9 Ways to Minimize the Mobile App Uninstall Rate

So you have got an amazing mobile application developed for your business and also invested a huge amount in its marketing, but still not getting enough downloads and user count. Sounds familiar? Well, this is the case not only with you!

Owing to the increasing number of smartphones, the number of mobile apps is also upsurging at a faster pace. According to the statistics of statista, in the first quarter of 2018, there were 3.8 million apps on Google Play and 2 million apps on Apple App Store.

In such a scenario where hundreds of mobile apps are getting introduced almost every day to the app stores, it’s quite challenging to retain your app in the user’s mobile device.

Here are a few ways through which apps uninstallation rate can be considerably reduced.

1. User-friendly Interface

   Usually, users prefer apps with user-friendly interface and simple functionality, design, and layouts. An app with complex features has a higher uninstallation rate. Thus, developers must pay more attention to the UI/UX of the app. For optimizing user interface and user experience and to maximize engagement and conversion:

   • Perform A/B testing
   • Ensure that contrast, color, and fonts are pleasing to the eye.
   • Provide an outstanding and exceptional user interface in the mobile app.
   • Keep the overall UI of the app uniform so that users can easily identify the usage pattern all through the application.

2. App Performance

   The app performance matters a lot. If your app takes more than 3 seconds to load, there are higher chances of your users to abandon your app and switch to a faster alternative. Developers can improve the app performance by:

   • Monitoring the critical drop-off points and taking corrective actions.
   • Keeping track of app performance such as features, loading time, etc., before launching the app.
   • Reducing the distractions like auto-playing videos, pop-ups, in-app ads, etc.
   • Maintaining data about users’ engagement with your app to track the performance.

3. Keep the Registration Process Simple

   A complex login process and complicated registration process asking for lots of details drive the users away from your app, no matter how captivating is the user interface of the app. Therefore, keep the registration form simpler and provide the option to users to log in with either their phone number or email. You can also provide the choice of signing in with Google+ or Facebook account. This approach will help build the trust of users in your app and significantly reduce the uninstallation rate of the application.

4. Assure Privacy of Customer Data

   In today’s era, users are security conscious and according to reports, most of the users uninstall applications due to privacy concerns. In order to overcome the security concerns of the users,

   • Make privacy and security policies easily accessible to the app users and keep them up to date.
   • Gather that much user information only that is required to make the app work and store it, if necessary, using secure methods.

5. Proactive Support

   According to a study, 95% of unhappy users uninstall the app due to unpleasant experience and only 5% of them report the problem. As the app store offers various alternatives to users, it becomes difficult to retain customers once they switch to another app. Thus, reach out to them and provide proactive support before they abandon your application.

   • Provide the right channel to the users to convey their concerns and address them as quickly as possible.
   • Implement in-app support/help feature in the app for a seamless user experience.
   • You can also make use of live chats to provide instant support.

6. Keep the App Updated

   As more and more businesses are inclining towards mobile apps, there are high chances that some of them might be catering to the same target market and offering the same stuff you do. In such circumstances, one of the ways to retain the loyalty of the customers to your mobile app is – keep it updated.

   • Introduce small bug fixes to let your users know that you are keen to improve your app continuously.
   • You can keep the app relevant by introducing new content and features.
   • Instead of releasing major updates every other day, launch updates in a modest number to enhance user engagement.

7. Add a Touch of Personalization

   Prepare your marketing strategy around customer behavior and user trends. You can leverage predictive analysis techniques to take a look at the historical and real-time user behavior (in-app purchases, frequency of app usage, likes and dislikes, etc.) and on the basis of this data, you can create a tailored message to engage the users. The contextual messages make your mobile application more relatable to the users, thereby minimizing the number of uninstalls.

8. Keep up with Your USP

   It is the USP (Unique Selling Proposition) of your app that makes users install it over other competitors. Ensure that the selling proposition of your app is unique and offers value to the users. Also, optimize user retention strategy from time to time to engage with new customers and retain the existing ones.

9. Improve User Engagement

   Many applications ask for unnecessary permissions to access certain functions and data. These unnecessary permissions may result in app uninstallation. In order to overcome this issue and enhance user engagement, mobile app developers

   • Must design the apps in such a manner that they do not ask for needless permissions.
   • Prepare custom permission settings UI, where user can check the usability of the permission and then can enable the permission.

The fate of your app greatly depends on the features and functionalities that it offers to the users. As a matter of fact, getting an app developed is not a tough row to hoe, the actual challenge is to keep users engaged with your mobile application. One of the ways to retain your app in user’s device is, engage with customers via multiple channels including push notifications, in-app messaging, and email and keep them reminding about your app. For getting more insights into how you can offer value to customers through your app, you can consult an experienced mobile app development agency.