Introduction

How to Write
Push Notifications
that Engage & Convert
Benchmarks & Best Practices from 300 Billion Campaigns

20
 Introduction

44% of iOS users and 91% of Android users opt in to push notifications, *
making them the #1 external channel for marketers to encourage app
engagement and long-term customer retention.

But creating the perfect push campaign isn’t easy.

Send too many messages and you’ll annoy your users. Send too few and
your app can easily be forgotten. Fail to strike the right balance and users
are likely to delete your app altogether. In fact, our survey found that
nearly 30% of consumers delete an app due to excessive advertising and
notifications.

To understand what today’s mobile users want, our data science team took
a magnifying glass to successful push notifications to discover exactly how
marketers can build the perfect messaging campaigns in 2020.

We analyzed over 300 billion push notifications to find out what works
to engage today’s app users — and what doesn’t.

2
In this report we’ll answer questions like:

CLICK How does the platform affect engagement?

What benchmark open rates should different app

verticals expect?

How long should push notifications be?

Which words and emojis boost engagement?

When’s the ideal time to send notifications?

3
Table of Contents
Benchmark Open Rates 5
Average CTR by Vertical 5
Engagement by Platform 6
Preferred Platform by Vertical 8

How to Write Push Notifications: Copywriting Best Practices 9

Ideal Message Length 9
Power Words 10
The Impact of Emojis 11
Beyond Personalization 12

When to Send Push Campaigns: Timing Notifications Perfectly 13

Number of Campaigns Sent by Hour and Day 13
Average CTR by Hour and Day 15

Conclusion: Creating Persuasive Push Notifications 16

Appendix: Key Takeaways by Industry 18

Business & Finance 18
Deals & Coupons 20
Education & Training 22
Entertainment & Events 24
Food & Delivery 26
Health & Fitness 28
Media & Publishing 30
Retail & Ecommerce 32
Travel & Hospitality 34
Utilities & Services 36

Additional Resources 38

Methodology 39
 Benchmark Open Rates

How likely are users in your vertical to open push notifications?

The average CTR across all verticals is 2.25%.

Retail, Utilities, and Education apps see the highest levels of engagement,
while Food & Delivery and Media apps see some of the lowest open rates.

Average CTR by Industry

Overall average CTR: 2.25%

6.00%

4.91
Average CTR
5.00% 4.87

iOS
Android
4.00%

2.97 3.01
3.00% 2.77
2.72
2.48 2.51 2.55 2.55 2.55

2.1
1.92 2.01 1.92 1.92
2.00% 1.77 1.79 1.8
1.69
1.6 1.6 1.61
1.36 1.43
1.33 1.33 1.31 1.31
1.05
1.00%

0.00%
Retail Utilities Business & Education Entertainment Travel Health Food Deals Media &
Finance Publishing

5
 Engagement by Platform

A user’s operating system has a major influence on how they experience

your push campaign — factors good marketers take into account to
optimize their messaging.

For one, opt-in rates are drastically different:

44% of iOS users vs 91% of Android users

opt in to push notifications.*

This is partly because iOS users must choose to accept notifications when
they first launch a new app, giving marketers one shot to convince new
users to opt-in. On Android, notifications are automatic. Users must
manually navigate to their settings to opt-out of notifications.

Each platform takes a different approach when it comes to displaying

notifications as well, and notifications on Android are much more visible
than for iOS users.

Android push notifications appear on the lock screen by default, and

remain visible as icons on the notification bar once the phone is unlocked.
On iOS, however, notifications are shown on the lock screen and are no
longer visible once the phone is unlocked — unless users choose to swipe
down to view their notification history.

6
In spite of this, we found that iOS users are more likely to engage with
push notifications than Android users — perhaps because Android users
are so inundated by notifications that they quickly learn to ignore them.

AVERAGE CTR BY PLATFORM

iOS
2.52%

Android
2.05%

7
 Preferred Platform by Vertical

CTRs by Vertical and Platform iOS

Android

5 3.01 4.91

4.91
3 1.8
2.77 1.33 2.48 1.77

2 1.31 2.55
1.69 4.87 1.77
1.6 2.55 1.92
2.09 1.61 2.51
1.79
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App Vertical

iOS users prefer to engage with Education, Utilities, and Retail apps.

Android users also show high interest in these apps, in addition to

Business apps.

Food & Delivery and Media apps see some of the lowest open rates
on both platforms. This may be the result of a high number of
transactional push notifications. These messages don’t need to be
opened in order to provide value, such as order and delivery status
updates or breaking news alerts.

