How can mobile push notifications improve retail app retention?

With more than 3 billion mobile users worldwide, mobile apps compete for their attention, as most lose almost 71% of their users three months after acquisition. To retain users, apps can directly communicate with them via push notifications, only if they have opted-in.

The churn rate, the rate at which customers stop doing business with a company or brand, has increased along with the thousands of apps launched daily. The need to regularly and consistently communicate with users has become essential.

People have become more receptive to push messages in recent years, so push notifications now play a major role in mobile app marketing strategies. Compared to emails, push notifications present a 97% higher response rate, whereas a marketing survey states that 52% of people claim that push notifications are now better than they were a few years ago.

Ways to increase app-retention using push notifications

Welcome your users onboard

A new user has downloaded your app. This is where your work begins. A welcome message offers many opportunities to approach your new users and start building long-lasting loyalty. Make a good first impression and show you care about them with a welcome push notification and set the tone for your future relationship. Use push notifications to share with new users the benefits or features of your app, guide new users to facilitate their purchases, and highlight valuable tips on how they can get the most value from the app.

Keep in mind that almost 80% of users do not use newly downloaded apps after the first day, yet push notifications can increase app retention by 20%. So, if a new user falls dormant after opting-in, schedule a push notification that they will receive after a certain inactivity period.

Track your users’ activity

Collect and analyze user acquisition data to identify the different user segments which have installed your app and from which ad campaign and platform they reached your app. Go on and target them with the most relevant and personalized push notifications. Take advantage of this data to strategically re-engage your app users based on their in-app behavior and deliver targeted push notifications to each of the segments.

Behavior-triggered messages are always engaging and timely, as they are highly relevant to every user. You can create segments to notify your users about in-app content updates, new products added relevant to their interests, send them specific discounts on previously purchased products, contests, or ask for feedback.

Leverage personalization

Modern-day consumers expect brands to provide them with truly personalized experiences, using timely and relevant messages delivered to them through their preferred channels. By personalizing your message, you add a human touch to your app. Studies show that adding even basic personalization to your push notifications can increase open rates by 800%, and if you use emojis the percentage is said to be higher as they add an extra layer of human touch.

There is plenty of information you can collect on each user’s purchase and browsing history. You can later use this data to offer personalized product recommendations based on purchases, promote new app feature or showcase new delivery options.

You can also use location-based information as a parameter to trigger push notifications tailored to your audience as they come within a preset range of your store. This can also bring added value to your notifications, building loyalty and increasing app retention.

Provide exclusive offers

Personal discounts, time-sensitive exclusive offers, promo codes, or coupons can be highly effective for making users return to your app. It is your way of telling them you want them back, without actually saying it and being pushy about it. You can provide exclusive offers based on personalization and entice users back into your app. Based on users’ activity, you can notify them when products or services they have shown interest in are on discount.

Optimize for time and frequency

Badly timed push notifications not only bother users but can lead to them churning from your app. Get the timing right and avoid sending push notifications at an irrelevant time. Take into consideration your app’s usage data, in terms of date and time, to discover what best suits your users or when they are most active. For example, most app usage and in-app purchases may be taking place during the weekend, so make sure you push your messages through to your users during Saturday and Sunday.

Besides, the frequency with which you send your push messages is also critical in retaining your app users. Again, examine your data or even perform a mini-survey to identify how often your users prefer to receive push notifications from your app.

What is next for your business?

As with every marketing strategy and tactic, there is no one-size-fits-all recipe. We advise that you track and monitor what works best for your business and your audience, and integrate the above-mentioned push notification tactics with your overall marketing strategy, to strengthen your app retention and conversions. With the help of Routee‘s omnichannel platform, you can put in action highly-converting push notifications with tailored promotions, offers, and discounts, that will help you build your brand, create lasting connections with each customer, and boost your retention rates.