How Mobile App Design Overhauls Can Be Disastrous in Terms of User Perception

Abstract

Smartphone apps are regularly updated and enhanced. However, design overhauls—that change the whole look of an app—are not expected to impact a user's behavior and, more specifically, continuance intentions. We reevaluate this claim based on the overwhelmingly negative feedback the social multimedia messaging app Snapchat received following a design overhaul released in February 2018. Following a mixed-method approach, we first analyze Snapchat's app ratings and their significant drop after the release of the update, using a Chow-test. Second, we use text mining to analyze a data set of 737,182 text reviews from the Google Play Store. We thereby provide empirical evidence that a design overhaul led to a significant decrease in app store ratings and started a social media firestorm among its users. Third, to theoretically explain the causes of the decrease in ratings, we conducted interviews with 26 Snapchat users. We contribute to the current discussion in IS research debates concerning whether perceived ease of use does play an essential role in the post-adoption context: We find evidence that substantial changes in an app design triggers a new adoption process and impacts the perceived ease of use, and thus, in particular, we contribute to the theoretical understanding of how users perceive design overhauls.