Mobile A/B Testing

What Is Mobile A/B Testing?

Mobile A/B testing is the process of serving two different versions of a piece of content to the same segment of mobile users to determine which version performs best. A/B testing can be applied to app interface elements, messages, app features, and more.

How Does Mobile A/B Testing Work?

Mobile A/B testing is ideal for optimizing mobile apps and helping marketers make critical campaign decisions. A/B testing is traditionally seen as a way to test superficial design changes (e.g. the color of a call-to-action button), but the scope of mobile A/B testing is much wider.

The mobile A/B testing process usually involves testing one variable at a time to correlate it with the results. Occasionally, marketers may want to test how multiple variables interact with each other. This is known as multivariate testing; these tests must be designed very carefully to achieve conclusive and accurate results.

The scope of mobile A/B testing is almost limitless. With Leanplum’s A/B testing dashboard, elements both inside and outside the app can be tested. Leanplum offers an extensive list of elements that can be A/B tested, including in-app UI (e.g. buttons and images), messaging (e.g. copy and timing), and channels (e.g.  push notifications and email). A/B testing is absolutely critical for app success — every single change you make should be tested to ensure it improves the user experience.

What Does Mobile A/B Testing Mean For Marketers?

Much like website A/B testing, mobile A/B testing ensures that your audience receives the best possible user experience. Research from Leanplum shows that A/B testing apps is integral for retaining customers. And retention is crucial because only 7.5 percent of customers continue using apps after 30 days. That number falls to 1.89 percent after 90 days.

Further research shows that mobile apps optimized through A/B testing enjoy App Store conversion rates of up to 340 percent. A study by Marketing Land revealed that 96 percent of users would rather download an app with a four star rating versus one with a lower rating. This is what happened for app publishers like Pixelberry, whose app reached Top 5 in the free category on the App Store after just a few days of A/B testing a promotion, leading to a 14 percent revenue increase.

In order to earn more app downloads, higher conversion rates, and an improved user experience, mobile marketers should:

• Thoroughly test multiple in-app elements
• Carefully consider audience segmentation for each test
• Test significant content changes on the most dedicated users

For more information, see Leanplum’s article on Mobile A/B Testing.