8
 How to Write Push Notifications:
Copywriting Best Practices

IDEAL MESSAGE LENGTH BY VERTICAL

Entertainment & Events 101-120 characters

Retail 101-120 characters

Business & Finance 101-120 characters

Education & Training 101-120 characters

Health & Fitness 101-120 characters

Utilities & Services 121-140 characters

Deals & Coupons 121-180 characters

Food & Delivery 161-180 characters

Travel & Hospitality 161-180 characters

Media & Publishing 180+ characters

9
The majority of app users prefer shorter notifications around 101-120
characters long — about the length of one full sentence.

Media & Publishing users prefer longer notifications: around 180

characters. Users likely want more details when it comes to breaking
news, preferring full headlines so they get as much information as possible
without having to open the app.

Food & Delivery and Travel & Hospitality apps also do well with longer
notifications, presumably for similar reasons: users want as much info as
possible readily available on their lock screens, without having to open the
app to reference things like order status, gate changes, or travel updates.

Power Words

The most effective push notifications include time-sensitive, exclusive, or

personalized offers or content. These power words are among the most
persuasive used in the successful campaigns we analyzed.

POWER WORDS

Apply Discount Today Ending

Purchase Valid Don’t miss First
Hurry Offers Promo Price

Favorite Get free Special

10
 The Impact of Emojis

Emojis are more popular than ever — 29% of all push campaigns
include these pictographs, and including emojis results in an average
9.6% improvement in CTRs.

Wondering which emojis to use? These 25 emojis are the most popular
emojis associated with higher CTRs across all verticals. Use them in your
campaigns to capture your user’s interest and improve engagement.

POPULAR EMOJIS

11
 Beyond Personalization

Today’s consumers expect a personalized experience. Whether it’s

custom discounts and recommendations or informative notifications
timed for the moment they’re needed, users expect apps to understand
their needs and make their lives easier.

For too many marketers, personalization means simply adding a user’s

name or referencing their location in message content — but our data
shows this strategy simply isn’t effective.

Bottom line: simple personalization

This type of
isn’t enough. It’s about relevance.
personalization has a
To deliver on rising user expectations, less than 1% impact on
marketers must go a step further to engagement rates,
create truly customized campaigns that compared to a 9% CTR
take into account each user’s customer boost in 2018.
journey, level of engagement, interests,
and in-app behaviour.

Good mobile marketing is about listening more than you speak. Pay attention
to what users are doing in your app. Take note of how they interact with you
on social media. Track how they respond to your marketing campaigns. Then
use that data to create personalized push campaigns that improve the user
experience and deepen your customer relationships.

12
 When to Send Push Campaigns:
Timing Notifications Perfectly

With billions of push notifications being sent every hour, it can be tough to
stand out. When are your users’ lock screens the least crowded?

• 77% of notifications are sent during the week

• 23% of notifications are sent on the weekend
• 17% of notifications are sent on Friday, the most popular day
• 10% of notifications are sent on Sunday, the least popular day

# of Push Notifications Sent by Hour

25
Notifications Sent (in Billions)

20

15

10

0
1 7 1 7 1
0- 1 -2 2-3 3 - 4 4 -5 5 - 6 6 - 7- 8 8 -9 9 -10 0 -1 1 -12 2-13 3 -14 4 -15 5 -16 6 -1 7-18 8 -19 -20 0 -2 1 -22 -23 -24
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 9 2 2 22 2 3

Hour

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Early mornings between 6 - 8am and evening between 10pm - midnight
see some of the fewest notifications sent.

However, our data shows users frequently check their phones and engage
with apps first thing in the morning and late at night before bed. With
relatively few notifications being sent during these times, there’s an
opportunity here for marketers to engage users just starting and ending
their days.

14
When are users most likely to open your push notifications?

It all depends on industry. Users are engaging with different types of apps
at different hours and days of the week.

BEST TIME WORST TIME BEST WEEKDAY WORST WEEKDAY

INDUSTRY (AVERAGE CTR) (AVERAGE CTR) (AVERAGE CTR %) (AVERAGE CTR %)

Business & Finance 3 pm - 5 pm (3.92%), 3 pm - 10 am (2.23%), Thursday (3.41%), Wednesday (2.05%),

1 pm - 2 pm (3.07%), Tuesday (3.09%) Sunday (1.86%)
7 am - 8 am (2.72%),

Deals & Coupons 8 am - 11 am (2.50%), 11 pm - 12 am (0.17%), Thursday (1.80%), Tuesday (1.01%)

6 pm - 7 pm (1.54%) 1 pm - 2 pm (1.05%), Wednesday (1.76%)

Education & Training 12 pm - 3 pm (3.65%), 8 pm - 10 am (1.71%), Monday (3.57%), Sunday (1.67%),

4 pm - 5 pm (3.05%) Thursday (2.45%) Saturday (1.88%)

