Do you know the difference between quantitative vs qualitative analytics?

Up until a few years ago, there was basically only one kind of analytics for mobile apps- quantitative analytics.

Quantitative analytics, or as some may call it “traditional analytics”, focuses on measuring aspects of an app that can be represented numbers. While quantitative analytics can supply developers with important numerical metrics such as the number of specific conversions in a funnel or percent decrease in loyal users, it does not provide direct insights that explain the “whys” behind those numbers. This deficiency quickly became a notable pain point for many mobile app teams, who often felt like (and still feel like) they did not possess a full picture of what was going on inside of their app. In particular, there were so many aspects of their app’s UX that they wanted to explore and examine, yet no tools available to provide them with the answers they needed.

Enter- qualitative analytics.

What is qualitative analytics? First, let’s quickly cover the definition of “qualitative” to emphasize its unique value. Quantitative is information about quantities/numbers. Qualitative is information about qualities such as feelings and experiences. Basically, information that cannot be measured by numbers. Given that mobile user experience (UX) is such a unique, subjective entity, that cannot effectively be represented by numbers, qualitative analytics is perfect for analyzing it.

How does qualitative analytics measure mobile UX? By allowing mobile app teams to actually see how users behave within their app. Via user recordings and touch heat maps, qualitative analytics enables mobile app makers to obtain the most actionable insights on their users from both a single-user level and an aggregate user level. With these potent visual answers,developers can pinpoint exactly where they need to optimize or troubleshoot certain aspects of their app without any guesswork. Finally developers have a crystal-clear, full picture as to how users behave in their app. Beautiful eh?

To help you quickly grasp the major differences between quantitative and qualitative, we’ve designed this nifty little comparison table that you can easily bookmark, share, or print out for future reference.

Want to dive deeper into the benefits of qualitative analytics? Grab your free guide: The Definitive Guide to Qualitative Analytics (no statistics degree needed). :)