Mobile App Benchmarks: Engagement & Retention

MEST BENCHMARK REPORT #1
Mobile App Benchmarks:
Engagement & Retention
Emmanuel K. Quartey

Introduction 3 - 4
Methodology 5
Retention Benchmarks 6 - 21
Push Notification Benchmarks 22 - 29
User Engagement Benchmarks 30 - 40
Work Referenced in This Report 41
About MEST 42
2
CONTENT

What is this?
This report is a collection of simple, useful data points and commentary
about how real mobile apps typically perform in the wild.
Who is it for, and why should you read it?
If you’re working on an Android or iOS app (or you’re advising/investing in
mobile app teams), this report will help you quickly understand how your
app’s performance compares to the competition. While it is primarily
intended for an Africa-based audience, the data is universally useful.
Why did we create this report?
We’ve observed a trend at the Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of
Technology: more of our teams are pitching mobile app-based businesses.
When working on these ideas, however, too many product and business
decisions are based on little more than gut instinct.
What is an industry standard retention rate? When are people usually most
responsive to push notifications? Ultimately, how do you know if you’ve
made something people love? This report is an attempt to help our entire
community begin to answer these questions informed by real data from
millions of users.
3
INTRODUCTION

My hope is that these mobile engagement and retention benchmarks will be
useful at multiple stages of the company-building process, from deciding on
goals, to thinking through a monetization strategy, and everything in-
between.
Get in touch
Want to discuss this report? Have more up-to-date data? Please don’t
hesitate to reach out via email at emmanuel@meltwater.org, and via Twitter
at @equartey.
4
Warm regards,
Emmanuel Quartey
General Manager
MEST Incubator (Accra)
INTRODUCTION

Data Sources
This report aggregates published data about mobile engagement and retention from 15 highly respected
sources. You’ll find the full list of these sources on page 41.
How to Use This Report
It’s advisable to think of this report not as a single source of truth, but as a starting point you can
consult when looking for a quick answer to a question about mobile app engagement and retention.
Each graph is accompanied by detailed info about its data source. Please remember to check the data
source to see how applicable the data is to your particular business.
Important Things to Keep in Mind
Please remember that many factors influence engagement/retention data, including:
1. Geographic location of the users (African and Asian mobile users can behave very differently from
U.S. mobile users - see page 31 for an example of this)
2. Sample size of apps and number of users
3. Time range over which the data was collected
4. Methodology used by the primary researchers
5. The type of mobile platform (Android users can behave differently from iOS users)
5
METHODOLOGY

Usage Retention vs. Install Retention
Before we dive in, it’s important to take a second to define two kinds of retention.
Usage Retention is a measure of how many of your users are routinely using your app after a certain
period of time. Most discussions about retention are about this kind of retention.
Install Retention is a measure of how many of your users still have your app installed on their devices
after a certain period of time.
Make sense? Cool! Let’s hop into the data.

The average Android app
loses ~80% of daily active
users within 3 days after
install
Remarkably, about 90% of people who install an app
will abandon it within a month.
A user decides within 3 days if they’ll stick with a
new app. This means that you have under 72 hours
to make a strong case to the user that your app
should become a daily habit. It is extremely important
to prove your value proposition as quickly as
possible, for example, through a strong onboarding
flow, and through lifecycle push notifications and
emails.
SOURCE: Andrew Chen, New data shows losing 80% of mobile users is
normal
Sample size: 125 million users Platform: Android devices
Geo: Worldwide Time: Jan to May 2015 8

