Uncovering the Top Reasons People Are Abandoning Your App
As the saying goes, build it, and they will come. Once. Then, they might not come back again.
That’s what a lot of app developers and businesses are finding to be the case.
When you first launch your app it seems incredibly exciting, and with some smart marketing you might even get a lot of new users right after its introduction, but then things often start to dwindle. Rather than new users going up, they’re going down. Most app users are going to abandon and uninstall your app within a month of initially installing it. It sounds traumatic particularly with all the work you probably put into developing your app and marketing it, but it’s normal.
However, just because it’s normal, doesn’t mean it’s inevitable. The following are some of the biggest reasons people are abandoning your app, and by understanding them, you can take steps to prevent it.
You Didn’t Adequately Onboard New Users
The current trend in app development is all about onboarding. Onboarding is essential to create a positive first-time experience when people launch your app, but so many people either aren’t doing it or are doing it wrong.
It’s not about sharing the features of your app.
It’s about highlighting benefits and emphasizing the value the app will have for the user.
A good way to accomplish this is through progressive onboarding, which walks new users through the different functionalities of the app in a simple, direct and effective way.
Another note with onboarding is that you should always make sure your users can opt out of it because trapping them in a guided explanation process can be frustrating if that’s not what they want.
You’re Giving Them Concerns About Privacy
App users and consumers, in general, are becoming warier and more discerning of privacy concerns. If you seem like you’re asking them for too many permissions, or too much geolocation tracking, as examples, they’re likely to feel apprehensive about using your app anymore.
Another red flag or thing that people don’t like about current apps is the fact that they may automatically post on social media accounts, so while you may have some of these elements in your app you need to be careful and strategic, or you could see a lot of users abandoning your app after using it the first time.
It’s Too Cluttered
Today’s app users want a simple, streamlined design, and they don’t want to use an app that’s cluttered with a lot of distracting images or design elements. Nor do they want to see a lot of in-app ad clutter.
This often happens when app creators are focusing more on driving short-term revenue instead of looking at the long-term, and it’s tempting but something to be careful of.
Technical Problems
Finally, there are just too many app options out there for your users to tolerate any technical issues. Technical problems are one of the number one reasons users abandon apps, and not only can this lead to uninstalls but also bad reviews. It’s important to do all you can to prevent technical issues from occurring at all, and if they do, they need to be remedied as quickly as possible.
