Measurement
61 post(s)
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App Store Marketing Weekly – Week 21 (2026)
This week’s theme: stop debating retention in the abstract. Benchmarks (and definitions) turn ‘churn feels high’ into an actionable diagnosis, and they force the right question: did users reach the proof moment you promised?
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Google System Services (May 2026): the Play changes you feel before you can name them
A credited summary of Google’s May 2026 System Services release notes (Play services v26.19 + Play Store v51.5), focused on what app teams should watch: AppFunctions groundwork, credential manager expansion, and new Store discovery surfaces like Play Collections.
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Brazil looks next for alternative iOS app marketplaces: iOS 26.5 adds a ‘default marketplace’ setting
A credited summary of 9to5Mac’s report that iOS 26.5 introduces an ‘App Installation’ setting for Brazilian users, suggesting Apple is preparing a marketplace-based model (not just web distribution). The practical implication: discovery, trust, and measurement may fragment beyond the EU.
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RevenueCat Charts v3 is a data pipeline rebuild, not a UI refresh (real-time charts, more stable history)
RevenueCat rebuilt its analytics infrastructure and is rolling out Charts v3: near real-time chart updates, cleaner subscription modeling across stores, and reporting changes like refunds no longer rewriting historic periods.
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Mobile growth after privacy: stop chasing perfect attribution, build a signal system
Mobile Growth Association’s thesis: privacy didn’t remove data, it redistributed it. Winning teams integrate platform signals, cohorts, and incrementality tests into a single decision system.
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Better ratings are not just social proof, they are a growth gate (17k-app dataset)
ConsultMyApp analysed 17,128 US App Store apps and found a clear pattern: the top of the charts is dominated by 4.5+ rated apps, and rating improvements can lift organic visibility and paid conversion at the same time.
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Phiture: A practical mobile app marketing strategy for 2026 (with real examples)
Phiture argues the funnel is a loop: retention drives everything, ASO is a continuous cadence, and post-ATT paid growth is mostly a creative and measurement problem.
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Android 17 is making location permissions more ‘in-the-moment’ (and harder to over-collect by accident)
Android 17 introduces a new ‘location button’ for one-time precise location, stronger transparency indicators, improved coarse location in low-density areas, and a redesigned runtime permission dialog. This is privacy work, but it also reduces friction in the moments where users actually want location to work.
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A primetime TV mention is mostly a brand-demand event (and you can measure it)
ConsultMyApp uses MarineTraffic’s Late Show mention as a clean ‘outside-in’ experiment: downloads jumped ~57%, rankings moved fast, and the biggest lift showed up in branded search, not generic category demand.
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App Store Connect Analytics adds subscription + IAP metrics: cohorts, benchmarks, and new exportable reports
A credited summary of Apple’s March 25, 2026 update: App Store Connect Analytics now includes monetization and subscription metrics, cohort analysis, peer benchmarks, and two new subscription reports via the Analytics Reports API.
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Apple: App Store Connect Analytics adds IAP + subscription metrics (cohorts, benchmarks, exports)
Apple refreshed App Store Connect Analytics with 100+ new monetization metrics, cohort analysis, peer benchmarks, and new exportable subscription reports.
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OneSignal’s 2026 State of Customer Engagement: AI filtering, behavior triggers, and why the first 30 days still decide retention
A credited summary of OneSignal’s 2026 engagement report: OS-level AI filtering is becoming the new inbox, behavior-triggered messages outperform broadcasts, and Journeys win by sending fewer, better-timed messages.
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Apple launches Apple Business: device management, app distribution, and local ads in Maps (coming this summer)
A credited summary of Apple’s March 24, 2026 announcement: Apple Business unifies Business Connect, Business Manager, and Business Essentials, adds built-in MDM and brand/location tools, and introduces local ads in Apple Maps (US/Canada, coming this summer).
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Amplitude’s AI Agents pitch: always-on analysts, Slack answers, and ‘insight to action’ workflows
Amplitude is betting that analytics bottlenecks aren’t charts, they’re time. Their new AI Agents aim to proactively surface issues, build cohorts, and trigger actions (guides, emails) without a human living in dashboards.