Here’re the usage retention
graphs of Facebook,
WhatsApp, and other well-
known apps
Company User Retention Rate
D0 D1 D3 D7 D14 D30 D60 D90
Facebook 100% 90.15% 90.51% 93.78% 97.26% 101.38% 101.62% 98.31%
Blackberry
Messenger 100% 88.33% 88.38% 90.67% 92.78% 93.41% 88.94% 82.38%
WhatsApp 100% 90.57% 89.65% 90.55% 92.97% 90.52% 87.90% 77.26%
Instagram 100% 68.48% 64.07% 59.92% 57.77% 55.73% 52.60% 48.38%
WeChat 100% 72.28% 67.83% 63.26% 60.19% 56.76% 51.59% 46.03%
Snapchat 100% 58.35% 53% 47.95% 45.09% 41.90% 38.14% 32.95%
Twitter 100% 59.36% 53.84% 46.46% 42.31% 38.79% 34.53% 31.03%
Average (22
Companies) 100% 59.60% 54.50% 48.85% 45.66% 42.57% 38.75% 34.71%
SOURCE: The Information, Which Apps Retain Their Users - And
Which Apps Don’t
Sample size: 75 million users Platform: Android phones
Geo: Half from non-China Asia,
rest evenly distributed from
around the world
Time: “From Q1 2015”
These are the retention rate figures for some of the
most successful mobile apps in the world. How does
your app compare?
You’ll notice that Facebook’s D30 and D60 retention
rates are over 100%. How is this possible? This is the
answer from the source:
fb pre installed on millions of phones. We
compare # active of day X to day 0. When pre
installed activates it goes > 100
9

The top 10 Android apps
retain ~70% of users 3 days
after install
D0 D1 D3 D7 D14 D30 D60 D90
Top 10 Apps 100 74.67 71.51 67.39 63.28 59.80 55.10 50.87
Next 50 Apps 100 64.85 60.31 54.13 49.48 44.81 39.60 34.50
Next 100 Apps 100 48.72 42.96 35.93 30.79 25.45 21.25 18.98
Next 5000 Apps 100 34.31 28.54 21.64 17.43 13.62 10.74 8.99
Average 100 29.17 23.42 17.28 13.11 9.55 6.82 3.97
Percentage of active users days after app install
The best way to retain a new user is to help them
quickly accomplish a goal that’s aligned with the app’s
core value proposition.
Find the single action that’ll provide immediate value to
the user - your user’s Aha! Moment - and ensure that
they experience it within 72 hours after install.
For a social product, it might be connecting them to
their friends. For a blogging platform, it might be
getting them to publish a first post. Discover your core
activation event and make sure the user performs it.
It’s interesting to see that despite having higher
retention rates in general, even top tier apps see
inevitable retention decline over time.
SOURCE: Andrew Chen, New data shows losing 80% of mobile users is
normal
Sample size: 125 million users Platform: Android devices
Geo: Worldwide Time: Jan to May 2015 10

The more times you get a
user to open your app,
the more likely they are
to remain active users
SOURCE: Localytics 2016 App Marketing Guide
Sample size: Unclear Platform: Unclear
Geo: Unclear Time: Sep 2015
While the statement above might seem a little obvious,
it’s a reminder to think of creative ways to get your
users to open your app multiple times within the first
few days after install. With time, opening the app
becomes a habit that keeps usage retention high.
Automated lifecycle push notifications and emails are
great ways to keep users coming back. These messages
remind the user that they installed the app, and they
help keep the product (and its value prop) top-of-mind.
But be creative with these messages. Spammy “We miss
you!” notifications are unlikely to succeed. Much better
to think in terms of what would be useful to the user.
For example, a music app might highlight that a song by
the user’s favourite artist is trending.
11

Communication and
News apps are the
stickiest app categories
SOURCE: Flurry Insights, App Engagement: The Matrix Reloaded
Sample size: 230,000 apps Platform: Unclear
Geo: Unclear Time: Unclear, likely Oct 2012
This graphic shows the typical engagement and retention
behaviour you can expect from apps in different
categories. This information can help inform your
business model:
QUADRANT I includes apps that are used
intensively and to which consumers are loyal over
time… On average, because these apps tend to
have stable, growing audiences, they are best
positioned to generate advertising revenue or
charge a subscription. Consumers perceive these
apps to deliver enduring value over time.
12

