The UX design community has always been at loggerheads when it comes to Push Notifications. While some say that notifications are a wonderful way to retarget lost customers and get them back to the app, others deem notifications as a nightmare that can hinder the entire user experience and kill productivity.

But, here’s a good part about notifications:

• According to a leading report that was conducted across 63 million mobile app users, it was found out that increasing the frequency of notifications or messages to the user led to increased app retention – A whopping 3x to 10x times app retention!
• The same report also revealed that even if you go from zero to a weekly notification, you can still enjoy up to 6x retention on android whereas 2x retention on iOS.

But this leads app developers, marketers and the UX design community to question – Are Push Notifications Actually Nifty or Nuisance?

What is a Push Notification?

You must’ve heard about text messages. Push notifications are almost similar to text messages. But the only difference is that these notifications are sent by an app which pops up on the screen or notification bar of your smartphone.

These actionable notifications can be sent at any time according to your Shopify store needs that include:

• Notifying customers about new offers, deals and discount coupons.
• Asking your valued users to do something – like sharing your social media posts etc.
• Giving relevant information or news about new or existing products.
• Order completions and reminders.

Types of Push Notifications

Push notifications can be of different types. You might not send push notifications in text-based forms all the time. Some of the common types of notifications are:

• Badges – These are basically small circles or dots that float on the corner of your Shopify Mobile App.
• Alerts – These can appear on your lock screen, your screen or notification bar requiring you to do an action.
• Sounds – Whichever notification you send will be accompanied by a sound – most likely a message tone.
• Banners – This type of notification usually flashes on your screen for a few seconds before disappearing away.

When is a Push Notification Good or Bad?

Did you know? Push Notifications increase app engagement by a whopping 88%. But there is a flipside to this – Almost 60% of users opt out of notifications because they think notifications are a nuisance.

This means:

• When push notifications are good, they will work to your advantage
• When they are bad, you won’t be able to use them effectively to drive your Shopify sales or revenue.

Let’s take a simple example – you might’ve come across mobile apps that only remind you about the fact that you didn’t use the app for almost a week or month.

What’s bad about this? The notification looks like a reminder but it seems needy and desperate. There is nothing enticing about this.

Now, let’s look at the Uber or Lyft app – In this mobile app, get the exact location of your ride. This helps you to track and board your cab as soon as possible. Now this notification is useful when compared to app usage reminder notifications.

Another factor is the volume of notifications:

Did you know? Around 25% of users would stop using your Shopify Mobile App if you send around 2-5 notifications in a day. So, you need to reduce and optimize the number of push notifications that you send to your users.

So even if your eCommerce mobile app boasts of user centred design, users will still not stick to your brand if you botch up the push notifications.

What’s next?

Timing of your Notification:

For this, you need to leverage customer analytics that include:

• The time period where customers check out your app the most.
• Product viewing times and other crucial information.

Use this crucial data to time your push notifications right and enjoy boosted user engagement, better user retention and excellent business growth.

Tips to Get Your Push Notifications Right

According to a survey, push notifications are the prime reason behind 71% of all app uninstalls. In case you do not want to contribute to this statistics, here’s what you can do:

1). Send push notifications that are tailored to your user’s interests:

Personalizing the push notifications according to your users’ preferences, location & interests makes them think the notifications are for them & only them. You can consider using their name in the notification, if you have it.

Depending upon the type of customer, such as a buyer & a window shopper, a retail app requires sending various types of push notifications. These notifications have to be relevant and reflect the needs & expectations of customers. Moreover, push notifications should be prototyped with different content length & tone to set the message right.

2). Avoid using jargons or irrelevant words:

Push notifications have no room for elongated explanations; therefore, it is vital to be direct and to the point. This little time can be efficiently used to engage the customers when used wisely. An ideal push notification should not have more than 10 words or 24 characters to have higher conversions rates.

The best kind of push notification is tailored to the user’s preferences, contains relevant words & creates a positive user experience.

Conclusion

These are a few tips that will help you send the right kind of notifications and enjoy better business growth. So, are push notifications nuisance or nifty?

As discussed above, the strategies that you use will determine whether your push notifications are nifty or nuisance. Therefore, all you need to do to get your push notifications right is to create a robust notification strategy and follow it to drive your Shopify business in the right direction.

Planning to build a Shopify Mobile App that helps you to send the right kind of notifications? Why not check out Storifi?

Storifi is an innovative no-code Shopify Mobile App builder that enables you to build personalized Shopify Mobile Application that features an intuitive UI/UX, encourages seamless navigation and enables you to create curated push notifications in minutes!