Ask customers for preferences but only if you’re going to use them There are four best practices that top performers tend to follow to optimize activation:ġ. The top 10 performing apps are good at onboarding customers, with a Day 30 Activation Rate that’s 56% higher than their category’s average.Īverage Lift in Day 30 Activation Rate for Top 10 Apps in Q4 2022įour Common Practices of Activation Leaders Examining the overall average Day 30 activation rate over time (below), shows there has been zero improvement over the last year.Īs with any average, outliers are hidden and that’s usually where the lessons learned and best practices are most apparent and resounding.

We aggregated the number of customers across industries and app store categories who came back to the app on their respective Day 1, 2, 7, 14 and 30, which is reflected in the chart below.Īverage Activation Rates from September 2021 – December 2022Īs shown in the heat map above, during the first 30 days, activation is highest early on and declines by the end of the period. Throughout the year, customers across industries download various apps. The most acute phase is during the first 30 days, when customers stop returning to the app. The most pressing challenge facing the app industry occurs during the period we call life after download TM. To retain more customers, it’s critical for brands to optimize the activation phase of their customer app lifecycle.

What’s more, customer drop-off is expensive, with cost per install estimated at $5.28 for North America ($1.03 in EMEA). It’s the greatest challenge of life after download TM, says Airship CEO, Brett Caine. And more often than not, they fail to make a new app a habit. “We know that customers compare each app to their last best experience. Only 8% of customers on average return to an app on the 30th day after they first open it, according to Airship research on activation.

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