QUADRANT II is comprised of apps that are used
intensively, but for finite periods of time. They are
perceived by consumers to deliver value in bursts.
Streaming Music, Dating and Social Games best typify
this quadrant.
Consider for a moment why Dating is a category that
appears in this quadrant. For most people, we can
assume that finding a long-term “significant other”
is the ultimate goal of dating. As a result, the app
maker should expect customer churn. While usage
may be high during the time when a consumer looks
for a suitable partner, once that person is found,
usage stops.
An implication could be that to maintain a growing
audience, apps in this category require heavy,
constant acquisition to find consumers who are “in
the market” for dating. Ironically, the better the app
is at match making, the more churn it should expect.
13
People tend to use music
streaming, games &
dating apps intensely for
a bit, and then get bored

Medical, Retail &
Personalization apps can
expect low usage and low
retention
QUADRANT III contains apps that are used
infrequently and have high churn. They contain the
most “one-and-dones.” Personalization is an
example that makes sense for this quadrant, since a
consumer uses this app to change her screen saver or
select a theme for her operating system. Once this
set-up is complete, it’s unlikely that the user will
need to re-use this application.
Since the app’s value is diminished almost
immediately, applications with this kind of usage
pattern are best served with premium pricing models;
that is, charging the consumer before providing
access to the content.
14

Travel, Food & Drink, and
Reference apps
see infrequent usage but
very high retention
QUADRANT IV is made up of apps that are used
infrequently but deliver very high value when used.
Even though they’re used only occasionally, these
apps can remain on a consumer’s handset almost
indefinitely.
For example, consider how useful an airline, hotel or
rental car-booking app is to a business traveler. While
the app remains unused between business trips, its
value spikes as soon as the next business trip needs
to be scheduled.
IMPORTANT NOTE: This graphic is from late 2012.
Considering how much can change in the mobile space
in 4 years, it’s best to use this data only as a directional,
high level aid.
15

Usage retention rates
vary based on the app
category
Part 1 of 2
It’s important to recognize that this data is from 2012
and almost certainly out of date.
It’s provided here to serve as a high level aid to help you
compare the relative engagement levels between app
categories.
16

Part 2 of 2Usage retention rates
vary based on the app
category
17

On average, users uninstall
Android apps after 8
months
SOURCE: SimilarWeb, Uninstalls: The Data Behind Deleted Apps
Sample size: ~4 million users Platform: Android devices
Geo: Worldwide Time: Unclear, maybe Feb 2016
It’s surprising how long users will keep Android apps
installed. Develop a strategy for getting lapsed users to
re-engage with your app.
NOTE: Most smartphones in Africa are low-end
Androids with very limited memory. Due to this, It’s
likely that install retention rates are much lower in
Africa due to users needing to delete apps to free up
memory space on their phones.
18

Users tend to keep
Android apps installed for
a long time, even if they
don’t use them
For example, these graphs show how gamers will stop
playing a game within days, but will keep the game
installed on their device for many months afterwards.
This is fantastic news because it means app makers
have a shot at re-engaging inactive users!
Once again, it’s important to keep in mind that this data
might look very different for Africa, where low-end
Androids with tiny memory space force people to
frequently delete apps to make way for photos, music,
and newer apps.
19

About 10% of users will
uninstall an Android app
within 3 months of
downloading it
Geo: Worldwide Time: Unclear, maybe Feb 2016 20

App install retention rates
vary by app category
Three app categories enjoy BOTH high install retention rates AND high
usage retention rates:
● News & Magazines apps
● Productivity apps
● Communications apps
21

Push notifications can
improve mobile app
engagement by up to 227%
Geo: Unclear Time: Nov 2015
Push notifications have a HUGE impact on user
engagement. Study after study has found that users
who opt into receiving push notifications are orders of
magnitude more engaged than users who have
notifications turned off.
Push notifications help keep your app top-of-mind for
users, and they increase the chances of users re-
engaging with your app.
Find creative ways to create value for your users with
timely, relevant push notifications.
23