Entertainment & Events 9 am - 10 am (2.59%), 10 pm - 12 pm (1.61%), Sunday (2.46%), Monday (1.77%)

11 am - 12 pm (2.68%), Tuesday (2.19%)

Food & Delivery 1 pm - 2 pm (3.11%), 9 pm - 10 pm (1.20%), Wednesday (1.68%), Saturday (1.14%),

4 pm - 5 pm (2.01%),
8 am - 9 am (1.71%)

Health & Fitness 5 am - 7 am (5.33%), 11 am - 12 pm (1.26%) Thursday (2.31%), Saturday (1.34%),

5 pm - 8 pm (3.07%) Monday (2.08%) Sunday (1.41%)

Media & Publishing 12 pm - 5 pm (1.51%), 7 pm - 10 pm (0.97%), Tuesday (1.49%), Sunday (0.99%),

Saturday (1.02%)

Retail 8 am - 9 am (3.98%), 4 pm - 5 pm (2.36%) Monday (3.34%), Saturday (2.44%),

6 pm - 8 pm (3.48%) Tuesday (3.19%)

Treavel & Hospitality 1 pm - 7 pm (2.30%), 10 am - 12 pm (1.71%), Wednesday (2.02%), Saturday (1.63%),

Monday (2.00%) Friday (1.79%)

Utilities & Services 1 pm - 3 pm (4.57%), 10 pm - 11 am (1.99%) Tuesday (3.13%), Saturday (2.44%),

7 pm - 8 pm (4.49%) Wednesday (3.11%)

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Push notifications are a powerful tool for driving app engagement,
retention, and revenue. To succeed, marketers need a solution that helps
them build and execute a smart mobile messaging strategy.

CleverTap is the only platform built to deliver both real-time user analytics
and powerful engagement campaigns. You’ll have deep insights into who
your users are and what they want so you can create messaging that
resonates. And you’ll have the tools you need to build and deliver
personalized campaigns across channels.

CleverTap + Push Notifications

Advanced Rich
Personalization Media

Customize messages with Add images, video, or audio

real-time data from rich to improve brand recall
user profiles

A/ A/B & Multivariate Omnichannel

B
Testing Campaigns

Compare copy, visuals, Fuel engagement on every

and CTAs to optimize channel and deepen
your messaging brand loyalty

16
 Business & Finance

Benchmark Ideal Message

CLICK
CTRs Length

iOS 2.77%
100-120 characters
Android 2.55%

Power Words
Words to Avoid

Shop online Keep Todays Weekly

Manage Avoid Cash back Nasdaq
Bookings Visit Now extended Premium
Special Promo Experts Tracking
Downpayment Ending Friday Markets

18
 Power Emojis to
Emojis Avoid

Day of the
Timing
Week

Best: 3 - 5 pm Best: Thursday

Worst: 8 - 10 am Worst: Sunday

19
 Deals & Coupons

Benchmark Ideal Message

CLICK
CTRs Length

iOS 1.8%
121-180 characters
Android 1.33%

Power Words
Words to Avoid

First Don’t miss Favorites Well

Independence Starts Impress Weekdays
Cashback Get free Monday Thursday
Additional Delivery Look Musthaves
Complimentary Collection Forward Stylish

20
 Power Emojis to
Emojis Avoid

Day of the
Timing
Week

Best: 8 - 11 am Best: Thursday

Worst: 11 pm - 12 am Worst: Tuesday

21
 Education & Training

Benchmark Ideal Message

CLICK
CTRs Length

iOS 4.91%
101-120 characters
Android 1.77%

Power Emojis to
Emojis Avoid

22
 Day of the
Timing
Week

Best: 12 pm - 3 pm Best: Monday

Worst: 8 pm - 10 pm Worst: Sunday

23
 Entertainment & Events

Benchmark Ideal Message

CLICK
CTRs Length

iOS 1.79%
101-120 characters
Android 2.01%

Power Words
Words to Avoid

Resume Apply Language Amazing

Watch next New episode Blockbuster Preferred
Next episode Right Star Recap
Favorite show Finally Marvel Tale
Offers Stream Love story Journey

24
 Power Emojis to
Emojis Avoid

Day of the
Timing
Week

Best: 8 am - 12 pm Best: Sunday

Worst: 10 - 12 pm Worst: Monday

25
 Food & Delivery

Benchmark Ideal Message

CLICK
CTRs Length

iOS 1.05%
161-180 characters
Android 1.43%

Power Words
Words to Avoid

Indulge Handpicked Watch Tonight

Spices Bake Chicken Cheesy
Incredible Sample shopping Wraps
Available Gourmet Favorite Bowl
restaurants
Secret Tasty Good
cool

