In the crowded marketplace of shopping apps, standing out and attracting users can be a daunting task. However, with the right strategic insights and tactics, you can transform your shopping app into a user magnet. How? Read on to find out!
The 2024 AppsFlyer report on e-commerce app marketing provided essential data on user behavior and marketing trends. It highlighted, among others, the importance of:
- Investing in user acquisition (UA) before the holidays;
- The need to focus efforts on the first purchase;
- Diversifying advertising channels.
Optimizing Your Shopping App for Discovery
Craft a Compelling App Store Listing
Your app store listing is the first impression potential users get. Ensure it’s engaging and informative by using high-quality screenshots, an enticing yet informative video preview, and a clear, concise description that highlights the app’s unique features and benefits. Regularly update your listing to reflect new features and seasonal promotions. With over 50% of users updating their apps within a week of the update’s release, it is crucial that app store listings and the app itself are kept up to date and communicated.
Prioritize User Experience (UX) for Seamless Discovery
A smooth, intuitive user experience is crucial for retaining users. Focus on fast load times, easy navigation, and a visually appealing interface. Consider conducting user testing to identify and resolve pain points.
Embrace User-Generated Content (UGC)
Encourage satisfied users to leave positive reviews and ratings. UGC not only boosts your app’s credibility but also improves its ranking in app stores. Implement features that make it easy for users to share their experiences on social media, and prepare your app for the social commerce revolution. With the penetration rate of social commerce estimated at 25%, there is still much room for growth and establishing your app in that space.
Advertising Tactics to Unearth Your User Base
Mobile OEMs are the Way Forward
Partnering with mobile Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) can significantly enhance your app’s visibility. Pre-install deals such as Dynamic Preloads and app store featuring on OEM alternative app stores such as the Samsung Galaxy Store, Xiaomi GetApps store, or Huawei AppGallery among others, can drive a substantial number of installs.
Alternative app stores, in particular, are a goldmine for shopping apps looking for their next big audience, or for the audience looking for their next big shopping app. Through the various mechanisms available for an app to be featured front and center in the app store, apps can practically take over the app store for the duration of the campaign. Be it Samsung’s EGP, Xiaomi’s or OPPO’s app of the day, video featuring, and more, there are a multitude of ways for an app to grab a user’s attention. What’s more, due to the less saturated and more diversified nature of mobile OEMs, shopping apps have a much better opportunity to stand out and carve out a user base for themselves. For a full primer on all the ad formats and placements available with mobile OEMs, check out our new mobile OEM ad formats guide!
Targeting and Retargeting
Leverage the comprehensive suite of mobile OEMs’ targeting capabilities to target potential users effectively. Use retargeting campaigns to re-engage users who have shown interest but haven’t completed the download or purchase process. One popular method of retargeting is through the use of custom push notifications. By leveraging user data together with mobile OEM targeting capabilities, shopping apps can capture the attention of users. These notifications can be triggered, for example, if a user has items in their cart but hasn’t checked them out yet, or when there are special offers on previously looked-at items, or to simply notify users of a sale or other special offer such as a deal of the day. The possibilities are endless.
Branding
Branding with mobile OEMs offers a significant advantage by reaching potential customers who are less exposed to traditional digital ad channels like Google or Facebook. This is achieved through multiple touchpoints such as, but aren’t limited to, lock screen ads, integrated newsfeed ads, splash ads in OEM system apps (like clock, video, or music apps), and push notification ads. These various ads ensure the branding campaign remains top of mind for users, engaging them seamlessly throughout their device use without disrupting their experience.
Installs and Ad Formats
Experiment with various ad formats such as video ads, interstitials, and native ads to find what resonates best with your audience. Highlight the unique value propositions of your app to encourage installs.
Additional Tactics
Consider influencer partnerships, content marketing, and social media promotions to broaden your reach and attract diverse user segments.
Magalu: The Proof is in the Pudding
Magazine Luiza (Magalu), a major Brazilian retailer, aimed to scale their app user base while maintaining a sustainable eCPI (estimated Cost-per-install) and high ROAS (Return on ad spend). They partnered with AVOW to leverage mobile OEM inventories and drive clean, fraud-free traffic to their app. The tactics and strategies employed by both Magalu and AVOW were validated not just by the success of the campaign, but by the aforementioned AppsFlyer report and the key takeaways they identified. Let us take a look at how Magalu and AVOW addressed these key areas.
Investing in UA Before the Holidays
AVOW and Magalu utilized the comprehensive suite of advertising options available with mobile OEMs to feature their app prominently in alternative app stores and in other ad formats during the peak holiday and shopping seasons. These included their own anniversaries and holidays such as Mother’s Day. AVOW also helped Magalu set up a Dynamic Preloads campaign, which not only helped immensely with their UA efforts but also led to monthly install volumes of over 100 thousand, with ROAS D30 quadrupling.
Focusing Efforts on the First Purchase
With so many new users acquired, Magalu had to focus their efforts on getting users to make their first purchase and subsequently keep making purchases. Throughout the campaign, not only were AVOW and Magalu successful in doing that, but also managed to increase their average basket size by 25%.
Diversifying Channels
Magalu diversified their channels by employing the use of programmatic, search, and social with mobile OEMs and AVOW. The results? Over 4 million daily impressions, a 12% CTR (click-through rate) on banners, over 143,000 monthly installs, and a 4% purchase rate, all through mobile OEM advertising alone. This diversification also allowed them to reach a vast untapped audience who exist away from programmatic, search and social.
In all, Magalu experienced such huge success with AVOW and mobile OEMs that they expanded their investment by 50% year-on-year, leading to a 9 times install growth and exceeding their ROAS targets by 15%. But Magalu’s success does not have to be limited to just them. Any shopping app can achieve similar or even better success with the right mobile advertising strategy, and most importantly, with the right partners.
Beyond the Download: Building User Loyalty
App Store Optimization (ASO) is an Ongoing Process
Continually optimize your app’s visibility and download rate through keyword updates, fresh content, and engaging visuals. ASO is not a one-time task but an ongoing effort to stay relevant.
Engage Your Users
Keep your users engaged with regular updates, personalized offers, and interactive features. Use push notifications wisely to inform users about new deals and updates without overwhelming them.
It is Your Turn for Success
Transforming your shopping app into a user magnet involves a blend of optimized app store listings, seamless user experience, strategic advertising in the right channels and with the right mobile OEM partners, and ongoing engagement. By implementing these tactics, you can significantly enhance your app’s visibility, user acquisition, and user retention.
Want More Tips and Tricks?
Interested in learning more about leveraging mobile OEMs for your app marketing strategy? Download our comprehensive Mobile OEM Advertising Guide today, or contact us to unlock the full potential of your shopping app!