UX Design For Streaming Services

𝑵𝒆𝒘 𝑫𝒂𝒕𝒂 𝑺𝒉𝒐𝒘𝒔 𝑳𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 80% 𝑶𝒇 𝑴𝒐𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝑼𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝑰𝒔 𝑵𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒍, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑾𝒉𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑩𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝑨𝒑𝒑𝒔 𝑫𝒐 𝑩𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 How do you measure app success? Clicks? Downloads? Rating? How about retention? New data from Andrew Chen, a partner at Andreessen Horowitz, and mobile intelligence start-up, Quettra shows: → An average app loses 77% of its Daily Active Users (DAU) within 3 days of installation; AND → The decline slows considerably after 3 days. Interestingly Andrew’s analysis goes on to show that for the top-performing apps, the initial decline is less marked. For example, the top 10 apps only lose around 25% DAU in the first 3 days. However, after around 3 days, the decline rate bottoms out in a similar fashion to the overall average. In other words, the initial few days after installation are critical. Recently, I highlighted the two main ways to raise app awareness and acquire users: searching and paid ads. But what can you do to retain your user after they’ve installed your app? The key is user engagement. 🔹 Build trust with a compelling, but authentic story The first touchpoint is often the app store. App Store Optimisation (ASO) is critical to allow users to discover you in the first place. However, your description must be more than a few lines plastered with keywords. Long-term engagement is established through connection with your user. Convey your app’s value honestly and without exaggeration. Users are quickly turned off when developers over-promise and apps fall short. 🔹Design a frictionless onboarding process Your user’s first real experience of your app is at onboarding, so make it user-friendly with simple step-by-step instructions, and easy-to-understand graphics or videos. There’s nothing worse than a cumbersome onboarding process, and if the app is also difficult to navigate or counterintuitive to use, users will soon be reaching for the delete button. 🔹Make your app sticky Your ultimate goal is to make your app part of your user’s routine. Adding gamified elements that require users to complete daily challenges, tailoring the experience to the user, or incorporating social features are just some of the options available. Kurve’s client, BackThen, had a goal of increasing its user base. We analysed user behaviours to identify the triggers that led to subscription. Based on the outcomes, we crafted an engagement strategy and complementary marketing approach around 4:2:1 – 4 photos uploaded + 2 invites + 1 comment. The result? BackThen’s user base grew 5x in 12 months. With so many apps vying for users’ attention, stemming user decline is a conundrum. There’s no quick fix. It takes a combination of discoverability, seamless onboarding, and a first-class user experience to drive loyalty. Anything you’d add? 👇 #mobileapps #appmarketing #appstore Source: andrewchen.com

beatvest D30 retention is 6x higher than the average app. Here are my learnings: 1/ Make your product highly relevant - Find a real user problem  - Conduct user interviews to learn how they would phrase their problem - Communicate problem-solution fit crazy well in your ads, App Store Page and onboarding flow 2/ Have extensive CRM flows in place - We have a >60% open rate on emails - We built dozens of email flows depending on the users stage in the app - We actively promote our activation mechanisms in the emails (streaks, etc.) 3/ Make your product a habit - 12% of our subscribers open beatvest every single day in the 1st week - Make it very clear which step users have to take next in their user journey, they need a specific goal when they open the app - Obsess on the first day(s) rather than later-stage, uplifting retention early has a bigger impact as there is a larger bulk of users that you can affect with the measures - Think about which mechanisms you could build into your product to make users open the app every single day; e.g. we built a 10 day challenge, streaks, points and rewards #product #retention

