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RESEARCH, ANALYSIS & TRENDS

MAU, WAU and DAU - types of usage indicators Understanding app retention in stages of Day 1, Day 3,
Day 7 and Day 30, helps businesses plan out their
Though the MAU of an app is useful in judging an app’s app’s growth trajectory and critically guide product
growth over time, MAU in itself is not enough in marketing and investment decisions.
assessing apps that deliver value which is realized
more frequently -- on a weekly and daily basis. App Store Optimization (ASO) - Stand out from the
Measurement on a more frequent basis is key, crowd
especially for verticals such as transport, where apps
are used on an everyday basis. ASO refers to the process of improving the visibility of a
mobile app in an app store. With approximately 2
This is where Weekly Active Users (WAU) and Daily million iOS App Store apps and 2.5 million Google Play
Active Users (DAU) come into play. DAU is an Store apps, finding inventive ways make an app
especially important metric to track for social, distinct, benefits the long-term health of an app. Using
communications, utility, photo/video, entertainment and the right keywords is essential in configuring and
news apps, while WAU is a better indicator of evolving a sound app store optimization (ASO)
engagement and reach for shopping, finance, quick- strategy.
serve restaurants, productivity and transportation apps,
given a comparatively greater frequency in usage. Case in point: the search volume for “Black Friday”
increased 115%, at the time of the sale, in November
Sessions and time spent per user signal user 2017. Simultaneously, difficulty ranking for that
attention keyword also grew 185% in that period, which indicates
that many apps were trying to capitalize on that
Humans are creatures of habit. Incorporating an app
into a user’s digital habits would thus naturally increase keyword. As such, apps need to double-down on their
the frequency of usage of that app. The frequency of ASO efforts as well as paid app store search ads to
stay competitive, especially during peak periods.
app use can be derived from sessions per user,
typically highest for social and communications apps. In With the total time spent in mobile apps projected to
2017, for instance, social media apps dominated the top exceed 3.5 trillion hours in 2021, we are highly likely to
10 MAU rankings in Singapore. see app metrics increasingly cited as indicators of
business growth and success, rather than superficial
Sessions per user is also useful in indicating customer download numbers. Virtually every industry has been
satisfaction and revenue growth in many other verticals,
such as quick-serve restaurants, finance and banking, disrupted by the rise of the mobile app. It is therefore
ride-sharing and shopping. essential that business leaders and investors
understand how these metrics can be applied to your
In addition, time spent per user is another pivotal digital and mobile strategy as tools to effectively
indicator for apps that seek to deliver an immersive connect you with your customers and enable your
experience to users, such as entertainment and video, business to thrive in this ever-changing world. ◊
education, media and even shopping. Essentially, the
longer a user stays in-app, the greater the likelihood of By Jaede Tan,
them making a purchase. Regional Director, App Annie

Retention = Revenue Jaede drives business development
and sales efforts for App Annie
One of the biggest fallacies prevalent in the app space - across Australasia, India and
especially among companies who are not mobile first - Southeast Asia. He is an expert on
the key role App Annie data plays in
is the belief that download numbers is the all- strategic decision making, especially
encompassing metric to consider in an app strategy. for companies looking to grow in the
Retention is a critical metric to take into account, as fast-moving industry of mobile apps.
well. With the app economy more saturated today than
it has ever been, users are likely to delete the apps if
their user experience isn’t instantly satisfying, and move
on to the next available app.

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