According to the analysis done by Uninstall.io, 94% of users uninstall mobile apps after 30 days from download. Yes, you spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in order to acquire users but as you can see from the analysis, it is not easy to increase user retention. You need to allocate more efforts and have a smart plan to avoid uninstalls. It is the strongest sign that shows there is something wrong with you app. In this article, we will analyze the most common reasons and how to fix each of them. Let’s start!
Bad Registration Experience
Making registration process complex is one of the most common mistakes that causes increasing uninstall rate. According to ITR, 15.6% of uninstalls are because of poor registration experience. Here are the most common registrations mistakes that indie developers do.
- Forcing users to social login is one reason for uninstall. To avoid this mistake, give your users different options to sign up.
- Asking for too much information makes users waste their time. Because of this avoid asking for too many information to register. Ask for the details after they started to use your app.
- Lack of localization is another common problem in registration process. You need to consider country, language and culture based differences while make people register to your app.
Privacy Concerns
It is very important to make people safe while demanding their personal information. Most of the apps ignore this precision and this mostly causes uninstalls. You should avoid asking for too much personal information and permissions. If the information or permission you asked for is not relevant with your app, don’t demand it.
Another thing you can do to let people feel safe is showing how likely you give importance to data protection. Create your privacy policy and make it accessible.
Bad Onboarding Experience
Yes, it is one of the most common reasons for why people uninstall apps and a smart onboarding process can be a very strong tool to increase retention. According to a case study conducted by Localytics, Slice achieved 50% increase in onboarding conversion. There are so many other researches that proves how important onboarding process is. Now let’s talk about how to make it a strong weapon for your mobile app.
- Avoid overwhelming users with too much text
- Use high quality images
- Show your value in the slides
- Make the registration simple
- Show one feature/benefit in one single page
- Make the flow rational
- Let users take action the meantime as Snapchat does
- Humanize the experience
Annoying Push Notifications & In-App Messages
Push notifications and in-app messages are the most effective ways for in-app engagement. However if you don’t use them wisely, it’ll cause to uninstall of your app. As you can see below, 71% of users who download an app, do this because of annoying notifications.
If you want to get benefit from push notifications and in-app messages, here are some best practices for each.
Push Notifications Best Practices
- Do segmentation smartly
- Use rich notifications to increase conversion
- Include offers and promotions
- Personalize the experience
- Timing is everything. Find the best time to send them.
- Use locations to make them relevant
- Test the notifications to find the best options.
In-App Messaging Best Practices
- Create event-based triggers to increase engagement
- Send the right message at the right time
- Prefer short texts
- Segment users
- Conduct A/B testing
Inability to Fulfill the Promise
Your main responsibility is fulfilling what you promise to do. If your app doesn’t do what it promises to do, it is inevitable that people uninstall it. Even if it looks like a small detail, it is one of the most common reasons for uninstalls. You need to know that what your users think about the efficiency of your mobile app. You can do this by analyzing the reviews. Take this as a serious job and learn if your app fulfills the promise or not.
Inefficient App Monetization Strategy
App monetization is important for indie developers and app owners. However it is not conducted right, it causes uninstalls. You should be aware of all the monetization strategies and pick the best one for your app. Here are the most common monetization strategies:
- In-App Ads
- In-App Purchases
- Freemium Model
- Subscription
- Sponsorship
In order to learn more about monetization, you can take a look at this article.
Crashes and Errors
The study, carried out online by uSamp, found that freezing (76%), crashing (71%) and slow responsiveness (59%) were the primary bugbears when it came to app problems. There are many other researches showing how crashes and errors causes the uninstalls. As you can see below, 62% of people uninstall an app if they experience crashes, frozen, or errors.
Avoid crushes, frozen, and errors by testing and updating your app regularly.
Not Updating the App
As it is mentioned above, when you see there is a problem with your app, even if it is about crashes or the functionality of the app, you should update your app. You need to consider what your users think about your app. When they see that you are not listening to their demands and problems, they leave you forever.
Intrusive Ads
Mobile ads are amazing tools to monetize your mobile app but when they become intrusive, it leads to uninstalls. Especially in the gaming category, ads are what users hate to see if they don’t provide anything in return. Research shows that almost 50% of users uninstall apps just because of intrusive advertising. It negatively affects the user experience by annoying users if you do not use it strategically.
Lack of Competitive Advantage
If your users have a better alternative than you, they will prefer your competitor. Doing the same thing with tens of other apps doesn’t create a blue ocean to your app. If you are doing so, you have a very big problem. According to a research, nearly 29% of all instances of business app uninstallations occur when users find a better app. You should be aware of the fact that your users have a lot of alternatives to you. You should create a competitive advantage to gain their loyalty and interest.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Yes, you created an amazing app monetization and user acquisition strategy. But, wait! It’s not over. The most important thing you should consider after launching your app is user retention. You must make an app that people love to use. If you don’t so, it is impossible to be successful in the market. This is why you should consider the reasons above and take action for each of them to handle. After being sure that people love your app, you’ll see that your monetization and user acquisition strategy give better results.