📺 Retention Zone Ep. 66 with Frank van Oirschot 🎙️ (Ex Machina Group Livery Video) about a critical challenge facing streaming platforms today: how to transform engagement into lasting retention. Frank brings decades of experience developing engagement technologies since the mid-90s and offers fascinating data-backed insights on what actually works: 💡 When fans engaged with second-screen applications for shows like "The Voice," they became measurably more loyal subscribers 💡 A single missed notification in a game show led to not only immediate drop-off but reduced likelihood of viewers returning for future episodes 💡 Sports content engagement is happening everywhere EXCEPT on rights holders' platforms - a massive missed opportunity One statistic that particularly stood out: Gen Z viewers are juggling SEVEN different activities simultaneously while consuming content. This isn't just a challenge - it's an opportunity for platforms that understand how to harness attention in this fragmented landscape. Frank offers innovative solutions through: 1️⃣ Alternative content versions with specialized commentary 2️⃣ AI-powered personalization using video language models 3️⃣ Less controlling approaches that enable creator-driven engagement The most exciting opportunity? How these engagement touchpoints generate rich data that, when processed through AI, transforms retention strategy from reactive to predictive. This isn't just about keeping subscribers - it's about creating deeper, more valuable relationships with your audience. ➡️ Read the full article below. Retention Zone is presented by Cleeng Hosted and produced by Carlo De Marchis: A guy with a scarf Gilles Domartini Benedicte Guichard Alexis Gaï Kirstin White Hjalmar Koedijker Alex Regan Joachim Bergman Kamila Palka Simo Enzo Bermond Kübra Güven #MediaRetention #StreamingStrategy #EngagementMetrics #AIinMedia #Retention #Churn

Most companies try to scale by sprinting after new buyers and wonder why their churn spikes. I give them the Sustainable Growth Framework instead. Three focus areas. Total alignment. Real momentum. After helping subscription businesses grow and retain their members, I’ve learned this: scaling isn’t about speed. It’s about direction. Here’s the framework that keeps your growth steady and your subscribers loyal. 1. Relationships over transactions Don’t chase one-time buyers. Build long-term trust. When you focus on relationships, you create members who stay not because they have to, but because they want to. 💡 Example: If you’re a fitness app, build habits with your members. Send progress updates, celebrate milestones, and personalize recommendations. Growth happens when people feel seen, not sold to. 2. Freedom over friction Don’t lock people in. Make it easy to leave or stay by choice. Subscribers value autonomy. When you respect that, they reward you with loyalty. 💡 Example: If you’re a streaming service, a clear cancel button and transparent pricing signal confidence. The trust you gain outweighs the short-term retention dip. Ease builds credibility. Credibility builds staying power. 3. Outcomes over offerings Don’t pile on features. Deliver results that matter. Your best subscribers don’t want more. They want better. Example: 💡 If you’re a learning platform, don’t add hundreds of new courses. Focus on completion rates, results, and community feedback. Outcomes drive word of mouth far more than volume ever will. The magic? Only you know who your best subscribers are. Serve them well, and growth follows naturally. Because in subscription businesses, scale isn’t about adding more. It’s about deepening what works. +++++++++++ 👋 I'm Robbie, I'm a consultant, author, and speaker covering all things subscription businesses. +++++++++++ 🛎 Tap the bell under the banner on my profile to catch the next post. ++++++++++++

Netflix knows you're about to cancel your subscription before you do. Because churn rarely happens overnight. It happens in patterns. You watched 15 hours last week. This week, only 4. You used to open the app daily. Now it's once every few days. You started shows but stopped finishing them. Your "Continue Watching" row keeps getting longer. Most companies see customers. The best companies see behaviors. And that's what makes CRM so fascinating. Think about the different users Netflix serves at the same time: • A new subscriber exploring the platform • A binge watcher consuming content every day • A casual user who watches only on weekends • A customer whose watch time has suddenly dropped • Someone who hasn't opened the app in two weeks Sending the same communication to all of them would be a retention disaster. Instead, each segment needs a different trigger. A recommendation for the active user. A personalized reminder for the casual viewer. A re-engagement nudge for the inactive customer. The smartest growth teams don't ask: "What campaign should we send?" They ask: "What behavior are we seeing, and what action should we trigger next?" Because the message isn't the strategy. The segment is. In a world where acquiring customers gets more expensive every year, the brands that win won't necessarily have the biggest marketing budgets. They'll be the ones that understand customer behavior better than everyone else. That's the real power of CRM, understanding people better. What's one brand that makes you feel it understands your behavior as a customer? #marketingstories #marketing #crm #marketingmanager #brandmanagement #retention #netflix #CRM #ABCD

