Capterra：2024年美国科技趋势报告 Capterras 2024 U.S. Tech Trends Report 58% of Businesses Regret a Recent Software Purchase

tech_trends_

Capterra’s2024U.S.Tech

TrendsReport:58%of

BusinessesRegretaRecentSoftwarePurchase

2024

TableofContents

3

Introduction

4

Asinglebadsoftwarepurchasecandevastateabusiness

6

Avoidingpurchaseregretstartswithhavingabetterinitiallistofvendors

84additionaltipsforbuyingtherightsoftware

11Withsoftwarespendingontherise,companieshaveachancetoright

pastwrongs

3

Toavoidmakingdamaging

purchasedecisions,companiesshouldrethinkhowtheyfind

&evaluatevendors

Simplyput,mostU.S.businessesbuythewrongsoftware.

That’saccordingtoCapterra’s2024TechTrendsSurvey*,inwhich58%ofU.S.buyerssaytheyregretatleastonesoftwarepurchasemadeinthepast12to18months.

Theproblemsstartwiththeinitiallistofvendors—somethingthatnearlyallbuyers(98%)makewhenbuyingsoftware.Ninety-onepercentofthesebuyersgoontopurchasefromtheirinitiallist“almost

always”or“mostofthetime,”thenregrettheirpurchasedecision60%ofthetime.Morethananything,buyersneedbettermethodsforcreatingastrongerinitiallistinordertoincreasetheiroddsofsuccess.

Buttheissuesdon’tstopthere.Ifyou’relookingtobuynewsoftware,ourdatarevealsanumberofareas—fromthemakeupofyourpurchasingteamtohowlongyoutaketomakeadecision—whereimprovementscanbemadetoimproveyourlikelihoodofpurchasesatisfaction.

Keyfindings

LAmajorityofbuyersthathaveexperiencedsoftwarepurchaseregret(56%)describethe

financialimpactoftheirdecisionas“significant”or“monumental”—impactingtheirlong-termperformanceorriskingrealandimmediateharmtotheirbusiness.

LVendorsocialmediaposts(77%)andGoogleSearch(67%)aretheinformationsourcesusedtomakeinitialvendorliststhatproducethehighestamountofpurchaseregret.

LBuyerswhouseamixofITandnon-ITstafftoevaluateandpurchasesoftwarehavelowerpurchaseregret(54%)thanthosewhoonlyuseITstaff(61%)oronlyusenon-ITstaff(67%).

LCompaniestakefivemonths,onaverage,toevaluatesoftwareoptionsandmakeapurchasedecision,buttheycanminimizepurchaseregretiftheydoitinthreemonthsorless.

4

Asinglebadsoftwarepurchasecandevastateabusiness

Companiesacrosssizesandindustriesneedsoftwaretodaytooperateandgrow,andvendorshavemetthemomenttogivebuyersmoreoptionsthanever.

Sadly,moreoptionshaven’tledtobetterpurchasedecisions.NotonlyhaveamajorityofU.S.buyers

(58%)madeatleastonesoftwarepurchaseinthepast12to18monthsthatthey’renothappywith,butnearlyaquarter(23%)havemademultipleregretfulpurchasesduringthattimespan.

Complicatingmattersfurther,thereisn’toneprimarycauseforallthisregretthatwecanhoneinonandremedy.Whenitcomestotheproductitself,atleastathirdofU.S.buyerswithpurchase

regretcitethesoftwarebeingmoreexpensivethanexpected(35%),orhavingdifficultyonboardingandtrainingnewusers(34%).Vendor-relatedissues,likeaproblematichandoffbetweensalesandimplementationteams(48%)orpoorlymanagedexpectations(39%),alsoleadtoregret.

Buyersarerunningintoallsortsofobstaclesleadingthemtofeelliketheypickedthewrong

software—andtheconsequencescouldn’tbegreater.OurrespondentstellusthatregretfulsoftwarepurchaseshavedrainedtheirITbudgets,hamperedemployeeproductivity,andevenmadetheir

companylesscompetitiveintheirindustry.

