Most merchants launch a mobile app, watch the install count climb, and stop there. Installs are satisfying, but they tell you almost nothing about whether your app is doing its job: driving repeat purchases and keeping customers coming back.
Here is a framework for what to measure, how to read the numbers, and what to do when they look off.
The Five Metrics That Actually Matter
1. Monthly Active Users (MAU)
MAU is the count of unique users who open your app at least once in a calendar month. It is the most honest measure of whether your app has an active audience or just an installed one.
During your first year, aim for 10 to 15% month-on-month growth. If you are sitting below that, the problem is usually promotion, not the app itself. Your app needs consistent traffic from email, SMS, and in-store QR codes, not just an app store listing.
2. Push Notification Opt-In Rate
This is the percentage of users who grant permission to receive push notifications. Aim for 60% or above.
If you are falling short of that, the timing of your opt-in prompt is likely the issue. Asking for permission the moment someone opens the app for the first time is the fastest way to get a refusal. Prompt after a user has browsed a few products or completed a first purchase, when they already have a reason to want to hear from you.
3. Push Notification Open Rate
Well-segmented push sends should achieve an open rate of 25 to 40%. If yours is consistently below 15%, your targeting or your copy needs attention.
Low open rates usually mean messages are going to the wrong people or saying something too generic. A blanket "sale on now" to your entire user base will always perform worse than a targeted send to users who have viewed a specific product category in the last seven days.
4. App Conversion Rate
This is orders divided by sessions. Your baseline target: your app conversion rate should be two to three times higher than your mobile web conversion rate after 90 days.
If it is not, you have a product page or checkout problem, not a traffic problem. The app removes a lot of friction by design, so underperformance here almost always points to something specific in the purchase path.
5. Day 30 Retention (D30)
D30 tells you what percentage of users who installed the app on a given day are still using it 30 days later. If that number is below 20%, you have an engagement problem.
Low retention usually means users installed during a promotional push, found nothing to bring them back, and moved on. Fix this with a proper onboarding sequence, well-timed push notifications in the first two weeks, and a clear reason to return.
What App Dashboards Show vs What You Actually Need
Most default analytics dashboards serve up sessions and installs. Both are useful, but neither tells you where purchases are being lost.
What you actually need is funnel data, broken down into three stages:
- Product view to add-to-cart
- Add-to-cart to checkout initiation
- Checkout initiation to completed order
Each stage should have a visible drop-off rate. If 60% of users who view a product add it to cart but only 20% of those reach checkout, the problem is between the basket and the checkout screen. If most users reach checkout but do not complete it, something is wrong there specifically, whether that is unexpected shipping costs, too many form fields, or a payment method gap.
Talmee's analytics dashboard shows MAU, push opt-in rate, per-notification conversion, and full funnel data for each product category, so you can see exactly where users are dropping off rather than guessing.
How to Read Your Push Notification Data Properly
Open rate on its own is vanity. A push message that gets opened but generates no orders is just a distraction for your customers.
The right way to evaluate push performance is to measure orders attributed to each notification within 24 hours of the send. From there, calculate a revenue-per-push figure for each message type. Over time, this shows you which message types (new arrivals, restocks, price drops, personalised recommendations) drive real commercial value and which are burning out your audience.
Track this per send, not as an average. Averages hide your best performers and your worst ones.
What To Do When Your Numbers Are Low
Low MAU usually means you are not promoting your app consistently enough outside the app store. Email your list. Put QR codes in packaging. Mention the app at checkout.
Low push opt-in rate almost always comes down to prompt timing. Move the permission request to a moment when the user already has a reason to say yes.
Low conversion rate points to the product page or checkout. Run through your own checkout on a test device and note every point of friction.
Low D30 retention means your onboarding or early engagement sequence is not doing its job. Users need a reason to return within the first week or they are unlikely to come back at all.
How Often To Review Your Analytics
Different metrics move at different speeds, so they need different review cycles:
- Weekly: push notification performance (open rate, conversion rate, revenue per push)
- Monthly: MAU trends and D30 retention
- Quarterly: app versus mobile web conversion gap
The quarterly review matters most. If your app conversion rate is not meaningfully outperforming mobile web after three to six months, something structural needs to change, whether that is the app experience, the promotion strategy, or both.
Start With the Basics
You do not need a data team. You need five numbers, a funnel view, and a consistent review habit. Get those in place and you will have a far clearer picture of what your app is doing for your business than most merchants ever achieve.
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