Sometimes, you just gotta rip the bandaid off and start from scratch. Back in summer 2011, I was Head of Mobile at Netflix. As the PM, all phone and tablet apps were my purview, and usage was skyrocketing across dozens of UIs from Apple to Android, mini phones to phablets, iPads to tablets, etc. But, the app I inherited was just the existing desktop app (w/ white bkgd below) riddled with 100s of bugs and feature requests for those multitude of UIs. No easy swiping of titles, horizontally or vertically. Browsing was beyond challenging on any touch interface. I made the unpopular decision to halt all work on the old app and built an all-new universal app for all interfaces with our small eng team. My team invented the “Continue Watching” row, which all streaming apps later copied, and focused on creating a beautiful browsing experience, getting users into content as fast as possible. The more streaming a user did, the higher likelihood they would retain as a member = both were/are key metrics to optimize for all Netflix PMs. In our A/B test, we put ~200k users in the old app and ~200k in the new app. Usually it would take a few months to see statistical significance. In only a few weeks, we saw a massive jump in both metrics (streaming hours and retention) and turned it on for ALL members THIS week 14 years ago, a few days before millions of iPads, tablets, and phones were gifted and activated nationwide, many of which came with Netflix pre-installed. Summary: there are multiple ways to move the needle on a product, and one of those is to simply start from scratch, take the interim pain of unhappy users on an old app, and give the world what it truly wants. Happy holidays! 🎄

Subscription services need strong analytics to build smarter & strategically strong plans. 🚀 Subscription models aren’t just a trend anymore—they’re shaping the future of eCommerce. 🛍 But are you leveraging data & analytics sufficiently, to iteratively build your strategy, & have your customers coming back? Here’s why you should make data analytics an integral part of your business approach: 🎯 Customer Retention Isn’t a Guessing Game Many eCommerce businesses still rely on gut feeling & high level market trends when deciding what keeps their subscribers happy. What if you could make smarter, data-driven decisions instead? Here’s how: 1️⃣ Understand User Behavior at a Granular Level Accurate analytics helps you spot patterns in how your subscribers behave. 👉 For example, a fitness app found that users who completed daily workouts stayed subscribed longer. With this insight, the app focused on features that encourage consistent engagement, boosting retention. 2️⃣ Personalize the Experience Analytics isn’t just about numbers—it’s about the people behind them. By segmenting your customers based on their behavior & psychographics, you can create personalized experiences that drive loyalty. 👉 Example: Netflix tailors its show and movie recommendations at a segment of one level, making subscribers feel seen and valued, while also making their life easier! 3️⃣ Track Key Metrics Keep an eye on crucial metrics such as Churn Rate, Average Order Value (AOV), & Customer Lifetime Value (CLTV). These metrics tell you what’s working, & where you need to pivot. 👉 For instance, a music app discovered that users who created personalized playlists were less likely to churn. Now they focus on promoting playlist creation to keep users engaged. 4️⃣ Leverage Predictive Analytics Want to predict churn before it happens? Predictive analytics can highlight warning signs of disengagement so you can take action before your subscribers leave. 👉 Takeaway: With predictive analytics you can send personalized reminders, special incentives, or tips to at-risk users, keeping them engaged. 5️⃣ Test, Learn, Optimize Don’t settle for your first plan. A/B testing helps you experiment with different subscription models, pricing, & features to arrive at the best. 👉 Example: A video streaming service can test different pricing structures & tiers, & find the best pricing plans that maximize sign-ups, market share, & retention. Bottom line: Subscription analytics give you the insights you need to understand, retain, & grow your subscriber base. Embracing smart data, & analyzing it while keeping the people behind it in your mind can create more personalized, engaging, & profitable subscription model. At Appstle Inc. there are 30,000+ eCommerce businesses that hands-on use our granular analytics to make impactful data driven customer retention strategies. The analytics are an integral part of Appstle Subscriptions. Because there is no better way to profitably scale!