5

Regretfulsoftwarepurchaseshurtcompanycompetitivenessandproductivity

50

40%

40

36%

30

20

10

0

MadeuslesscompetitiveMadeuslessproductive

Source:Capterra’s2024TechTrendsSurvey

Q:Thinkingagainaboutthesoftwareyouregretpurchasing,whichofthefollowingbestdescribestheimpactonyourbusiness?Pleaseselectallthatapply.

n:407U.S.softwarebuyerswithpurchaseregret

CosttoomuchmoneyItwashardtouse

Employeeshatedusingit

41%

41%

38%

Howquicklyabusinesscanrecoverfromthesesetbacksisessentiallyacoin-flip.While44%ofbuyerssaythefinancialimpactoftheirpoorpurchasedecisionwasminimalandeasytoovercome,slightlymore(56%)saytheimpacttotheirbusinesswas“significant”or“monumental”—impactingtheirlong-termperformanceorriskingrealandimmediateharmtotheirbusiness.

Thebottomlineisthatcompaniesarerunningintonumerousissueswhenbuyingsoftware,highlightingtheneedtoreevaluatetheentireprocessforhowtheyfind,evaluate,anddecideonaproduct.Ifbuyersdon’tadjust,andcontinueonthepathtoregretfulpurchases,somemayneverrecover.

6

Avoidingpurchaseregretstartswithhavingabetterinitiallistofvendors

Companiesoftenrelyonshortcutstomaketheirinitialsoftwarevendorlistquicklysotheycanget

backtootherresponsibilities.Theyprioritizevendorsthey’veseeninadvertisements,orthatcameupatthetopofaGooglesearch.

Andit’sherewherebusinessesunknowinglystarttheirpathtowardsaregretfulpurchase—byhavingtunnelvisionforthefamiliarorpopular,andignoringbetteroptionstheydon’tknowexist.

Whereyougetyourinformationaboutsoftwarecaninfluencepurchaseregret

Informationsourceswithhighestpurchaseregret

49%

Productcomparisonwebsites(n=186)

49%

Consultationswithindustryexperts(n=180)

RegretNoregret

Source:Capterras’s2024TechTrendsSurvey

Q1:Doyouhavebuyer’sremorseorregretforanyofthetechnologypurchasedinthepast12-18months?

Q2:Whenputtingtogetheryourinitialsoftwarevendorlist,whichofthefollowingarethemostimportantsourcesofinformationforyou?Pleaseselectuptofive.

n:varies;683softwarebuyersthatstartwithaninitiallistofvendors

Note*:Havingapreviousrelationshipwithavendor(48%)producesthelowestamountofpurchaseregret,butisnotshownhereduetonotbeingrelevantinallsoftwarepurchasecases.

Informationsourceswithlowestpurchaseregret*

Vendorsocialmediaposts(n=101)

GoogleSearch(n=239)

77%

33%

23%

67%

51%

51%

7

Caseinpoint:Vendorsocialmediaposts(77%)andGoogleSearch(67%)aretheinformationsourcesusedtomakeinitialvendorliststhatproducethehighestamountofpurchaseregret.Thesesourcescantellbuyerswhichvendorspromotetheirproductmosteffectively,orcandedicatethemost

resourcesto

searchengineoptimization(SEO)

,butnotnecessarilywhichonemakesthebesttoolfortheirneeds.

Ontheotherhand,outsideofhavingapreviousrelationshipwithavendor(48%)—somethingthatisn’tpossibleifyou’reanewbusinessorbuyingsoftwareinanewcategory—theinformationsourcesthatproducetheleastamountofpurchaseregretareproductcomparisonwebsitesandconsultationswithindustryexperts(51%each).

Acombinationofproductcomparisonwebsitesandconsultationswithindustryexpertscanhelp

buyerscreateabetterinitiallistofsoftwareoptions.Butwealsofindthatknowingwhentostopwithyourinitiallistisjustasimportantasknowingwheretostart.

Accordingtoourdata,buyersthathavethreevendorsontheirinitialshortlisthavethelowestamountofregret(53%).Havingfewerthanthreedoesn’tgiveyouenoughoptionstocompareandcontrast,buthavingmorethanthreeslowsdowntheevaluationprocessandleadstodecisionparalysis.

