Top 5 Reasons Behind Low Mobile App Retention Rate

Top 5 Reasons Behind Low Mobile App Retention Rate

A report by Statista shows that only “38% of users returned to an application 11 times and more.” The rest 62% switch to other apps or abandon the reason behind using the app, rendering the app useless, leading to its removal from the smartphone.

Knowing why mobile apps have such small retention rate is crucial, as this information will help you know how to fix this issue.

So, let’s take a look at reasons why a mobile app doesn’t stick with the audience for long…

Lengthy or Complex Signup

Signing up on a downloaded app, also called onboarding, should be easy and quick. The faster your app users are able to create an account on your app, the better. Long onboarding process drives app users away from the apps.

This is because they develop a notion that an app with difficult onboarding will also be difficult to use.

Fix: Create a short and crisp login page. If you are going to include social media login, make sure the integration works well.

Haphazard or Slow Navigation

Bad navigation design and apps that scroll like a snail are doomed to get uninstalled. As a matter of fact, this bad app design and development practice should be stopped right now.

Bad navigation hurts the most in the case of customer’s buying journey or coupon redemption. If you have launched a gaming app, the longer it takes to play the game, the harder your app’s retention rate will fall.

Fix: Focus on creating a short and easy user journey. Going from point A to point B should feel like a breeze and well-laid design.

Information Overload

Some app owners don’t know when to stop when it comes to providing useful information to the users. Endlessly long drop down menus, overlapping content categories can overwhelm an app user quite easily. And this is exactly what happens when an app user downloads an information nerdy app. Almost every mobile app development company hence likes to keep a minimalistic approach, unless told to do otherwise.

Fix: There’s only one way out; go easy on information and categories. Personalization is good, but remember that excess of everything is bad.

Bad Development

App developers may need to take this with a pinch of salt, but this happens more often than they want to accept. Bad apps that tend to crash every now and then. Only 16% of users would like to give them a second try. The rest move on to a competitor.

Fix: Ensure a robust app structure by testing it again and again. Regular updates also help in keeping the app sturdy.

No Guest Login

App owners who are hellbent on acquiring customer database make it hard for app users to try the app. Not everybody likes logging into an app without seeing the value it offers. Just the way businesses are worried about improving ROI, users want to see what can the app do for them.

Fix: If you are planning to launch an app that needs a login and in-app purchases, taking the premium approach will be a good idea.

Conclusion

It’s not hard to make your app users want to keep coming back. The key lies in keeping the app light and fast. The points we mentioned above will definitely help you create an app that sticks. Good luck.