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Airbridge: why MMP pricing is still opaque (and how to evaluate it anyway)
Airbridge argues mobile attribution vendors keep pricing behind sales calls to protect margins, and lays out a simple ‘transparent pricing’ checklist for startup teams budgeting measurement.
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Moburst: Mobile attribution in 2026 (what marketers actually need to know)
A practical snapshot of the 2026 measurement reality: iOS attribution is now AdAttributionKit-first with volume thresholds, Android still has deterministic signal (for now), and the only stable answer is a layered stack (platform postbacks + MMP SSOT + first-party + incrementality).
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RevenueCat’s 2026 subscription benchmarks: Day 0 churn, hard paywalls, and the missing ‘middle class’
A credited summary of RevenueCat’s 2026 subscription trends: growth is polarizing, most trial cancels happen on day 0, longer trials can convert better, and Android ‘billing leak’ is still a major hidden revenue driver.
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Airbridge: why ‘installs’ are not ROI, and what an MMP is actually for in 2026
Airbridge argues that the core measurement problem is trust (not data), and lays out why independent attribution plus cohort revenue is still the only sane way to make budget decisions under SKAdNetwork and signal loss.
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RevenueCat: Appstack integration closes the loop from attribution to subscription revenue
If your MMP stops at installs, you end up optimizing spend for clicks, not LTV. RevenueCat’s Appstack integration maps attribution data into paywall targeting, and can forward subscription lifecycle events back to Appstack.
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How the Apple Ads auction actually works (hint: relevance gates, then bid + predicted performance)
ConsultMyApp analysed a real UK Apple Ads auction dataset and found semantic relevance isn’t the whole story. This summary captures the practical takeaway: treat exact/broad/search match as different eligibility gates, then manage Search Terms like a safety system.
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Feroot: CCPA for mobile apps (SDK tracking risks and the compliance gap)
A sharp reminder that ‘we passed App Store review’ is not a privacy program. Regulators increasingly expect publishers to actively govern SDK data flows, propagate opt-outs into SDK configs, and detect drift when vendors change runtime behavior.
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Braze adds a Messaging Diagnostics dashboard (and a few ‘ops’ upgrades that reduce campaign pain)
Braze’s March 5, 2026 release is mostly ‘plumbing’, but it’s the kind that saves teams from silent delivery failures: a new Messaging Diagnostics dashboard, better CSV import validation, and clearer multichannel rate limiting.
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RevenueCat’s State of Subscription Apps 2026: the middle is shrinking, and paywalls still win conversion
Across 115k+ apps and $16B in revenue, RevenueCat sees a widening gap: leaders are compounding fast while mid-tier subscription apps are stuck in low single-digit growth.
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AI retention is mostly ‘better timing + less spam’: a practical checklist for engagement teams
Braze lays out how AI can improve retention by predicting churn risk, personalizing onboarding, and optimizing send-time and frequency across channels. The useful takeaway: coordination and suppression rules matter as much as the model.
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App Store Marketing Weekly – Week 10 (2026)
This week’s highest-signal App Store + Google Play moves, plus what to do next (age assurance, ads, and release-risk).
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Choosing customer retention software for mobile apps: match the tool to your ‘retention DNA’
A credited summary of Pushwoosh’s 2026 guide to retention platforms: start with your churn pattern, then pick tools that support re-engagement, in-app activation, and analytics without buying an enterprise suite you won’t use.
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App Store Connect Analytics got better in 2026, but it still won’t answer your monetization ‘why’
A credited summary of FunnelFox’s breakdown of what App Store analytics is good for (visibility, installs, high-level subs) versus what remains structurally hidden post-ATT: attribution, creative-level revenue, and the steps between install and subscription.
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SKAdNetwork 4.0: three postbacks, lockWindow, and what to change in your measurement plan
A credited summary of Airbridge’s SKAN 4.0 explainer: multiple conversion windows, earlier postbacks via lockWindow, and new coarse conversion values (plus the trade-offs).
