Get the mobile app retention benchmarks for 2023
Micah Motta, Senior Content Writer, Adjust, Apr 25, 2023.
Retention rates provide a much-needed look into user engagement in your app over a 30-day period and in 2023, the need to pay heed to the latest app retention benchmarks remains paramount. We’ve analyzed Adjust data to establish this year’s retention rates for mobile apps—globally, by region, and by vertical. With Q1 2023 already come and gone, compare your app’s recent retention rates to those below to see how your app is performing. (Teaser: Health & fitness had some winning retention rates, so scroll down to learn more!)
Global retention rates see slight dip in 2022
Due to COVID-19 pandemic-era demand, app competition in 2021 and 2022 continued to skyrocket. The window to delight and satisfy an app user has narrowed slightly, and app retention rates are feeling the effects of users’ elevated expectations. Day 1, Day 14, and Day 30 all saw a percentage drop of 1%, revealing median 2022 global retention rates to be 25%, 9%, and 6%, respectively.
APAC and EMEA retention rates topped 2022
Diving into app retention rates for 2022 by region, APAC and EMEA come out on top, both boasting Day 1 rates of 23%. North America comes in second place with a 2022 Day 1 retention rate of 22%, followed by LATAM at 21%.
Calling app verticals: Your retention benchmarks for 2023
As a best practice, work to ensure that your app is keeping pace with, if not surpassing, the average retention rate for its vertical. After analyzing Adjust data, we’ve rounded up the app verticals’ retention benchmarks for 2023.
Day 1 retention by vertical: Gaming won
In line with the previous two years, gaming app Day 1 retention rates were the highest of all verticals in 2022 at 29%, followed by hyper casual at 26%, health & fitness at 24%, with both lifestyle and social apps at 23%. Trailing, e-commerce apps in 2022 saw a Day 1 retention rate of 19%, travel at 15%, and food & drink apps at 12%.
Day 30 retention by vertical: Fintech and lifestyle dominated
If you’re looking for your Day 30 retention rate benchmark, look no further. Fintech and lifestyle apps led in 2022, with Day 30 retention rates of 9%, followed by health & fitness and social apps, both with a rate of 7%. In third place is gaming, with a Day 30 retention rate of 6%, then e-commerce at 5%, with travel, food & drink, and hyper casual bringing up the rear at 4%, 3%, and 2% retention rates, respectively. Note that for hyper casual games, this is to be expected, and is why cross-promotion is such a critical aspect for many publishing suites working in this vertical.**
**A large portion of the fintech vertical's rise can be attributed to mobile payments and apps from the payment subvertical. In 2023, it's expected that more than US$2 trillion in payments will take place via mobile devices globally. And lifestyle apps’ popularity continues to grow and remains in the top five most popular categories on Apple’s app store—eclipsing productivity and shopping categories as users seek to prioritize their well-being digitally.
Honorable mention: Health & fitness retention sprinted upward
Not one to peter out, the health & fitness app vertical charged ahead in its 2022 global retention rates. While other verticals were consistent or dropped slightly under their 2021 medians, health & fitness apps enjoyed an increase of five percentage points in their Day 1 retention rates, going from 19% to 24%. Day 14 moved from 5% to 9%, while the Day 30 retention rate also ticked up from 3% to 7% in 2022.
Thirsty for more app trends for 2023? Two tips
Retention is a crucial key performance indicator (KPI) for app marketers to monitor, but it’s not the only industry app benchmark to follow. It’s essential to stay abreast of industry trends as well as your own app’s trends.
1. Download our Mobile app trends: 2023 edition ebook
Looking for a global benchmark of app performance? Adjust recently released our Mobile app trends: 2023 edition. This ebook reports on the latest data covering 5,000+ apps from sessions, installs, stickiness, and retention to ATT opt-in rates. So, if you’re looking to stay on top of all the latest app data trends, including retention, click the banner below!
2. Monitor your own app data trends with Adjust
As a first step, app marketers should strive to stay in the know for their vertical’s industry. The next action is to set business-specific KPIs for their apps to zero in on optimization opportunities throughout the user journey. It’s essential, then, that marketers partner with a mobile measurement partner (MMP) that can provide accurate attribution data with excellent reporting features.
With Adjust’s measurement and analytics suite, app marketers gain actionable insights on their mobile attribution and campaign automation to scale successfully, machine-learning iOS measurement solutions, proactive fraud prevention, and much more.
So, if you’re ready to maximize your marketing insights to accelerate your app growth, get your Adjust demo now.
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