Media Apps: 2022 Mobile Customer Engagement Benchmarks

The following data and information on Media apps is from our 2022 Mobile App Customer Engagement Report.

Subcategories for Media Apps: News, Telco, Technology, Games, Sports, Music

The Media and Entertainment app category is broad, encompassing everything from news to games to sports, and consumer expectations and behavior vary between industries.

“Thanks to the power of mobile, this cutting edge technology is at the fingertips of everyone with a cell phone right now,” Chip Kanne, Head of North America Emerging Sales, Snap

Rather than a benchmark comparison, below is a short summary of the six subcategories included in our data: News, Telco, Technology, Games, Sports, and Music.

Data included:

• Ratings and reviews
• Retention
• Interaction and response rates
• Surveys
• Popular phrases
• Popular phrases with sentiment distribution
• Consumer sentiment
• Expressed customer emotion
• Shifted emotions
• Expressed consumer sentiment by subcategory
• Shifted emotions by subcategory
• Retention rates for Fans and Risks

→DOWNLOAD THE FULL 2022 BENCHMARK REPORT HERE

Summary of Media Apps in 2021

News apps (global news networks, newspapers, etc.)

While the news cycle was less volatile in 2021 than in 2020, it certainly did not slow. News apps experienced retention rates higher than the overall averages: 79% for 30 days (67% overall), 71% for 90 days (58% overall), and 58% for annual (44% overall). When the Love Dialog was introduced, 90-day retention increased to an astonishing 91% (79% overall). Driven by breaking news, News apps experienced an average 36% interaction rate and an average 91% response rate, both higher than the overall averages of 26% and 93%. Consumers of News apps were generally happy, providing a Love Percent of 64%, and an average star rating of 4.6. In the same vein, News apps saw a high percentage of shifted emotions at 18%, but the majority of the shifts were from Risk to Fan. However, while mobile teams surveyed 37% of their consumers for feedback, only 8% responded (13% overall)—an area for improvement in 2022.

Telco (communications providers, wireless networks, etc.)

Retention for Telco apps fell behind overall averages, with 30-day retention at 53% (67% overall), 90-day retention at 42% (58% overall), and annual retention at only 27% (44% overall). Introducing the Love Dialog dramatically boosted 90-day retention to 79%—an action Telco mobile teams can take more regularly in 2022. However, when Telco apps looked at retention between Fans and Risks segments, their numbers went way up—particularly for consumers who had shifted to Risk. A low number of interactions likely had an impact on retention, with only a 12% interaction rate (26% overall), although response rates remained relatively high at 84% (91% overall). Telco apps prompted 38% of their consumers for surveys (28% overall) and received an impressive 32% response rate (13% overall).

Technology (media creation, connectivity, etc.)

Technology apps experienced fewer emotional shifts in 2021 than the overall average, with only 8% of consumers changing how they felt about their in-app experiences (14% overall). Average retention rates were lower than overall averages throughout the year: 30-day retention was 42% (67% overall), 90-day retention was 33% (overall was 58%), and annual retention was only 20% (44% overall). Showing the Love Dialog helped increase 90-day retention to 67%. These low numbers are partly due to not reaching out to enough consumers. Technology apps only prompted 6% of their consumers for surveys (28% overall), but met the overall average response rate of 13%. The data shows that consumers of these apps want to be asked for their feedback, and it’s up to mobile teams to prioritize asking for it in 2022.

Games (mobile games, gaming studios, etc.)

Games apps experience low retention in 2021, with a 30-day retention rate of 26% (67% overall), a 90-day retention rate of 17% (58% overall), and an annual retention rate of just 6% (44% overall). While high churn is common in the gaming marketplace, these numbers are quite low and can be improved by taking a different approach to consumer feedback. A big contributor to Games apps’ low retention was not reaching out to a large enough group of consumers in order to gauge sentiment and build out product roadmaps that work for the majority. On average, Games apps interacted with 5% of their consumers (26% overall) and as a result, received a 43% response rate (91% overall). The Games marketplace is competitive, and apps averaged a 4.32-star rating, with many more one-star ratings than other subcategories in Media and Entertainment. In 2022, Games mobile teams should revisit their product roadmaps to determine high-value engagement points throughout their apps that won’t disrupt the experience as a way to increase ROI by improving retention.

Sports (leagues, teams, betting, etc.)

Sports apps interacted with a high number of consumers, with an average interaction rate of 35% (26% overall) and an average response rate of 94% (91% overall). However, surveys as an interaction type fell a bit short. Sports apps only prompted an average of 18% of their consumers (28% overall) for feedback, although they had a strong average survey response rate of 17% (13% overall). Prompting more consumers for surveys is an opportunity for mobile teams to improve upon in 2022 and beyond. Retention for the category was slightly lower than overall averages: 30-day retention was 59% (67% overall), 90-day retention was 38% (58% overall), and annual retention was 33% (44% overall). This is mostly due to seasonality (e.g. a consumer can disappear for the off-season then reappear the next season).

Music (streaming, broadcasting, etc.)

Music apps saw decent retention in 2021, with 30-day retention averaging 62% (67% overall), 90-day retention averaging 57% (58% overall), and annual retention meeting the overall average of 44%. 90-day retention improved to 77% when consumers were shown the Love Dialog. Music apps only prompted 3% of consumers for surveys, well below the overall average of 28%. Despite the low percentage of people prompted, the average response rate to surveys was 16%—above the 13% overall average. In 2022, mobile teams have an opportunity to proactively reach more of their consumers for feedback to improve retention and get ahead of negative emotional shifts in sentiment. When asked, consumers of Music apps generally loved their brand experiences: the category averaged an extremely high Love Percent at 81% (64% overall).

Bonus reading and resources

• Q&A with Digital Transformation Experts: Josh Fischer from Spotify
• Mobile Marketing Tips for Lifestyle Apps
• Q&A with Expert Product Managers: Tom Padula from SiriusXM

Want to see how the Media category compares to the macro trends we identified in our 2022 Mobile Customer Engagement Report? Download your copy here.

Visual benchmark data for Media apps

→DOWNLOAD THE FULL 2022 BENCHMARK REPORT HERE