Push notifications
significantly improve usage
retention
SOURCE (BOTTOM): Kahuna Mobile Marketing Index
SOURCE (TOP): Localytics 2016 App Marketing Guide
It’s hard to overstate the extent to which a smart push
notification strategy can help an app keep users
returning every day.
Multiple studies show that when users enable push
notifications, usage retention rates get a HUGE boost.
24

Push notification opt-in
rates
● Android = 78%
● iOS = 46%
Android push notification opt-in rates are almost twice
as high as iOS opt-in rates. This can be attributed to
the fact that when a user installs an Android app, they’
re automatically opted into all permissions in bulk,
including push notification permissions. On iOS,
however, users must approve each permission
individually.
NOTE: Google announced at the Google I/O 2015 event
that in upcoming versions of Android, push notifications
will work similar to how they currently work on iOS -
users will need to approve each permission individually,
which will likely result in a decrease in Android opt-in
rates.
SOURCE: Kahuna Mobile Marketing Index
Sample size: Unclear Platform: Android + iOS
Geo: Unclear Time: Jan to May 2015 25

Social network apps see low
push notification click-
through rates of about 13%
Regardless of how many users opt into receiving your
push notifications, none of that will matter if you can’t
get them to tap on those notifications.
It turns out that different kinds of apps have a harder
time of this than others. This chart shows the various
push notification click-through rates observed in
different kinds of apps. Increasing your push notification
click-through rates by even single-digit percentage
points can have a dramatic impact on engagement,
retention, and revenue.
SOURCE: Andrew Chen, New data on push notifications show up to
40% CTRs
Geo: Unclear Time: Unclear, likely Sep 2014 26

Push notification
engagement rates can
Part 1 of 2
Even within app categories, there’s a wide performance
difference between top tier apps and everyone else.
The graphs on this page and the next show the push
notification engagement rates for high (10th percentile),
medium (50th percentile), and low (90th percentile)
performing apps in 16 different categories.
SOURCE: Urban Airship Mobile Engagement industry Benchmarks:
Notification Response Rates
Sample size: 500 million users Platform: Android + iOS
Geo: Unclear Time: “All of 2014” 27

Part 2 of 2
28
Push notification
engagement rates can

To prevent your push
notification from getting
truncated, keep the text
under 45 characters long
The iOS banner display
shows only the first 60
characters...
Android banner display
shows only the first 45
characters.
“
SOURCE: Kahuna Push 101 - The Beginners Guide to Crafting Perfect
Push Notifications
If your push notification text exceeds a certain character
limit, they’ll be truncated, which might reduce your
user’s ability to understand the notification and act on
it.
Aim to keep your notifications under 45 characters to
ensure that they appear exactly as desired on multiple
platforms.
29

The vast majority of internet phone
use in Africa and Asia is currently
happening on web pages, NOT
inside apps.
SOURCE: Opera Mediaworks State of Mobile Advertising, Q2 2015
Sample size: 1.1 billion+ users Platform: Android + iOS
Geo: Worldwide Time: Q2 2015
This is a sobering reminder that the increase in smartphone
penetration in Africa is starting from a tiny base. Think
carefully before basing your entire business model on a
consumer mobile app for an Africa-only audience.
31
Chart by Quartz: The fastest-growing mobile phone markets barely use apps

Social network apps have an
average session length of
2.5 mins
Average mobile app session length (mins)
SOURCE: Localytics, Time in App Increases by 21% Across All Apps
Sample size: 1.5 billion devices Platform: Unclear
Geo: Unclear Time: Aug 2013 to Aug 2014
Session length is the amount of time a user spends
engaging with an app in one sitting, or the amount of
time between when an app is launched and when it is
dismissed. It can signal the extent to which users are
engaged.
According to this chart, most people use social
networking apps in short bursts (2.5 mins) at a time,
and stay engaged with game apps for longer periods of
time (6.8 mins) than other apps.
What’s the average session length of your app? How
does it compare to these benchmarks?
32
Chart by Statista

