Proper use of character count, emojis, contests, timing and message phrasing can help grow the effectiveness of mobile app push notifications, according to a new report issued by Rovertown.

The report, based on analysis of 78 million push notifications sent in 2023 by convenience retailer clients, highlighted several key success strategies, including:

• Curiosity Drives Engagement. Short teaser messages and longer notifications that were cut off due to character count limits were shown to be 121% more effective than the average push notification.
• Timing is Crucial. Notifications sent during morning and evening hours performed up to 178% better than the average push notification.
• Beyond Price Points. Notifications highlighting contests performed 30% better than the median standalone push notification, while those focusing on a retail price point performed 32% worse.
• Utilize Positive Phrasing. Push notifications with negative phrasing—such as “don’t miss out”—performed 9% worse than the median standalone push notification.
• Emojis Matter. Push notifications with emojis performed 50% better than the median standalone push notification.

Retailers adhering to at least three key best practices—increasing frequency, using emojis and sending messages in the morning—experienced an average increase of 17% in unique app users, according to the company.

To download the full report, click here.