To retain consumers and increase sales, eCommerce shops need mobile applications that are remarkable and offer a distinctive experience to the users. However, several factors determine whether or not your clients enjoy using your mobile app. Learning how to improve your app is essential given the fierce competition in the app industry. Testing what works is crucial since even minor changes to your app’s user experience may have a big influence on conversion rates.
In light of this, A/B testing is the most effective technique to find out if your mobile app is user-friendly or not.
What is mobile app A/B testing?
Mobile app A/B testing is a type of A/B testing that involves splitting a target audience into two (or more) groups and presenting each group with different variations of in-app experience in order to compare how each variation impacts user behavior and key app metrics. It is used to determine the ideal user experience and methodically improve it to produce the best outcome.
Although mobile A/B testing is not new, app developers, designers, and marketers are quickly adopting it as the norm. In addition to enhancing user engagement, A/B testing is a great tool in a marketer’s toolkit for determining how to improve the user experience and learn more about user preferences.
Importance of A/B testing in mobile app design
A/B testing is essential for a variety of factors, including improved user experience, greater revenues, and client retention. It enables company owners to improve their consumers’ buying experiences. Even if your online business already has a mobile app, you should test the app version to see if clients prefer it or not. Your mobile app can lose its attraction if it is obsolete and out of date at a time when every store is releasing a mobile app with new and enhanced features. As a result, you should run regular A/B tests to make sure that your clients don’t shift to your rival’s mobile app.
Benefits of mobile app A/B testing
It is an industry-wide practice to conduct A/B testing on mobile apps because of the many benefits it has, including eliminating guesswork and providing app marketers with statistical certainty and data-driven insights. Some of the key benefits are mentioned below:
Data-driven insights
A/B testing enables you to understand the behavior of your users without having to take significant financial risks. Identifying what messages from your mobile app have a greater click-through rate is made simpler by A/B testing metrics and statistics.
Enhanced in-app experiences
Customer experience is the foundation of retail. Whether you run an offline business or an internet store, y our goal should be to provide your consumers with an exceptional experience so they come back. However, without trying new things, you cannot determine what your clients desire. A/B testing enables you to identify the elements of your mobile app that your users do not find appealing. In this manner, you may alter them in accordance with the preferences of your users and keep them connected to your app.
Drive sales
Turning people into loyal customers for your business is a challenge. You lose customers if your mobile app doesn’t satisfy the needs of your audience, therefore lowering your sales. Sometimes making minor changes such as screen layouts, phrases, and button color can help boost conversions. A/B testing helps you take these decisions in a logical manner.
Real-time assessment of the effects of new features
A/B testing enables you to test your audience groups and product versions to properly analyze the probable consequences of new improvements on your app rather than making changes without fully knowing the possible outcomes. Split testing, then, enables you to experiment with new features without making expensive mistakes.
No resource wastage
A/B testing makes sure you don’t spend money on initiatives that produce minimal or no outcomes. You may make adjustments gradually to see if they improve your conversion rates or not. In this manner, you only continue to invest resources in the improvements that are good for your company.
Know the user’s perspective
You can picture how your customers would feel using your app by using A/B testing. There is a better chance of developing a mobile app that is user-friendly when it is created from the perspective of the users.
Optimized improvements
To prevent issues and malfunctions, the mobile app should be updated frequently. Additionally, to keep ahead of your rivals, you must continually roll out new features – but not even with A/B testing them first.. Once you’ve done so, update the mobile app for your online store. Each update should have several iterations so you can test which one increases audience engagement and conversion rates.
Mobile app A/B testing process
The use of the A/B testing process is a recurring process in optimizing mobile apps and campaigns. To conduct A/B testing properly, follow these three steps:
Define hypothesis
What is the purpose of testing a particular variable? You must first formulate a straightforward hypothesis and decide how to proceed in case of differing results. In order to get actionable insights, it is imperative that you clearly define why you are conducting these tests.
Define goals
Make a list of everything you wish to discover through A/B testing. Examples include the app feature you are testing and your target market. The plan is also how you will proceed with the adjustments if the expected outcomes are obtained or not.
Choose an audience
Establish the A/B testing’s target demographic based on who your app’s target market is. Target just those who are either in need or interested in purchasing your services.
Analyze
Interpret the data you’ve gathered via A/B testing to determine if or not your hypothesis is valid. You should also slice and dice results to see if they differ for particular user segments that are part of your target audience.
Implement modifications
Maintain a close watch on the indicators during the experiment and modify anything that isn’t producing the intended results to prevent inconsistent outcomes. If the intended outcomes are obtained, put them into practice and make them more widely known. If the findings are inconclusive, revise your hypothesis using the information gathered, then conduct the test yet again.
How to choose the right tool for mobile app A/B testing
It goes without saying that experiences for mobile apps should be constantly optimized for enhanced customer engagement and retention. However, if you try to optimize your mobile apps without the proper equipment, it’s like trying to construct a home with a chainsaw and no hammer.
It might be daunting for product managers, app developers, and marketers to select the ideal mobile app A/B testing tool. This is partly due to the fact that selecting the best tool or platform for your particular testing needs depends on a variety of factors, some of which are prone to be overlooked if you make rushed or ignorant choices.
The following are some considerations to make while selecting the right tool:
Required features
When choosing the best tool, compare the tool’s characteristics to your requirements. Some tools could be loaded with features, yet they can be missing a vital one that you require.
Available support
A lot of financial and budgetary investment goes into acquiring an A/B testing tool. Hence, evaluate to ensure that the tool you select offers the level of technical assistance that you and your team need (human or automated assistance, limited or 24/7 availability).
Integrations
Ensure that the tool you select fits with your existing technology stack when comparing tools. Verify if it could be integrated with any other marketing, analytics, and sales platforms you might already be using.
Mobile app A/B testing with VWO
VWO Mobile App Testing is a robust solution for mobile app optimization. From experimenting with multiple variations of in-app user experiences (both UI-based and server-side experimentation) to testing key features pre and post-launch, you can do it all with ease. Whether you wish to test basic UI changes such as CTA or banner copy, color, and placement or make drastic optimizations to your search engine algorithms, game experiences, and beyond, you’re well equipped to steadily grow your app’s engagement, usage, retention, and conversions.
You can also combine mobile app A/B testing with VWO Insights which offers heat mapping, session recording, and form analytics capabilities so you can gather actionable insights on your app’s user experience and convert them into optimization opportunities. Request a demo with our product experts to get more details.
Conclusion
Offering unique and memorable in-app experiences is essential in today’s always-on, mobile-first environment when consumers have a rapidly declining focus and concentration. A/B testing is a crucial tool for marketers who wish to continuously enhance their campaigns’ UX, increase conversion, and raise retention rates.
