Been pushing web traffic to download our app instead of just using the mobile site.
Everyone says app users are higher quality but honestly not seeing much difference in retention or spend. Maybe I’m missing something here.
What’s your actual experience been?
The download step acts like a filter but you need to measure what matters for your business.
I track revenue per visitor instead of just looking at app user behavior alone. Sometimes fewer downloads actually means better profit because the people who do convert pay more.
Try running both paths for a month and compare total revenue, not just user quality metrics.
App users typically spend more per session but it does not always mean a higher lifetime value. The quality boost comes from users who choose to download. They show more commitment to your product. Timing is critical. If you push the download too soon, you risk losing conversions. Let users get value from the web first, then encourage app download when they are engaged. Be sure to track cohort LTV over 90 days to really see if the quality difference is beneficial.
Really depends on your funnel setup. I’ve seen mixed results across different verticals.
On a dating app, web-to-app users had 22% better 30-day retention. The friction of downloading actually filtered out casual browsers.
But for an e-commerce client, it killed conversions. People wanted to buy right away, not jump through hoops to download something.
The key thing I learned - track your conversion points separately. Web users who download mid-session behave differently than those who bounce and download later. Most people lump them together and get confused data.
What type of app are you running? The category makes a huge difference in whether the download friction is worth it.
Push happens when users already want more features.
App users may stay longer but the download process can turn off some. We often see quality improve but total conversions might decrease.