Mobile coupons drive customer app retention, according to a new report from Rovertown.

The report, based on an analysis of dozens of convenience store apps from January 1 to December 31, 2023, discusses the top-performing categories of coupons and various tactics retailers use as well as helpful tips.

Some highlights of the report include:

• Coupons drive retention. Retailers see an immediate 18-point increase in the retention rate of app users once they redeem just one coupon.
• Free items resonate, but there’s a catch. Coupons with free items performed 408% better than coupons with reduced price points, but retailers should exercise caution. The added cost of free campaigns means it may make sense to instead offer meaningfully reduced prices.
• Fountain drinks take the top spot. Fountain drink coupons drove 799% more redemptions in total across the Rovertown platform compared to the average category of coupons. Energy drinks took second place (396%) and candy rounded out third (383%).
• Two tactics drive success. Retailers using two tactics—Surprise and Delight and Reduced Price Point, Limited Choices—saw increases of 460% - 780% over the average retailer based on the percent of users redeeming coupons and the number of coupons redeemed per user.

“App strategies should always compliment in-store strategies,” said Tyler Cameron, head of strategy and analytics at Rovertown. “Apps are fundamentally communication platforms, and communicating about exclusive coupons on high-traffic items is one of the best ways to drive visits to your stores.”

Last month, Rovertown released a report on growing app engagement through push notifications. According to the report, proper use of character count, emojis, contests, timing and message phrasing can help grow the effectiveness of mobile app push notifications.