Apps have come a long way since the first release of the iPhone in 2007, from just 500 apps to 8.93 M apps globally today. The app industry is set to hit $526 B by the end of 2023, driven by in-app purchases and advertisements.
As apps have become more popular, we’ve become better and better at building them. This ease of implementation, combined with the ubiquity of mobile devices, means that users will often prefer to use an app directly on their phone rather than a computer or laptop. This has led to 60% of all ecommerce sales coming from mobile in 2023.
While this looks promising, there is a challenge to overcome. Users might be spending all of their time on mobile apps, but your app is now competing with hundreds of others for their attention. This leads to 74% of apps being abandoned just one day after their installation, and that’s where app retargeting comes in.
Good to know: What is Retargeting and How Does it Work?
What is app retargeting?
App retargeting is all about re-engaging a user who has already interacted with your app. Let’s imagine a situation where a customer is looking to purchase a new pair of sneakers. They know your app, so they log in and start deciding between a few different styles, but they get distracted by a phone call and open up their language learning app after the call rather than returning to the shop.
Fortunately, you discovered a lot about your user while they used your app. This gives you an opportunity to reconnect with them. If the language app is part of your retargeting partner’s publisher network, you can connect with them again.
Once the user finishes a lesson, an ad displays, highlighting a selection of sneakers that your data shows the user might be interested in, along with a couple of other sneaker alternatives.
Should I use app retargeting?
The main reason? Engagement. You’ve already paid money to acquire new customers, and making the most of that investment means you need to keep users wanting to use your app. This means that you need to constantly keep the conversation going and build a relationship with your customers to keep them coming back to your app.
Retargeting is undeniably effective, and Analytics platform AppsFlyer states that one in five apps now use retargeting-style campaigns to boost their customer retention, sales, and conversions.
Let’s take a look at some of the reasons why:
Better engagement means a longer Customer Lifetime Value
The key to a successful app lies in maximizing Customer Lifetime Value (CLV). There are many ways to do this, such as increasing Average Order Volume (AOV), order frequency, or boosting engagement to encourage in-app purchases.
Retargeting customers reminds them why they enjoyed our app and encourages them to return in order to make more purchases. This helps them find great products and helps you maximize CLV without trying to squeeze blood from a stone. It’s a win-win.
Maximize the benefits of promo periods
Speaking of CLV, another way to improve it is to tempt customers back into your store during promo periods like Cyber Monday or Black Friday. The challenge during promotional periods is competition. Every retailer out there is fighting over the same pool of customers, but if they have your app on their phone, that gives you two secret weapons: trust and information.
We’re all more comfortable buying from someone we’ve already made a purchase from before. This gives you an immediate leg up over any new stores fighting for your users. Additionally, you already have a number of data points on each of your customers. This enables you to create tailored promo ads that are more likely to convert into purchases.
Strong personalization opportunities
Speaking of personalization, app retargeting is the ultimate personalization solution. You can tailor offers to specific users without compromising their privacy. If they regularly shop for specific types of technology or a certain style of clothes, you can leave it up to Deep Learning to create an advert that highlights similar products, and encourages them to return to your store to make a purchase.
Segmentation data lets you make smarter decisions
That same data can also help you figure out who you should be spending money. As your app grows, you’ll gain a significant amount of data about your audience, and you can use deep analytics to determine which customers will give you the best return on your investment. This is where Deep Learning comes into play. It intelligently and automatically segments users and determines which ones are the best retargeting opportunities to maximize ROI for you or your client.
Deep Learning helps to maximize the benefits of app retargeting
A recurring theme here is data. All app retargeting campaigns require not just significant amounts of data, but also the right tools to properly interpret that data. This is where Artificial Intelligence tools, and specifically Deep Learning, come into play.
Deep Learning is a subset of Machine Learning. These algorithms are capable of understanding complicated, unstructured datasets and providing deep insights. Unlike other Machine Learning-derived solutions, Deep Learning is also capable of unsupervised learning. That means that it is able to achieve better results as more data is fed into the algorithm without a programmer needing to manually adjust the ruleset.
This is particularly useful if you have access to large amounts of data. You are able to quickly determine the best ad to display, where to display it, and at what moment it should be delivered to the end user.
RTB House uses Deep Learning in all of its retargeting campaigns
Fortunately, you don’t need to spend millions of dollars to develop your own Deep Learning algorithm, because RTB House has already done the hard work for you! We’ve used Deep Learning from day one, and since 2017 it’s been used in all of our campaigns, including app retargeting.
In additional to our algorithms, we have built a strong portfolio of partners, which gives us the reach necessary to conduct truly impactful retargeting campaigns. When this data is combined with the data you already own about your users, we can create app retargeting campaigns that really resonate.
Let’s take a quick look at some of our past campaigns, and why they worked.
RTB House and Marisa—an in-app success story
To start, let’s take a look at Marisa, the largest women’s fashion and lingerie chain in Brazil. They challenged RTB House to increase revenue from their app through a retargeting campaign, with the need to boost traffic and retain more users, for which media solutions based on advanced technology were a must.
Marisa wanted to use Deep Learning to improve their retargeting with enhanced personalization in order to scale their ROI without increasing their budget or impacting KPIs.
The results from this app retargeting campaign included:
+1 M BRL in revenue in the first month with mobile app retargeting.
Billing via the app 4x higher than on the web version (within two months of campaign completion).
105% of ROI target.
142% of the average CTR for the Fashion sector in the current month, based on internal data from RTB House.
Huuuge Games—boosting engagement for a social casino
With 2.4 M monthly active users, Huuuge Games’ Huuuge Casino is one of the top Google Play social casino apps in more than 60 countries. Despite its leading advantage, Huuuge wanted to use app retargeting to further boost revenue and drive sustainable growth.
As a social casino, Huuuge Casino is a perfect use case for in-app retargeting. These sorts of gaming apps need to maximize customer engagement and keep them coming back for more in order to make the most of each customer. The company was already using app retargeting when approached by RTB House, but wanted to explore the potential of RTB House’s Deep Learning algorithms.
The results included:
3.3x more paying customers.
2.6x more revenue from paying players.
3-4x over-delivery on ROAS goals.
RTB House was the only provider to exceed KPIs on iOS (post iOS 14 launch).
The success opened the door to a second flagship game, Billionaire Casino, where RTB House continued to be a key retargeting partner.
Let’s discuss what we can do for you and your app
Every app is different, but they can all benefit from in-app retargeting. The exact form of the campaign will vary depending on your app’s purpose. A language app or game might want to entice users back every day to ensure that the app becomes part of their daily routine. In comparison, an ecommerce app might be more interested in targeting users for specific promo periods or remind them to make a recurring monthly purchase.
Whatever your use case, RTB House is standing by to help. We can walk you through the best in-app retargeting approach for your app, and develop an action plan to help boost the metrics that are most important to your business.
Reach out and let RTB House show you the power of Deep Learning-based in-app retargeting.
