Product operation, why is the product user retention rate so low?

As the traffic dividend gradually disappears, it is becoming increasingly difficult to acquire customers and the cost is getting higher and higher. What’s worse, the user retention rate of good products after acquiring customers is not optimistic. So what is the reason behind this? Let’s see what the author says.

Here’s an unpleasant fact about app retention: only 26.6% of users revisit an app the day after downloading it, and that number drops to 12.1% after two weeks. After 90 days, as many as 71% of users will completely abandon the app.

In fact, 21% of users completely abandon an app after opening it for the first time:

Combining these data, we can conclude that most mobile phone users actually visit less than 20 apps per month, and half of their time is spent on a single app. On most mobile devices, the most used apps are Facebook, Youtube, Google, Snapchat or Pandora.

It's quite scary.

We wanted to understand why abandonment rates are so high after the first use, and how the most popular apps succeed. (Hint: They solve this problem by creating a better user onboarding experience.)

So, we downloaded the 100 most popular apps on iOS, went through their onboarding process like a novice, and carefully recorded the entire process from beginning to end using screenshots and screen recordings.

Attractive fullscreen modal example

Explain the sliding direction to help users get started quickly

Lovely tooltips

Modal windows are also very pleasing

In this article, we’ll present our findings and explore how you can improve your app’s onboarding to give first-time users a great experience.

Why is it so difficult on mobile?

Before we dive into solutions to your mobile app problems, let’s first take a look at some of the most important issues in the mobile space today.

First of all: mobile is not just an extension of the Internet. The app store world is a cruel place. You don’t have to create an app to be successful on the Internet.

There is more friction in mobile apps. Think of the process of downloading an app for the first time: First, you learn a little bit about it — the name of the app, what it does, why it’s worth your time and money. Then you search for it in your phone's app store, allow it to take up valuable space on your phone, and finally start downloading it.

For a first-time user, there are too many steps before you even open the app.

You might think these efforts would result in more engaged users, but more often than not, they just result in more impatient users. They've already put in a lot of effort in downloading, and they want some reward after downloading. That’s why it’s so crucial to onboard your users into using your app easily and quickly.

Mobile users lack patience

We already know that people’s attention spans are getting shorter, but that doesn’t mean it can always be blamed on mobile app development. Part of the reason many users abandon an app after their first use is simply plain old impatience.

Clutch found that if an onboarding experience lasts more than 2 minutes, many people will simply give up. That means you have 120 seconds to help users get started, or you’ll lose them forever.

Apps like Instagram and Youtube have a huge advantage in onboarding time thanks to their parent companies, Facebook and Google, which allow them to have single sign-on. Single sign-on allows applications to import important user data and create an account in less than 10 seconds, saving valuable time in onboarding and time to value.

The moral of the story: Whenever possible, you should let your users log in using their existing accounts like Google, Facebook, or Twitter.

Mobile users are very suspicious

The Cambridge Analytica scandal was a watershed moment for user privacy. Making your users feel safe is more important than anything else — when and how you ask for personal information and phone access will impact your onboarding experience.

Being asked to hand over sensitive data or access your smartphone can seem obtrusive:

Why does LinkedIn want access to my Bluetooth? Why does Bitmoji need my location? Why does this ride-sharing app need access to my camera?

The reasons for asking for certain information may be obvious to you, but if you don’t explain it clearly to your users, they will feel insecure. If users don’t trust your app, they’re more likely to abandon or delete it before the onboarding process is complete.

The vast majority of users — more than 82 percent — reported that they want apps to provide a clear reason for requesting personal information.

This isn’t a difficult problem to solve: usually a simple line of copy is enough to explain why your app needs access and reassure users.

Providing optional permissions—asking rather than demanding them—can also put users at ease. Therefore, you can also request permission access when you first use the feature, rather than during the first launch process.

Getting permissions activated can have a huge impact on your retention rate: 46% of users will use the app more than 11 times if they opt in to push notifications.

The mobile phone has limited data and storage space

Even if you buy extra data, storage space on your phone is a finite resource. Therefore, you use space prudently.

The screen on your phone is just as valuable — so valuable, in fact, that nearly 20% of users say they’ve deleted an app simply because they thought its icon was too ugly on their home screen.

That is, if you can’t communicate your app’s value proposition to users quickly and effectively, they’re likely to not stick with it. A quick onboarding process that makes users feel confident is crucial to preventing users from abandoning after the first use and retaining them. You can never go wrong designing a good-looking icon.

There is still hope! ‍

While these statistics are discouraging, there is hope: 64% of millennial users and 30% of users aged 35-54 say they download more apps now than they did a year ago. This means people are willing to try new experiences on mobile devices, and it also means there is real opportunity in the market.

In fact, app retention — the percentage of users who launch an app more than 11 times — has actually increased since 2012.

This tells us that people don’t lack choices, what they really lack is a perfect user experience. And for those apps that can satisfy this, they will stick with them.

To succeed on mobile — to create engaging experiences that drive usage and retention — you need to show users the value of your product, how to use your app, and make them feel safe and secure. And you need to do all this in the shortest possible time.

Related reading:

1. Product operation and promotion: How to compete for traffic?

2. How can product operations increase the number of new users and retain them?

3. Product operation: 2 major ways to get started to accurately capture private domain traffic!

4. Product Operation | How do stranger social products guide users?

5. How can product operations conduct good competitor research and analysis?

6. Product operation and promotion | 5 underlying ideas for traffic growth!

7. Product operation: application of data system under the growth model!

8. How can product operations conduct good competitor research and analysis?

Author: Ji Neng

Source: Upskill