Recent primary research from Airship highlights a clear and undeniable trend for mobile and web brands: onboarding speed and strategic opt-ins are the primary drivers of long-term user value. Based on an analysis of user behavior across multiple industry verticals, our  data reveals the growing importance of streamlining a user’s initial experience with your app.

Here is a deep dive into the latest insights and how top-performing brands are turning initial downloads into lasting loyalty.

The activation race: Mastering the onboarding experience

Airship data shows a massive gap in activation velocity between average performers and industry leaders. Across all categories, it takes users an average of 2.8 hours to sign up or sign in after their first app open. However, the top 10% of brands see users complete this critical step in less than a single hour. In fact, across almost every category, top-tier users are 3x to 5x faster at signing in than the average user.

How are they achieving this? The secret lies in their  onboarding flows. Implementing strategic in-app onboarding experiences has been shown to increase sign-up rates by an average of 33%.

When executed well, tailored onboarding yields spectacular results. For example, by using a strategic in-app onboarding flow, one premier intercontinental airline achieved a 48% conversion rate for push notification opt-ins. This represents a 2.3x improvement over the travel industry benchmark of just 21%.

Timing the ask: The power of progressive profiling

While speed is critical, the timing of your requests matters just as much. Our research underscores the importance of progressive profiling — allowing users to explore your app’s features and understand its value before demanding they create an account.

If you ask for push notification opt-ins too early, you risk alienating the user. Across most categories, users generally wait more than 24 hours after their first open before opting into push notifications. The major exception is the Travel category, where high-intent users looking for day-of-travel updates typically opt in within the very first day.

Understanding user intent by category is crucial:

• Finance: Takes the longest to sign in (4.2 hours), likely due to users doing preliminary research or facing complex identity verification requirements.
• Shopping: Averages 2.2 hours, indicating a “browse-to-buy” behavior where users explore products before committing to an account for checkout.
• News & magazines: Showcases a fascinating “intent gap.” The average user takes 2.4 hours to sign in, but the top 10% of dedicated subscribers sign in within just 12 minutes.

The true value of the opt-in

A user opt-in enables your brand to communicate with them. But beyond that, it is a vital indicator of brand loyalty and engagement frequency. Users who choose to stay connected prove to be exponentially more valuable to the platform.

For instance, an analysis of a multi-category digital retailer over 12 months showed that opted-in app users spend 57% more time per session, visit the platform 22% more often, and maintain a 19% higher overall engagement score than users who are opted out. This trend holds true on the web as well, where opted-in web users generate 24% more sessions.

Driving high-intent actions with in-app experiences

Beyond initial onboarding, successful brands are continuously using targeted in-app experiences to drive valuable actions and gather data.

• Gathering zero-party data: Brands utilizing embedded “favorites” campaigns are seeing a 20% conversion rate. Within a 72-hour window, one in five users who viewed these embedded experiences added a “favorite” attribute, helping brands build highly authentic, high-intent user profiles.
• Educating to drive sales: A warehouse club operator used in-app campaigns to educate members on their “Scan & Go” features, actively reducing checkout friction. The result? Members exposed to this education converted to digital purchases 1.5x more frequently.
• Smart welcome programs: A destination-based entertainment resort successfully used automated welcome campaigns to bridge the gap between anonymous and known users, achieving an anonymous-to-identified conversion rate of over 9.5%.

The bottom line: To maximize mobile and web retention, brands must balance the need for quick activation with the patience of progressive profiling. By guiding users through seamless onboarding flows and strategically timing requests for data, you can build a foundation of high-value, opted-in users who will engage longer, visit more often, and convert at higher rates.