This article was co-authored by Kristina Narusk. There is an ever-increasing number of apps competing for people’s attention and their wallets. At the same time, as smartphones become increasingly affordable and ubiquitous, the diversity of the audience for any app is growing. To maximize the opportunity presented by these expanding…

Discover insights and hear how other developers have optimized engagement to successfully retain users in the long-term. — Most app developers aim to have an engaged user base who find their app valuable and return to it on a regular basis. Also, anyone who’s ever bothered to hit the ‘install’ button hopes that the app delivers on it’s promise to fulfill a need, or solve a problem! Blindly…

Insights on what users value most in apps and how to build sustainable engagement around them — Successfully engaging and retaining users is a core challenge for many developers. We commissioned a consumer research with Sparkler, a digital insight and strategy consultancy, to understand why some apps become favorites while others are quickly forgotten, deleted, or replaced. What we’ve learned is that just as in nature, apps…

Q&A with Samuel Hulick, founder of the site ‘User Onboard’ — Samuel Hulick is the author of The Elements of User Onboarding and the UX designer behind the website User Onboard, where he publishes “teardowns” analysis of the onboarding processes of some of the most popular apps. He defines user onboarding as any time there’s an opportunity to increase the likelihood…

Techniques to bridge our intention-action gap for the better — Early on in my role as an Apps partner manager at Google Play, I was drawn towards the Self-Improvement apps space because their persuasive influence transcends screen-level interactions. Their mission is to persuade people to take real-life actions that lead to long-term behavior change and ultimately shape how they live…

Tips to better convert free users into subscribers — One key challenge subscription businesses face is that many users don’t perceive the value of paying. Google Play teamed up with The Behavioural Architects to explore how behavioural economics (BE) can be used to better communicate to free users the value of upgrading to paid app subscriptions. The team collaborated…

Post 3 of 3: Sustainable techniques to influence user behavior for the better — “[Smartphones] have vast potential to influence consumer welfare — both for better and for worse.” — Brain Drain: The Mere Presence of One’s Own Smartphone Reduces Available Cognitive Capacity The proliferation of smartphones in our lives presents untapped opportunities for consumers and developers alike. In the first two blog posts…

Post 2 of 3: What apps can learn from insights rooted in behavioral economics, psychology, and gamification — In the previous blog post, I introduced a three-step process to optimize for a specific desired behavior (focusing on the first two steps): Step 1: Simplify the desired behavior. Encourage action from engaged, motivated users by reducing (and ideally removing) barriers that prevent it from happening.

Post 1 of 3: Simplify, trigger, motivate — a three-step approach to optimize for user behavior — If you work on mobile apps, you have the potential to influence the actions of millions of people every single day. Whether it’s to engage with a new feature, visit your app daily, or subscribe to your premium product, you likely have in mind a key behavior you wish more…