👉 The Affordability Crisis Just Rendered Your Loyalty Program Obsolete. With inflation and economic uncertainty, customers are becoming ruthlessly price-sensitive. If your retention strategy still relies on generic, high-cost discount programs ("Spend $100, get $5 in points"), you are training your users to love the discount, not the brand. This transactional relationship is a financial drain and will fail under pressure. The old model of simply outspending the competition on Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) is dead. The only way to achieve sustainable, crisis-proof growth is through an aggressive, strategic pivot to efficient retention. The Solution: AI-Powered Customer Loyalty As an expert of scaling companies like Roku and IMVU, I believe the current economic environment demands a shift from reactive loyalty to proactive, predictive retention using Lean AI. We must stop rewarding customers who would have purchased anyway and focus resources on those at risk. The AI Advantage is Clear: - Prediction over Points: Machine learning models calculate a real-time Propensity-to-Churn Score for every user. - Hyper-Personalized Value: When a user crosses the churn threshold, AI triggers a customized value proposition (e.g., exclusive access, premium service, or a targeted cash-equivalent reward)—maximizing LTV while minimizing the Cost of Retention. This approach transforms a lost customer into a highly profitable, re-engaged super-fan. A Roadmap for Growth Leaders: Four Pillars of AI Retention In my new article, I outline the non-negotiable strategy for building this efficient retention engine: 1. Build a Unified Customer Data Platform (CDP): AI is only as good as the clean, 360-degree data fueling it. 2. Product-Led Retention: Use AI to accelerate the "Aha!" moment during onboarding. 3. Continuous Automation: Automate experimentation to find the optimal reward, incentive, and timing. 4. Prioritize Exclusive Access: Build an emotional moat through community and VIP experiences, not just just price cuts. The companies that survive and dominate the next decade are the ones that strategically deploy AI to build unshakeable, hyper-personalized relationships. Read the full analysis and technical roadmap here: 👇

Retention is often approached as a volume game: more emails, more nudges, more content. The assumption is that increased activity leads to increased engagement. In reality, the most effective retention strategies don’t focus on doing more. They focus on timing. Understanding when users naturally return reveals more about intent than any click-through rate or open metric. Certain users come back regularly. Others show up only when they’ve reached a specific need, achieved value, or experienced friction worth solving. Instead of building endless growth loops, the focus shifts to growth timing, identifying high-leverage moments in the user journey where the probability of meaningful re-engagement is highest. Engagement efforts that align with these moments, rather than being distributed uniformly across all users, tend to outperform. They feel timely, relevant, and user-aware. Effort spent trying to change the rhythm of natural behavior often leads to wasted resources.  The smarter move is aligning strategy to reality, meeting users exactly where they are. Retention doesn’t come from louder messaging. It comes from listening closely to timing signals and acting with precision.

Why do users who LOVE your product in month 1 disappear by month 3? It’s not about missing features—it’s about missed learning opportunities. After analyzing 150+ digital products, we found that users leave because the product stops teaching them how to succeed. Most teams focus on onboarding but neglect ongoing-boarding. The key? Helping users continuously discover new value. Here’s the Advanced Retention Framework that boosted retention by 78%: -Value Escalation Introduce advanced features when users are ready, not before. -Success Loops Design behaviors that naturally lead users to new use cases. -Proactive Celebrations Actively highlight progress and showcase untapped potential. We applied this at RecurPost (a social media planner) and saw 90-day retention jump from 22% to 58%, with 3x more power users. Retention isn’t about keeping users—it’s about helping them grow. What’s one valuable feature your users overlook? Drop it below, and I’ll share ways to spotlight it! #ProductDesign #UserRetention #UXDesign #ProductStrategy #UserExperience #ProductDesign