3 Ways To Reduce App Uninstalls

The mobile app world has become a crowded place. With over two million apps out there users simply don’t have the time or storage space to engage with all of them. That means that each and every app is constantly in a fight for its’ virtual life on a mobile device doing the best it can to stave off the dreaded uninstall. As a mobile app developer we understand this struggle all too well and wanted to offer up 3 ways to reduce app uninstalls to help your app win the battle.

On average most apps lose 90 percent of their users by the thirty day mark from the install date. Heck, most apps have lost 80 percent of their users within a week of download. Obviously from those statistics people drop apps faster than a bad habit.

So what can you do about that?

Aside from basic design issues that cause app uninstalls like battery hogs, memory eaters, clunky UX and crashes we have a few concepts you may benefit from.

Tips for Reducing App Uninstalls

• Monitor Drop Points – First things first, identify exactly where users jump ship. Luckily we have analytics and tracking software that can be used to map drop points for users. Different types of apps will have different drop points but in each case there are often one or two identifiable spots that users find issue with. This allows you the opportunity to correct the problem.
• Reduce Notifications – Notifications can make or break an app. If you use too many notifications you will annoy users. If you have too few notifications then you might not be engaging your users at the optimum level. Always err on the side of caution with notifications and use less. The goal of a notification should be providing value, not being a nag or annoyance. People have enough of those in their lives already. It also helps to allow notifications to be turned off if the user wants.
• Use Incentives – What is the purpose of an incentive? It is something that motivates someone to do something. For you app, who should you use incentives on? The answer is people who are not regularly engaging with your app. Remember, 80 percent of people will drop an app within a week of downloading it. Rather than waiting for that to happen why not offer an incentive to users who have not used the app in 48 hours? If you give a user some sort of personalized offer that provides them value there is a good chance they will give the app another chance.

Of course these tips only make sense if your app is designed decently with a good interface, a decent onboarding process and serves a purpose.

The bottom line is that many people assume that uninstalls are simply a fact of app-life. They take the high uninstall numbers in stride and simply try and have a high enough download number that offsets the users jumping off a cliff like lemmings. Rather than following that path, consider these 3 ways to reduce app uninstalls so you can keep more of the users that downloaded and installed your app on board.

Be sure to check back every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for great new Lounge Lizard blog articles.