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Google Ads budget pacing is changing for ad-scheduled campaigns (and it can double spend)
Google will pace budgets to the full 30.4x monthly limit even when campaigns only run on scheduled days. If you use ad scheduling as a guardrail (like weekends-only), expect spend to jump unless you adjust daily budgets.
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Google Ads is changing budget pacing for ad-scheduled campaigns (watch your monthly caps)
Google will try to reach the full 30.4x monthly cap within your scheduled window, which can spike spend for ‘weekends only’ or limited-hour campaigns.
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Cross-platform subscriptions: how to share entitlements between iOS and Android (without lying to users)
RevenueCat breaks down why ‘one user, two billing systems’ is so messy, and what a sane entitlement sync architecture looks like.
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Subscription growth in 2026: why install-level attribution is lying to you
Airbridge argues that subscription + AI apps should optimize channels by retention and LTV, not installs or trials, and explains where platform dashboards mislead post-ATT/SKAN.
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Airbridge: why your attribution numbers don’t match (and how to stop arguing about dashboards)
Ad platforms, MMPs, and first-party systems measure different things. The fix is a measurement hierarchy, not forcing reports to reconcile perfectly.
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App Store Marketing Weekly – Week 09 (2026)
This week’s highest-signal App Store and Google Play moves, plus what to do next (ads, CPPs, policy, and measurement).
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Alternative iOS app stores are real now: what changes for discovery, trust, and measurement
A credited summary of TechCrunch’s roundup of alternative iOS app stores in the EU (DMA) and Japan (MSCA), plus the practical marketing implications: fragmented discovery, support/refunds, and new fee economics.
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Watch-only app? You might be marketing in the dark (until you ship an iOS companion)
A credited summary of Ravi Shankar’s discovery that watch-only apps can hide App Store Connect analytics, plus a practical checklist to avoid flying blind.
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Adjust’s Mobile App Trends 2026: why integrated measurement is becoming the new baseline
A credited summary of Adjust’s Mobile App Trends 2026 report announcement: installs up, sessions up, ATT opt-ins creeping higher, and the practical shift to cross-platform (web+app) measurement.
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Google App Campaigns in 2026: what changed, what’s still a black box, and how to win anyway
Adapty’s 2026 Google App Campaigns playbook: what’s new (Web→App Connect, Shorts, AAK), how to structure campaigns, and the tracking/creative rules that actually move results.
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App Store Marketing Weekly – Week 07 (2026)
The week’s highest-signal ASO + Apple Ads updates, with what it changes for app marketers.
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iOS 26 adoption (Feb 2026): why your min-version calls should stay boring
MacRumors summarizes Apple’s latest iOS 26 / iPadOS 26 adoption stats. Useful for planning support windows, QA matrices, and rollout comms.
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Apple Ads in 2026: why March’s extra search slots will reset your benchmarks
MobileAction’s view on Apple Ads’ March 2026 search results expansion: what changes, what won’t, and the measurement guardrails to put in place before your baselines drift.
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AppsFlyer: real-time TikTok iOS optimization (and why ‘SRN real-time’ still needs reporting discipline)
AppsFlyer explains how its Advanced SRN can send faster conversion signals for TikTok iOS campaigns than waiting for delayed SKAdNetwork postbacks, plus the practical setup and caveats.
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Mobile app performance testing is growth work (not just QA)
Phiture’s practical case for treating app performance as a growth lever: crash-free sessions, ANR thresholds, real-device coverage, and continuous monitoring to protect ratings, retention, and store visibility.
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Mobile analytics + consent in 2026: patterns (and anti-patterns) that keep you compliant and trusted
A practical summary of Sachith Dassanayake’s guide to privacy, consent flows, and analytics initialization in mobile apps — with a checklist you can ship.
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Marketing data platforms in 2026: why stacks fail (and what ‘single source of truth’ really means)
LayerFive’s 2026 guide to Marketing Data Platforms (MDPs): why tool sprawl breaks measurement, and what an infrastructure-first stack looks like.
