Putting the No in Notifications

Retention is the wrong word to use. (usually).

Yes, there’s a time and a place where it’s true - subscriptions, continuity, even grocery and restaurants segments. But across (most of) ecommerce retail, retention ain’t it.

We’ve wildly exaggerated the relationship with our shoppers.

The reality is that brands and retailers are ~generally~ on an order-by-order agreement with their shoppers.

The relationship is transactional. 

<Winces>

Shoppers don’t leave you. They simply don’t come back.

So it’s on the brand to bring them back. To encourage rentrer (si tu veux).

This is active, not passive. It requires real effort, and a thoughtful execution of engagement strategy. (and better measurement habits, too - though that’s another story)

And, getting a result is hard work. Across owned channels, this is clearly on display with app push.

Even with what is considered the bastion of loyal customers, it’s hard to capture attention.

The best performing brands and retailers earn an app open 7% of the time. Compare that with email open rates of ~20%, and the hurdle heightens for app push.

Over the past year, these rates have deteriorated, too - with top performers on iOS losing a point, and those an Android declining nearly 3 percentage points.

The battle for shopper attention is getting harder … and those charged with re-engaging shoppers are going to need to up their efforts (and likely update their tactics).