Driven by notifications – exploring the effects of badge notifications on user experience

Notification badges are an unexplored category of visual feedback to which we are continuously exposed. This study aims to deepen knowledge on the topic by measuring the behavioral effects of notification badges on a large sample of smartphone users. More precisely, the goal of the study is to observe if the presence of notification badges increases the frequency of clicks on apps. More than 1000 participants were involved in a remote between-subjects experiment, allocated into fifteen equinumerous groups of comparison. Each participant was presented with a smartphone screen displaying fifteen app icons and just one badge notification. Participants were asked to perform a remote user test called First Impression Click Test: a methodology that indicates where they would click first to accomplish a given task (i.e., Where would you click first on this screen?). Our results show a large increase in the number of clicks on apps with notification badges compared to those without notification badges and suggest the important ability of these small affordances to attract attention and stimulate action. Based on the evidence provided, our findings have practical implications for user experience design.