Last month, Localytics released its annual App User Retention study. The study shows that push messaging is a prominent key element that underlies user retention, which is referred to as ‘the percentage of users who return to an app eleven or more times’. Check out the results here!
An increase in user retention in both the USA and China
The Localytics study found that apps using push messaging have higher rates of user retention, both in the USA and China. Of all people who receive push messages in North America, 56% return to an app eleven times or more. With 37%, this percentage is considerably lower for the app users that don’t get push notifications.

Even though overall rates of user retention in China are different from the USA, return rates for Chinese app users with regard to push notifications are also significantly higher. Looking at users who return eleven times or more, the findings reveal that apps enabling push notifications have much higher retention rate than apps without push notifications (35% vs. 15%, respectively).

The study underscores the importance of an effective push notification strategy to ensure that users keep returning to your app. As push messaging offers a fast way to interact with users in real-time, a considerable amount of companies are starting to use push messaging more often. Check out our 10 tips to create an effective push notification strategy on how to develop a strategy that fits your app!
Here you can read the full report of the Localytics study.