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AI-driven app discovery is creating an attribution blind spot
Branch’s AIO App Attribution announcement and what it implies for ASO/SEO as ChatGPT-style discovery grows.
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A practical customer engagement strategy for 2026 (data, orchestration, AI, measurement)
A credited summary of Braze’s ‘customer engagement strategy’ guide, focusing on the four pillars (understanding, orchestration, AI personalization, and measurement) and what to operationalise in an app lifecycle program.
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Activation metrics that actually predict retention (subscription apps)
A credited summary of RevenueCat’s framework for defining activation around ‘first value’ and ‘core value’, and testing whether an action predicts retention (instead of just looking good in onboarding dashboards).
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Preparing for Apple Ads’ extra Search Results placements: what to watch, what to tighten
ConsultMyApp’s take on the March 2026 Apple Ads Search Results expansion, with a practical checklist for avoiding surprise CPI spikes as more inventory goes live.
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Apple Ads automation in 2026: what to automate (and what not to)
AppTweak’s Apple Ads automation guide: where automation helps first, and the guardrails to keep it from scaling mistakes.
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What app buyers actually want in 2026: distribution edge, clean numbers, and a real moat
RevenueCat interviewed 10 app acquirers about what they look for in deals. The useful bits for founders and growth leads: what counts as ‘quality’ revenue, what makes a funnel defensible, and what diligence questions you should prep for now.
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Google Play’s 2025 ‘tools that powered your growth’ recap (what matters for 2026)
A credited summary of Google’s year-end Google Play update covering discovery surfaces, engagement tooling, safety/policy workflow changes, and Play Console features that affect shipping and growth.
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App Store growth isn’t luck: what top publishers’ portfolio visibility teaches smaller teams
A credited summary of ConsultMyApp’s argument that sustained App Store visibility is a repeatable system: visibility → conversion → controlled scaling, with practical ways to copy the mechanics without ‘big brand’ budgets.
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Customer.io: Lifecycle marketing trends for 2026 (RCS, consent, fewer higher-intent moments)
A credited summary of Customer.io’s 2026 lifecycle trends: richer mobile messaging (RCS), consent realities, and why orchestration + measurement matter more than channel volume.
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Reducing mobile app churn: stop guessing, watch leading engagement signals
A credited summary of Pushwoosh’s churn guide: what churn actually measures, which engagement metrics predict it early, and practical messaging/onboarding moves that reduce drop-off without spamming users.
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ConsultMyApp: 5 questions to ask before deciding your app is ‘bad’
ConsultMyApp argues most ‘our app is failing’ panic is really a funnel diagnosis problem: wrong channels, unclear store story, weak UX and engagement, or measurement gaps.
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App store reviews in 2026: what they change (and how to use them)
AppTweak’s guide to app reviews: why they impact conversion, how iOS vs Google Play differ, and what teams can do safely.
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Did the AWS outage dent App Store performance? (What the data showed)
A credited summary of ConsultMyApp’s analysis of the Oct 2025 AWS outage impact on brand search, organic downloads, and grossing ranks, plus how to use store data as a ‘resilience’ sanity check.
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Google Privacy Sandbox update: Chrome is retiring several APIs (and doubling down on interoperable attribution)
Google’s Oct 2025 update retires multiple Privacy Sandbox technologies and shifts focus toward an interoperable attribution standard, plus CHIPS/FedCM and anti-fraud tooling.
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Seasonality is not just acquisition, it is a retention and CRM planning tool
Yodel Mobile’s guide to seasonal app marketing: use audience data, custom events, and lifecycle automation to re-engage users during predictable peaks, then measure beyond installs.
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The 7% retention rule: why Day-7 retention is a brutal early signal (and how to move it)
Amplitude argues that ~7% Day-7 retention is a useful benchmark because first-week activation correlates strongly with longer-term retention. This summary focuses on the practical takeaway: instrument a clear activation event and shorten time-to-‘aha’.