AppsFlyer, the global attribution provider released its first retargeting report; The State of App Retargeting 2020 Edition. App stores have become increasingly crowded, and app marketers find it difficult to gain the attention of users and drive conversions.
Retargeting has proven to be a reliable engagement tactic, growing even faster than user acquisition. Globally, 30% of apps now run retargeting campaigns. In the US data shows marketers are adding more retargeting to their mix. The report highlights an 18% rise, as overall adoption grew 12% this year.
“Global adoption of retargeting continues to grow, rising more than 10% since 2018, proving that it is an effective tool for marketers,” said Shani Rosenfelder, Head of Content & Mobile Insights, AppsFlyer.
“With most apps losing 95% of their users within the first 30 days of install. It is no wonder that 35% of app marketing conversions nowadays result from retargeting; driving better retention and more revenue. We still see an opportunity for growth, particularly among gaming apps, which have plenty to gain from retargeting.”
Notable US Retargeting Insights
- Multiple verticals are leaning into retargeting. Photography apps increased retargeting campaigns by nearly 250% from 2019 to 2020. Shopping is another vertical that has embraced retargeting, with the adoption rate increasing by 25% in a year. The retargeting share surging 35% from 2018 to 2020 to reach no less than 65% of conversions.
- Owned media retargeting increased by 60% from 2018-2019. Owned media allows marketers to bring users back at almost no expense, which has contributed to its rise.
- Almost 4 in every 10 apps running retargeting have a share of retargeting that exceeds 30%.
- Retargeting helps drive paying users. Within lifestyle, apps running retargeting had a 130% higher rate of paying users. Among hardcore games apps, a 298% leap in revenue has been generated by paying users exposed to retargeting.
- Low adoption despite high performance shows a missed opportunity for gaming apps. In casual and midcore gaming, the adoption rate is only 7-8%. Performance of apps that run retargeting is significantly better. (At least 60% uplift in retention and 105% jump in the share of paying users).
According to Doug McMillen, Vice President, Enterprise Strategy, AppsFlyer: “As marketers recognise the importance of engagement retargeting is becoming more crucial than ever to their success. This is buoyed by the fact that retargeting has shown resilience amid COVID-19.”
“With this report, marketers have insight into the benefits and opportunities around retargeting. Furthermore, how to leverage it for maximum impact,” McMillen added.
The Coronavirus Effect
In order to account for the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the report looked at two different time frames. A year-over-year comparison of January and February 2018-2020 prior to the outbreak and lockdown. The report also researched the pre-COVID-19 data from the end of February through April 2020 when lockdowns became the standard in the United States.
The report does not cover the travel vertical, where retargeting has always been in heavy use. COVID-19 dramatically affected installs and engagement for travel apps, making comparisons difficult.
Largely, COVID-19 has not slowed down the retargeting trend in the US, instead often increasing the practice. In fact, lockdowns caused a jump in app installs, which in turn has led to increased retargeting pushes.
Key COVID-19 US Insights
- As lockdowns began, paid retargeting conversions jumped 35% and owned jumped 31%.
- During this period many verticals found retargeting success. Particularly shopping apps, which saw owned conversions increase almost 50%.
- Paid media retargeting conversions also surged, rising more than 30% in April.
The State of App Retargeting: 2020 Global & US Trends from AppsFlyer (registration required) is an anonymous aggregate of proprietary global data. The data is sourced from 11 billion non-organic app installs across 20,000 apps, and 7 billion retargeting conversions. Of this, 1.1 billion non-organic app installs across 12,000 apps, and 800 million retargeting conversions, were specific to the US.
Enterprise Times: What this means for business?
Retargeting on the web has been around for almost 15 years, but apps have only started running campaigns at scale in the last couple of years. App retargeting can be an effective marketing strategy that can potentially increase click-through rates (CTR) by 48%. This is according to similar research from app marketing company AppLift. Research also revealed that 173% of retargeted users would be more likely to spend again. With poor retention rates, intense competition, and rising user acquisition costs. Re-engaging with existing app users has become a key component of an app marketer’s toolbox.
AppsFlyer’s first The State of App Retargeting report is quite an in-depth read. It covers every vertical and every region in this comprehensive study. Retargeting has become an important strategy for eCommerce and mCommerce retailers who face high levels of shopping cart abandonment. By following up with users, marketers can minimise the costs of acquiring new users.