Buyerswiththreevendorsontheirinitiallistalsoreducetheirlikelihoodofregretthemostifthey

activelyengagealloftheoptionsontheirlist(attenddemos,doafreetrial,etc.).“Depthoverbreadth”isthebeststrategywhenevaluatingsoftwareoptions.

HowCapterrahelpssoftwarebuyerscreateabetterinitialshortlist

ProductcomparisonsiteslikeCapterragivebuyersmoreusefulinformationtomakepurchasedecisions.The

CapterraShortlist™

,forexample,offersasnapshotofnotonlythemostpopularproductsinanygivensoftwarecategory,butalsotheonesmosthighlyratedbyactualusers.Fromthisgrid,buyerscangotoprofilesforspecificsoftwareproductstolearnmoreabout

theirfeaturesandpricingor

usethecomparisontool

tosizeupalternativeproductsinthesamecategory.

Ifbuyersfeeloverwhelmedbytheamountofoptions,however,ordon’tfeelconfidenttheyknowenoughaboutacategorytodecidewhichproductsshouldbeontheirinitiallist,aconsultation

withaCapterraadvisorisjustaclickaway.Theseadvisorscangivepersonalizedsoftwarerecommendationsbasedonabuyer’sneedsandpainpointsinlessthan15minutes.

8

4additionaltipsforbuyingtherightsoftware

Usingbetterinformationsourcestocreateaninitiallistofvendorsiscriticaltoendingupwiththerightsoftware,butit’sfarfromtheonlyareawherecompaniescanimprovetheiroddsofsuccess.

Herearesomeotherwayscompaniescanreducesoftwarepurchaseregret,accordingtoourdata.

1.HaveamixofITandnon-ITstaffonyour

purchasingteam(oruseanITserviceprovider)

Comparedtobuyerswhoonlyhavenon-ITstaff(67%)oronlyITstaff(61%),buyersthathaveamixofITandnon-ITstaffontheirpurchasingteamhavealoweramountofpurchaseregret(54%).

Rarelydoesabusinesssoftwaredecisionrelyononeperson.Moreoften,ateamofstakeholdersiscreatedtoevaluateoptions,andwefindthatthemakeupofyourteammatterssignificantly.

HavingamixofITandnon-ITstaffonyourpurchasingteamisidealforloweringyourlikelihoodof

purchaseregret.TheITmemberscanhandletechnicaldetailssurroundingthingslikedatamigrationandintegrationwithothersystems,whilethenon-ITmemberscanevaluatefeaturesandtryproductstoseeifthey’reeasytouse.

Ifyoulackinternalexpertiseordon’thavethebandwidththough,that’sOK.Wefindthatcompaniesthatusethe

servicesofanexternalcontractor

forbusinesssoftwarepurchaseshavethelowestregretrateofall(46%).

9

2.Definespecificgoalsforyourpurchase

Buyersthatexperiencedregretsaythetopchangestheywouldmakeonfuture

purchasesareensuringalignmentamongthestakeholdergroupaboutevaluation/selectioncriteria(38%),andclarifyingdesiredgoalsandoutcomes(37%).

Partofthereasonsuccessorfailureishardtopindownwithasoftwareimplementationisthat“success”or“failure”aren’tfullydefined.Companiesknowtheyneedsoftwaretofillsometypeofneed,butmanydon’tgoasfarastoactuallymeasureifthesoftwarewillfulfillthatneedornot.

Whetherthegoalistoincreasecustomersatisfactionby10%orreducetheriskofacyberattackby60%,having

defined,measurablegoals

withyoursoftwarepurchasecanhelpyoudetermineifyourdecisionwastherightone.Communicatingthesegoals,andusinga

featurecomparisontemplate

,canbetteralignyourpurchasingteamaroundwhichproductsaremostlikelytocheckallthe

necessaryboxes.

3.Understandthetotalcostofownership(TCO)

The#1driverofproduct-relatedpurchaseregretisthesoftwarebeingmoreexpensivethanexpected.

