly. The data indicate a growing trend in the number of mobile apps used daily by Brazilians, with consistent year-over-year growth, especially with a larger number of apps. 51.3% of Brazilians also reported spending more time on apps, 17.7% above the global average.
Tom Tovar, CEO and Co-founder of Appdome explains that the massive increase in mobile app usage in Brazil highlights the urgent need for brands to enhance cybersecurity to protect their users. “The behavior of Brazilian consumers with such a high percentage of users using many apps daily raises the level of attack risk, as each new installed app can be a potential entry point for threats,” he emphasizes.
Social networking and dating apps ranked first among the most used, with 56.9%. Banking, investment, and digital wallet apps also top the list, with 47.9% and 42.4% of Brazilians stating they use these apps more frequently. Food delivery apps and mobile gaming and betting also saw significant gains, with 41.2% and 34.1%, respectively.
Security and protection of sensitive data
When asked about their biggest fears when using mobile apps, Brazilian consumers ranked mobile invasion and fraud at the top with 61.3% and 54.5%, respectively. Data breaches remained stable at 29.9%. In the hope of having their data protected, 96.7% of Brazilian consumers stated that they seek information about app security and privacy before using them, a substantially higher number than global consumers.
One in every two respondents report being victims of social engineering scams, and 48.9% were targeted by a cyberattack, mobile malware, or mobile fraud, exceeding the global average by 60.7% and 15%, respectively. As a result, 52.1% of consumers in Brazil stated that mobile apps that collect, use, and share personal data should maintain the highest levels of security and privacy protection, a 7.1% increase from 2022.
Finally, 78.7% reaffirmed that they abandoned mobile apps that did not protect their data or its usage, a number very close to those who stated they stopped using a mobile app that had experienced a breach. This data reinforces the growing user awareness of the importance of data protection and digital privacy, meaning user trust is directly linked to a company’s ability to protect sensitive information, and a data breach can result in significant impacts for brands in both reputation and customer retention. In a scenario where cybersecurity is a priority, companies that do not adequately invest in this area risk losing their user base rapidly.” Tovar concludes.
