Study: How to boost consumer app usage

Mobile marketing platform provider OtherLevels has some advice for retailers looking to looking boost usage rates of their consumer apps.



According to the company’s “2015 Mobile Retail Messaging Study,” regular mobile messaging can increase consumer usage of retail apps.



According to the study, consumers who received a mobile message from a retailer in the past one to two days had a lift in recency (how recently they used the retailer’s app) of 1.4%-28%. There were also recency lifts of 8.2%-25.3% among consumers who received a mobile retail message in the past seven days and 8.5%-19% among consumers who received a mobile retail message in the past 14 days.



The study also found benefit for retailers who retargeted, or sent follow-up messages to consumers who did not open an initial message. Customers who were sent a mobile message from a retailer on a Friday had a 12.5% open rate, customers who did not open that message who received a second message on the following Sunday had a 6% open rate, effectively increasing the total open rate by almost 50%.



In addition, specific features of retailer apps notably lifted usage rates. There was nearly an 11% lift from the ability to scan bar-codes, and a 3.1% lift from the ability to tap a banner to pre-order items. Furthermore, the ability to add items to a shopping list created a 14% lift, and there was nearly a 15% lift from a sort-by-aisle feature.