It’snotacoincidencethatsoftwarebeingmoreexpensivethanexpectedandpoorlymanaged

expectationsfromvendorsaretopdriversofpurchaseregret.Unlikealotofpurchases,thepriceyouusuallyseeforsoftwareisnotthepriceyoupay.

Whilevendorsmayadvertiseacertainpriceontheirwebsite,thatusuallyonlycoversthecostoftheactualsoftwarelicense.Ontopofthisprice(andusuallyburiedinthetermsandconditions),thereareadd-onfeesforthingssuchassetup,datamigration,usertraining,andcustomersupport.

AskingaboutandknowingtheTCOforaproductwillkeepyourexpectationsinlineandensureyourpurchasedoesn’tblowyourbudget.Formorehelponthis,checkoutourhelpfulguideson.

software

.

pricingmodels

and

TCO

.

10

4.Makeadecisioninthreemonthsorless

There’svalueintakingyourtime,fullyweighingyouroptions,andsigningonthedottedlineonlywhenyoufeellikeyouhaveenoughinformation.Whatthereisn’tvalueinisbloatingyourinitiallistwith

tacked-onproducts,havingrerunsofmeetings,andstallingonadecisionbecauseyoucan’tmakeupyourmind.

Unlessyoutrulyfeellikeyouneedtogobacktothedrawingboard,onceyou’vefullyevaluatedthe

threeoptionsonyourinitialshortlist,meetwithyourstakeholdergroupandmakeapurchasedecision.Ourdatashowsthecompaniesthattakedecisiveactiononasoftwarepurchasearetheleastlikelytoexperienceregret.

Companiestakefivemonthsonaveragetoevaluatesoftwareoptionsandmakeapurchasedecision,butcanminimizepurchaseregretiftheydoitinthree

monthsorless.

11

/Withsoftwarespendingontherise,companieshaveachancetorightpastwrongs

In2023,smallandmidsizebusinesses(SMBs)

investedheavilyinsoftwaredespiterecessionfears

,andwefindthat2024willbeasimilarstory.Alltold,65%oftheU.S.buyersinoursurvey,fromSMBorenterprise,saytheyplantospendmoreonsoftwarein2024thantheydidin2023.

Mostorganizationsplantospendmoreonsoftwarein2024

2%

8%26%43%22%

Spendingmuchless(>20%lessthan2023)

Spendingsomewhatless(10-20%lessthan2023)

Spendingaboutthesame(lessthan10%difference)Spendingsomewhatmore(10-20%morethan2023)Spendingmuchmore(>20%morethan2023)

Source:Capterras’s2024TechTrendsSurvey

Q:Doesyourorganizationplantospendmore,less,orthesameforsoftwarein2024comparedto2023?

n:700softwarebuyers

Note:Percentagesmaynotaddupto100%duetorounding.

12

“Thewaywedothings,”includingwhenbuyingsoftware,canbehardtochangeinanyorganization.Thatbeingsaid,thetypicalwaysthatcompaniesfindandevaluatesoftwareproductshaveledto

disappointmentmoreoftenthannot.Ifyouplanonincreasingyoursoftwarespendin2024likemostbusinessesintheU.S.,it’simportantyoufollowtheadviceinthisreporttoavoidmore

regretfulpurchases.

Butwe’renotdone.Belowaresomestatsonwhichbusinessesexperiencepurchaseregretthemost.Ifyou’remoreinclinedtoexperiencepurchaseregretbasedonourdata,it’sevenmoreimportantthatyouimplementthebestpracticescitedthroughoutthisreport.

Whoexperiencespurchaseregretmostoften?

çBuyersfromlarge(1,000+employees,66%)andmidsize(250to999employees,67%)businessesexperiencepurchaseregretmorethansmallbusinesses(5to249employees,51%).WechalkthisuptohavingmorebureaucracyandITcomplexity.

çBuyersfromnewerbusinesses(1to5yearsold,74%)experiencepurchaseregretmorethanolderbusinesses(10+yearsold,45%).Softwarebuyingexperiencematters,soifyou’reconcernedaboutyourlackofexperience