Push Notifications Only Used By 20% Of Marketers

The recent Cross Channel Marketing Report by Econsultancy revealed that only 20% of marketers use mobile push notifications as part of their marketing strategy, the market research site reported. Despite push notifications being a relatively easy way to communicate and engage with consumers – data shows that they can increase engagement by 40% and retention by 116% – the practice is underused by many.

Data gathered from 28,000 apps by Localytics found that the apps that used push notifications enjoyed a higher retention rate than those that didn’t – an almost three-fold increase, in fact. Specific uses of push notifications include informing customers of a sale – a tactic employed by retail conglomerates ASOS and Debenhams – as well as pushing content around the build up to infamous retail holiday’s, such as Valentine’s Day or Black Friday.

Some gambling apps also make use of push notifications by sending customers information on upcoming games or races, encouraging users to make an impulsive bet. Gambling companies also have to ability to tailor such notifications to the user’s gambling history, only sending them information on football matches related to their favourite team, for example.

Music stars and venues can also make the most of push notifications by sending fans details about upcoming gigs, ticket availability, blogs from the stars in question and other such content.

There are a number of pitfalls associated with push notifications, however, and getting the tone wrong can be extremely damaging to a brand. Although 69% of 1,000 consumers questioned by DMA stated that they had enabled push notifications, more than three quarters of those would disable the option if they were unhappy with the frequency and content. Things to avoid are spamming users, sending messages at inappropriate hours and not tailoring messages to the user’s preferences.