As app developers and marketers, understanding how users interact with your application is crucial for success. One key metric that can help you measure the effectiveness of your app is the retention rate. This statistic shows how many users continue to use your app over a certain period. A high retention rate indicates that users are engaged and loyal to your brand.

According to Todd Grennan, Senior Content Producer at Appboy, "Understanding your customer retention rate and comparing it to industry benchmarks can be a powerful tool for informing your customer retention and acquisition strategies." To achieve this, you need to measure your own statistics alongside benchmarks for app retention in your niche and the broader mobile ecosystem.

What is Retention Rate?

Retention rate is the percentage of users who continue to use your app over a certain period. A high retention rate indicates that users love your app and come back frequently. It's the opposite of user churn – if your 90-day retention rate is 25%, then your churn rate would be 75%.

Why is Retention Rate Important?

Retention rate is important for several reasons. It provides a more insightful metric than downloads or user acquisition, as it measures the stickiness of your product. Installation numbers are irrelevant unless you retain those new users. Analyzing retention rates by cohort allows you to gain deeper insights into user behavior and identify possible causes of significant changes or trends.

Cohort Analysis

To perform cohort analysis, you determine how users who downloaded your app around the same time (cohort) compare to other user clusters. This helps you understand the behavior of different user groups and identify potential reasons for significant changes or trends.

Why Tracking Retention Rate Matters

Tracking retention rate is also useful for detecting growth trends and predicting potential revenue. The metric can even inform your overall planning.

App User Experience Benchmarks

Given the vast number of apps available on iOS and Android, it's challenging to establish a baseline for app retention rates across all categories and platforms. However, we can combine data from research studies to get a solid figure.

  • According to Statista, the average day-one retention rate is 25.3%.
  • Adjust reports an average day-one retention rate of 26.5% across all industries.
  • AppsFlyer found an average customer retention rate of 24.33% on the first day.

A rough estimate for the average day-one retention rate seems to be around 25%.

Other Important Milestones

Another important milestone is the end of the first week. Compared to the first day after installation, retention rates tend to be much lower at this stage. Many developers run retargeting campaigns to encourage further engagement. Adjust reports an average retention rate of 12% on the seventh day.

For long-term retention, it's a good idea to look at the 30-day mark. Market research shows that someone who stays with your app for that long has a good chance of continuing to use it.

Benchmark Ranges

Here are some average 30-day retention rates across different industries:

  • Statista: 5.7%
  • Adjust: 6.5%
  • AppsFlyer: 3.36%

It appears that a good benchmark for customer retention at the 30-day mark is around 5%.

Trends in Mobile App User Engagement

Of course, global averages only provide a rough guideline for app retention. To find out if your app is performing well or not, you need to take a closer look at the numbers.

For example, most studies show that iOS apps currently have slightly higher retention rates than Android apps. It's worth noting that these trends can change over time – on iOS, retention rates have been rising recently, while Android has seen a 16% decline in user engagement at the 30-day mark according to AppsFlyer.

Segmenting by Industry

Retention rates also vary worldwide – Japan has an average 30-day retention rate of around 5.8%, while China sees only 1.22% of users remaining engaged for that long. Retention rates are significantly higher in developed economies compared to the rest of the world.

App User Experience Benchmarks by Industry

While these trends are notable, the data on customer retention is best segmented by industry. App store data shows that different categories have very different retention rates. To calculate a good retention rate, it's essential to compare your app with others in the same industry.

Here are some key benchmarks for app retention rates across different industries:

  • Shopping and Marketplace Apps: 24.5% day-one retention rate; 10.7% seventh-day retention rate; 5.6% (AppsFlyer) or 4.83% (Statista) 30-day retention rate.

By understanding your customer retention rate and comparing it to industry benchmarks, you can inform your customer retention and acquisition strategies to optimize app user experience.