The team at adjust recently released their Mobile Benchmarks report for Q3 2016. Following up on their 2015 edition, the report takes a look at the mobile ecosystem, tracking its movement in a data-driven look at where we can expect it to go in the future. Here are the major takeaways from the report.
Retention Has Dropped Since 2015
Overall, the numbers aren’t great. Adjust tracked seven day retention averages across both Android and iOS. They found Android’s numbers, which were strong for 2015, had dropped three percentage points. Even though iOS retention rates were actually up 0.02 percent, the numbers across the board had fallen:
But User Engagement Has Increased
The users who are still staying on apps, however, are becoming more and more engaged. As the less invested drop off, only the truly dedicated remain. By the same averages, iOS retention rate has improved by 0.02 percent within the year. It’s interesting to note this seeming parity, which could say that, overall, baseline sevenday retention will remain at around 11 percent well into 2017. However, the numbers in general show at least a percent or more less retention in a majority of apps, with only Publications [‘bookish apps’] maintaining more than a fifth of its users. Essentially, retention rates among users are lower now than one year ago.” The bottom line: The audience of app users is becoming more niche. To cut straight to the matter, we think that users that remain are more engaged.”
Marketers Need to Locate Their Niche
So what’s a startup’s response to the shifting app audience base? A redoubled focus on the specific, highly engaged audience that’s right for your app. It might be micro apps, or it might be a specific service, but it needs to appeal to the type of audience who will remain engaged. The app boom is over. But the path to locking in a dedicated audience is still around.
