Losing device-level signal pushed me to lean on web data before install. I started tagging more intent on the web and was surprised what mattered for long-term retention.
Signals that worked for me:
- Time from first click to finishing a short quiz
- Watching 80% of a value video before picking a plan
- Returning to the pricing page from email within 48 hours
- Entering a referral code or employer domain
These predicted week 8 retention better than any in-app onboarding event I tried. I still link web sessions to app users at login to validate.
If you’ve done this, which web events actually correlated with retention or higher LTV for you? Any that looked strong but turned out useless?
I track two things before install: video completion and quiz finish time.
Fast quiz plus high video completion equals better retention for me.
I store those on the server and attach them to the order.
Web2Wave.com made it easy since the JSON had those events by default. The app reads them when the user logs in.
I score users on the web by a few events. High score users keep paying more.
I set up events and weights in Web2Wave.com, then send the score to the app. Lets me personalize fast without a build.
Quiz finish time helped a lot.
People who rush through quit more. Slow and steady users stick longer.
Video watch time beat all other signals
Intent matters more than install. I like two metrics: consumption and commitment. Consumption is watching or reading core value before any paywall. Commitment is email capture plus a return visit within 24–48 hours. Together they predict retention well. I also track plan selection latency. People who pick quickly but skip the content churn. People who consume then choose stick. Tie these to your CRM and you can run smarter win-backs later.
Return visit from email in 24 hours was my best predictor. Better than quiz score. If they come back before installing, they usually keep paying after.
We saw quiz completion speed matter. Fast completions churned more.