Mobile users are disappointed with the performance of mobile sites and applications. That’s the stark conclusion of a study carried out by Compuware.

The survey, What Users Want from Mobile, reveals that mobile users’ expectations for mobile website speed continue to increase. 71 per cent of global mobile web users expect websites to load as quickly, almost as quickly, or faster on their mobile phone, compared to the computer they use at home.

Nearly 60 per cent of global web users say they expect a website to load on their mobile phone in three seconds or less, while 74 per cent are willing to wait five seconds or less for a single web page to load before leaving the site. 50 per cent of web users are only willing to wait five seconds or less for an application to load before exiting.

57 per cent of mobile web users had a problem when accessing a site in the past year, and 47 per cent had a problem accessing an app from their phone, with a quarter of respondents experiencing apps that crashed or froze. More than 80 per cent of mobile web users would access websites more often from their phone if the experience were as fast and reliable as their home or work PC or laptop.

The study also found that mobile users do not have much patience for retrying a site or app that is not functioning straight away – a third will go to a competitor’s site instead. 78 per cent of mobile web users are only willing to retry a website two times or less if it does not work initially. 80 per cent of users would only retry an app twice or less if it failed the first time.

A bad experience on a mobile website leaves mobile users much less likely to return to, or recommend a particular website. Nearly half of mobile web users are unlikely to return to a website that they had trouble accessing from their phone, and 57 per cent are unlikely to recommend the site.

“User expectations for mobile continues to increase, but companies are not meeting mobile users’ need for fast and reliable experiences,” says David Flower, VP EMEA at Compuware’s APM division. “As a result, many companies are failing to take advantage of the opportunities being provided by increased mobile access.”

You can access the full survey findings here.