The new study provides guidance for marketers, brands, and developers to meet key retention and engagement milestones amidst rapid omnichannel transformation 

OneSignal, the world's leading customer engagement platform, today released its annual State of Customer Engagement Report which illustrates the benefits of incorporating various messaging channels, content, and engagement strategies for marketers to achieve their overarching goals in 2024. The insights for mobile marketers are based on key engagement statistics informed by over a million businesses that use OneSignal as their customer engagement platform to send over 12 billion messages daily.

The report comes at a time when user behavior and the app industry continue to evolve amid rapid technological transformation. With the collective number of apps now available to consumers and consumer retention spans continuing to shrink, benchmarking app success is a growing challenge for companies competing in the mobile landscape.

“Through our work in helping companies navigate omnichannel challenges, we’re finding that providing value, relevance, and utility to customers from a messaging and engagement standpoint are now equal non-negotiables and that companies can’t sacrifice if they want to succeed,” says Josh Wetzel, Chief Revenue Officer at OneSignal. “The insights we’ve compiled in this report serve as a barometer for companies seeking clarity in the dynamic mobile landscape and provide essential guidance to help them achieve their goals.”

Key findings uncovered within the report include the following:

• Multichannel engagement is necessary for success. Companies that leverage more than one messaging channel to engage users increase average engagement by 35.8%. OneSignal also found that apps that use an automated multichannel messaging automation workflow see 13.6% higher average 30-day retention rates.

• Effective onboarding messages are critical to driving retention. OneSignal’s data revealed apps that implement onboarding messages have 24% higher install-to-purchase conversion rates. Those that leverage more than one channel to send them have higher 1-day, 7-day, and 30-day retention rates.

• Email is having a resurgence as a revenue driver. Apps that use email as part of their omnichannel engagement strategy report the highest install-to-purchase conversion rates. When used with push notifications, email can help balance brevity and depth in ongoing messaging strategy. Simply put, it’s not something mobile apps can ignore in their growth plans.

• Apple’s Live Activities are an effective engagement tool. Apps using Live Activities have 23.7% higher average 30-day retention rates, solidifying the value of using the lock screen’s real estate for providing real-time updates.

• Personalized notifications are a must for optimal app engagement. Notifications that use personalized content have a 344% higher engagement rate than notifications that don't. Additionally, apps that use localization, such as adapting messaging for language, time zone, and cultural differences, have a 160% higher engagement rate than notifications that don't.

Based on the insights provided, the 2024 State of Customer Engagement report serves as a guide for marketers and brands seeking more clarity in evaluating their engagement solutions. As diversification in communication becomes more crucial and data-driven marketing becomes even more vital to success, the report provides a roadmap for achieving omnichannel success in both these areas.