Seven surprising facts about the open rates of push notifications

Push notifications are like stepping into the same space as your user, wherever they may be: at any moment, you can reach out and tap them on the shoulder. But just as in real life, a notification risks interrupting or annoying users if not done right. Every misstep reduces open rates and, in turn, retention and engagement. Notifications, in short, are both a powerful tool and a minefield for app developers. Luckily, Tapjoy has accumulated data from its network of over 500 million users to help guide your notifications. We studied over 4.4 million push notifications sent between February and August 2016, and here’s what we found — a vital list of dos and don’ts for a push.

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Fact #1: Open Rates Are Highest on Mondays

Notifications sent early in the week have the highest open rates: as users approach Friday and Saturday, the end of the workweek and upcoming vacation days seem to draw their attention away from their phones. But by Sunday, notification conversions are on the rise again. So you know the best days — but what about the right hour? Just after lunch, it turns out. A case study with partner developer Nikki showed that Tapjoy’s push notification solution lifted ARPDAU by up to 46% for a targeted sale campaign by sending notifications in each country’s native language at mid-day in their local time zones.

Fact #2: Android Makes Opening Easier

Developers are going to see better conversions from Android campaigns. The data reveals that Android users have higher open rates, at 3.10%, versus the 2.38% seen on iOS. There are definite factors behind these rates, one of which may be how each platform receives push notifications. On Android, information stays on the lock screen for as long as the user doesn’t interact with it. On Apple, announcements move to the notification tray once the user unlocks their phone.

Fact #3: Weekly Frequency Gets Opened The Most

Like Goldilocks and the Three Bears, app users don’t like too much or too little in their notifications. The “just right” point for scheduled reports appears weekly, with a 3.03% open rate, while daily or monthly deliveries are opened much less. It should be pointed out that while daily reports have the lowest available rate, that doesn’t mean they’re worthless. Over the seven days of a week, you’ll get more opens from your daily notifications than weekly, even with a lower percentage rate. But it’s important to ensure you aren’t spamming or annoying your users with daily reports.

Fact #4: The Phrase “Get you….” Gets More Opens

You know that getting the wording right will lead to higher open rates for your notifications — but which words? Tapjoy data shows that users respond strongly to terms that would work equally well in a sale:

These words offer something specific in exchange for opening. But be careful! Subtle differences lead to low open rates. “Come back” and “collect” perform poorly: these words don’t create a sense of urgency. Meanwhile, “win” is among the worst comments, with a 0.61% open rate for notifications, perhaps indicating that users are skeptical of chance-based rewards.