| As a user that probably contributes a lot to the trends observed in the article, I think I can explain my user-behavior pretty well. I really need about ~5 apps on my phone (browser, mail, alarm, somehow whatsapp managed to become one of those, and maybe few others I don't recall now). All other apps I download for a very specific use case: - Rent a bike a foreign city that I'll leave again pretty soon - Navigate during that one trip where I don't expect to be connected to the internet - Play a game during the single train ride where my Kindle has no more battery - Check scores during that one playday of soccer where I have no access to my usual channels (TV, Friends, Browser) - etc At the moment of downloading I often know for how long I will be using that app. Most of the time it is only on that single day, otherwise for the duration of a trip.
I'm not sure there's too much App makers could do to keep me as a user (aside from sending me a brand-new phone). I don't really like my phone and I really prefer using my laptop or even desktop, whenever possible. |
An app developer needs to be mindful of if their app is a daily/weekly/monthly/annual use case.
I have plenty of apps on my phone that I purposefully keep around but will probably only use when I do that big trip once year: TripAdvisor, AirBnb, WhatsApp, GoPro, EpicMix etc.
Other apps: Amazon, Shazam, Bank(to cash checks) I also keep around but use rarely.
Under a conventional definition I've probably been marked as a "churned" user many times over for Shazam. It keeps sending me notifications for random things (Click here to find out the trending new hot single from Shakira!) so I've turned them off.
I also hate when companies force you to download their app to do something. United wouldn't let me check-in and print my boarding pass from my computer. I had to download an app and scan my passport with my camera.