Users open Social
Networking apps about 25
times a month
Average monthly app usage frequency
SOURCE: Localytics, Time in App Increases by 21% Across All Apps
Sample size: 1.5 billion devices Platform: Unclear
Geo: Unclear Time: Aug 2013 to Aug 2014
Paired with the previous chart, we can see that people
engage in “snacking” behaviour with social networking
apps - opening those apps many times a month for a
short period each time.
33
Chart by Statista

People are most active in
apps in the evening, at
around 8 PM
Geo: Unclear Time: Feb 2015 34
This information can be useful when deciding when to
schedule automated lifecycle push notifications or in-
app messages.
It’s important to remember that geography and ease of
access to the internet likely significantly influences app
usage in Africa.

Apps that have the most
engagement in the morning
● News apps
● Travel apps
● Weather apps

Apps that see heavy usage
throughout the day
● Business apps
● Finance apps
● Music apps

Apps that see heavy usage at
night
● Entertainment apps
● Social Networking apps

People spend the most
time in Communication
and Social Network apps
SOURCE: App Annie, Insights Into App Engagement Q1 2015
Sample size: 1.5 billion devices Platform: Android smartphones
Geo: Listed on graphic Time: Q1 2015
Communication and Social networking apps (like
WhatsApp and Facebook) consistently top the list of the
app categories where users spend the most time.
If you’re interested in increasing engagement in your
own app, consider introducing ideas and features that
are popular in those sorts of apps, eg. 1-on-1 chat.
38

Users in East Asia spend
proportionally more time in
Game apps than users in the
U.S., U.K., and Germany
Geo: Listed on graphic Time: Q1 2015
This is another reminder of the danger of making
assumptions about global app usage based on a single
geography.
User behaviour can differ significantly in different parts
of the world.
39

Users launch
Communication apps more
frequently than other types
of Android app
Geo: Listed on graphic Time: Q1 2015 40

1. App Annie, Insights Into App Engagement Q1 2015
2. Andrew Chen, New data shows losing 80% of mobile users is normal
3. Andrew Chen, New data on push notifications show up to 40% CTRs
4. Flurry Insights, App Engagement: The Matrix Reloaded
5. Kahuna Mobile Marketing Index
6. Kahuna Push 101 - The Beginners Guide to Crafting Perfect Push Notifications
7. Localytics, Time in App Increases by 21% Across All Apps
8. Localytics, 2016 App Marketing Guide
9. Opera Mediaworks, State of Mobile Advertising, Q2 2015
10. Quartz, The fastest-growing mobile phone markets barely use apps
11. The Information, Which Apps Retain Their Users - And Which Apps Don’t
12. SimilarWeb, Uninstalls: The Data Behind Deleted Apps
13. Statista, Monthly mobile app usage frequency, by category
14. Statista, Average mobile app session length, by category
15. Urban Airship Mobile Engagement industry Benchmarks: Notification Response
Rates
41
WORK REFERENCED IN THIS REPORT

The Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST) is an award-winning software
development training program and tech startup incubator based in Accra, Ghana. Top talent from
Ghana, Nigeria, and Kenya spend an intensive 1 year learning software development and business
skills while forming teams and working on their businesses.
At the end of the program, each team pitches their business, and the most promising teams
receive an investment of $50,000 and gain access to the MEST Incubator for further support.
For more information about MEST
meltwater.org
info@meltwater.org
+233-(0)30-393-3257
42
ABOUT MEST

Mobile App Benchmarks: Engagement & Retention

Mobile App Benchmarks: Engagement & Retention

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