App usage is increasing, and with it, the power of push notifications. In fact, they have a 50% higher read rate than email marketing. So what are push notifications and why are they important?

Very simply put, a push notification is the voice of your app. The average person has about 65 apps on their device, so it’s important for your voice to be heard above them. If your notifications are done correctly, your customers will pay attention.

The two basic types of push notification

1. Transactional. These are triggered by the user’s action and could include purchase receipts, reservation confirmations, loyalty rewards awarded, package tracking, appointment reminders and more.
2. Engagement. It’s a broad category, but it spurs the customer to act, such as announcements of flash sales, coupons or discounts, alerts for in-stock products, new menu items, surveys, cart abandonment and location-based notifications like weather and traffic alerts.

What makes a great push notification?

1. Timely — Push notifications should never be pushy. Send one only when the customer wants it at a time they will most likely open it, or when it will be important for them to see it.
2. Relevant and personal — Offer the customer information they will care about, either by their request or based on their location, demographics and in-app actions. According to Leanplum, personalized push notifications see four times the open rate of generic messages.
3. Engaging or actionable — Give the customer something relevant and personal that requires them to click through and interact with your app: an article, a sale, a new product or a special offer. Urban Airship reports that 70% of an app’s users will leave the app after 30 days if the brand does nothing to engage with them.

What makes push notifications great for customers?

1. Push Notifications are delivered in real-time. Users receive information as it’s happening.
2. They are based on the user’s location. No generic notifications here. Information, such as live events, traffic alerts and more can be pinpointed to the user’s location at any given moment.
3. They’re personal and relevant. Because in-app data collection about your customer is possible, push notifications can be geared toward customers’ habits and requests. For instance, your customers can request a notification when their favorite menu item is being featured.

Why are push notifications good for merchants?

1. They are visible. They won’t get lost in an email inbox or blocked by an ad blocker and are sure to be seen when they pop up on the user’s phone.
2. Push Notifications drive engagement. Targeted, engaging push notifications draw the user back into the app.
3. They increase retention. 65% of users return to an app in the 30 days after the app’s initial download if they have push enabled.
4. Push Notifications increase brand awareness. In today’s digital world, one thing that everyone strives for is to create buzz. One of the best ways to do that is to tether your app to as many web-based and social outlets as make sense, then provide attractive, relevant, branded messages that get people talking and creating that sought-after buzz that brings them to your app.
   When push notifications offer value to the user, they become a valuable tool in the success of your app.

Our Push Notification Video will show you how you can send push notifications to drive more revenue.