26
 Power Emojis to
Emojis Avoid

Day of the
Timing
Week

Best: 1 - 2 pm Best: Wednesday

Worst: 9 - 10 pm Worst: Saturday

27
 Health & Fitness

Benchmark Ideal Message

CLICK
CTRs Length

iOS 1.6%
101-120 characters
Android 1.61%

Power Words
Words to Avoid

Challenge Smart Helps Discounts

Journey Supplements Wide Assured
Transformation Vitamins Range Pain
Healthy Membership Natural Login
Weight Workout Foods Snacks

28
 Power Emojis to
Emojis Avoid

Day of the
Timing
Week

Best: 5 - 7 am Best: Thursday

Worst: 9 - 10 pm Worst: Saturday

29
 Media & Publishing

Benchmark Ideal Message

CLICK
CTRs Length

iOS 1.69%
180+ characters
Android 1.31%

Power Words
Words to Avoid

Pilot morning Verify Install

headlines
latest episode Magazine Huge
accused
immediately Speaking Election
morning
episode Download See news
daily dose
click to learn Features Top tweets
horoscope

30
 Power Emojis to
Emojis Avoid

Day of the
Timing
Week

Best: 12 - 5 pm Best: Tuesday

Worst: 7 - 10 pm Worst: Sunday

31
 Retail & Ecommerce

Benchmark Ideal Message

CLICK
CTRs Length

iOS 3.01%
101-120 characters
Android 2.48%

Power Words
Words to Avoid

Launch Opportunity Promotions Products

Expires soon Special Shopping Family
Orders Price Latest News
Purchases Hurry Book Available
Unread Valid till Home Participate
Favorites

32
 Power Emojis to
Emojis Avoid

Day of the
Timing
Week

Best: 8 - 9 am Best: Monday

Worst: 4 - 5 pm Worst: Saturday

33
 Travel & Hospitality

Benchmark Ideal Message

CLICK
CTRs Length

iOS 2.55%
161-180 characters
Android 1.92%

Power Words
Words to Avoid

Nonstop flights Applied Referral September

Enter Discount Starts Payments
Introducing Special Complete Please
Long Budget Maximum Chance
Already Comfortable Favorite Ends

34
 Power Emojis to
Emojis Avoid

Day of the
Timing
Week

Best: 1 - 7 pm Best: Wednesday

Worst: 10 am - 12 pm Worst: Saturday

35
 Utilities & Services

Benchmark Ideal Message

CLICK
CTRs Length

iOS 4.87%
121-140 characters
Android 2.51%

Power Words
Words to Avoid

Ending Active Purchase Download

Transactions Using Month Watch
Discount Bonus Shopping Streaming
Today Valid Activate Waiting
Phone Prices Upto Especially

36
 Power Emojis to
Emojis Avoid

Day of the
Timing
Week

Best: 1 - 3 pm Best: Tuesday

Worst: 10 - 11 am Worst: Saturday

37
 Additional Resources

• Article: The Ultimate Guide to Writing Retention-Boosting

Push Notifications

• Ebook: Grab-and-Go Push Notification Templates

• Article: Push Notifications vs SMS: Which Should You Use?

• Infographic: Engagement-Boosting Push Notification Secrets from

Today’s Most Successful Apps

• Case Study: How Vodafone Scales Personalized Push Messages to

Double Conversions

38
 Methodology

Data for this report was pulled from 301 billion push notification campaigns
sent between September 1, 2018 and September 30, 2019, with a minimum
of 500 people reached per campaign.

To be included in analysis, companies must have sent at least 10 push

notification campaigns during this specified time period.

For questions regarding methodology, please contact

[email protected].

39
 CleverTap is the world’s No. 1 retention cloud that empowers digital consumer brands
to increase customer retention and lifetime value. CleverTap drives contextual
individualization with the help of a unified and deep data layer, AI/ML-powered
insights, and automation, enabling brands to offer hyper-personalized and delightful
experiences to their customers. More than 1,300 customers in 100 countries and
across 10,000 apps — including Gojek, ShopX, Canon, Electronic Arts, TED, English
Premier League, TD Bank, Carousell, AirAsia, Papa John’s, Tesco Kotak Mahindra
Bank, SonyLiv, Swiggy, PharmEasy, and Dream11 — trust CleverTap to achieve their
retention and engagement goals and grow their long-term revenue. Backed by leading
investors such as Sequoia India, Tiger Global, Accel, CDPQ, and Recruit Holdings, the
company is headquartered in Mountain View, California, with offices in Mumbai,
Singapore, Sofia, São Paulo, Bogota, Amsterdam, Jakarta, and Dubai. For more
information, visit clevertap.com or follow on LinkedIn
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