Macroeconomic pressures are forcing delays and price increases for connected device manufacturers. This is according to research undertaken by Qt Group, and its study of 250 embedded device manufacturers in the UK, US, France and Germany (conducted by Censuswide), which revealed that 38 per cent were experiencing delays in time-to-market, while almost half (48 per cent) said they had been forced to increase prices.

Despite economic pressures, the findings indicate resilience amongst device manufacturers when it comes to user experience design (UX) and user interface design (UI) investment, with many recognising the need for innovative product development in exceeding customer expectations.

However, Qt Group said that manufacturers must overcome a number of barriers. In consumer electronics, a “lack of understanding of how products are used in daily life” was a key point, with half of respondents identifying this.

Overall, UI/UX investment has remained relatively flat across most regions. The UK is the only region where investments are decreasing, with respondents investing 37 per cent of the available budget on UI/UX improvements compared to 42 per cent over the past year.

“The macroeconomic challenges of the past few years have caused significant disruption across multiple industries, so understandably device manufacturers are seeking ways to become more productive,” said Marko Kaasila, Senior Vice President, Product Management, at Qt Group.

“Modern cross-platform tools can help to combat this as platform and hardware agnostic approaches will enable developers to focus on how to solve problems, driving considerable efficiencies across development, testing and maintenance, and achieving quicker overall time-to-market. The changes that are sweeping the industry in the wake of the disruption of recent years will undoubtedly leave device manufacturers much better equipped to tackle future periods of downturn and supply issues.”

Peter Schneider, Senior Product Manager at Qt Group, added: “When it comes to a lack of understanding of how products are used in daily life, device manufacturers should invest in more customer intimacy through user and product analytics to better understand how devices and applications are being used.

“It is clear that an efficient and adaptable product development process must be a key aim as they navigate the macroeconomic instability and strive to meet consumer demands for intuitive and innovative UI/UX.”