Trends on Tuesday: Native App Push Notifications Drive Repeat Use

Analytics company, Localytics, released a new report about mobile app retention rates from the past 4 years that agencies should heed when considering their needs for building native mobile apps, compared to mobile-friendly websites.

In the U.S. the number of users that re-engage more than once after installing is pretty low, with 19% of American users abandoning after just one use. The number of “regular” users who have opened the app more than 10 times is also low—42% in 2015, but that is trending upward from 41% in 2014 and 35% in 2013.

One tool that Localytics’ Dave Hoch cites as valuable for re-engaging your app users is push notification, saying:

“On a more positive note, we found that apps that leverage push messaging have higher rates of user retention in both the U.S and China. Push messaging offers a transformative way to interact with users in real-time and helps to enhance the overall value of an app. Companies around the world are starting to leverage push messaging more effectively, helping to drive notable increases in retention.”

Their research found native apps with integrated push notifications are retaining regular users (those who open the app more than 10 times) at a rate of 56% in 2015.

One of the challenges of app engagement for government agencies is their content is often very utility driven. While apps are often especially good for complex utility tasks as well as entertainment, users of government apps will probably be more brief and low-engagement audiences. For instance, use cases would be reporting a trash pickup or filing a public complaint or looking up a government office.

To learn more about best practices and trends in this area, check out additional mobile articles on DigitalGov.