Your team has built a robust reporting system that captures valuable metrics such as push notification opt-in and click-through rates, retention curves, and more. With this treasure trove of data at your fingertips, there's one critical limitation: you only know how you're doing. Without a point of comparison, it's challenging to determine whether your performance is above average, right on track, or quietly falling behind.

Industry benchmarks provide the broader context – what's typical in your industry, what's possible based on others' results, and most importantly, what you should aim for next. Every industry benchmark should trigger a decision:

  • Maintain: You're already performing well.
  • Improve: There's room for growth.
  • Experiment: Try new approaches to achieve better results.

To make informed decisions, use this simple framework:

Benchmarking Your App User Experience

| Step | What it means |

| --- | --- |

| Benchmark | What's typical in your industry? |

| Baseline | Where are you today? |

| Milestone | Where do you want to be in the next 30-90 days? |

Let's apply this framework to your core mobile app metrics, transforming each into a milestone that fosters growth.

Raise Android Push Opt-in Above 80%

Your opt-in rate defines the ceiling of your push notification performance. No matter how compelling your message or well-timed your campaign, you can't drive engagement if users don't receive your notifications. Every increase in CTR, user activation, or DAU depends on the size of your reachable audience.

According to Pushwoosh's 2026 benchmarks, the average push notification opt-in rate is [insert data]. To get ahead of the curve, start by segmenting your opt-in data by platform and avoiding averaging across iOS and Android. If your Android opt-in is below 75%, you're underperforming. If your iOS opt-in is below 50%, you're not alone – but you have room to grow.

To move toward this milestone, add a pre-permission screen before triggering the system prompt, show the prompt only after a clear value moment (e.g., booking confirmed, playlist saved), and A/B test both timing and wording of your pre-permission screen. This approach gives users a reason to say "yes" before they're asked to decide.

Achieve 1.5%+ CTR on Push Notifications to Engaged Segments

Push notification CTR reflects how clear, timely, and relevant your messages are. It's the first sign that users are engaging with your content. CTR directly impacts downstream metrics like conversions, session depth, and LTV.

To increase CTR, experiment across three core levers:

  • Segmentation: Create granular segments based on user interest, lifecycle stage, or feature usage.
  • Timing: Align send times with known peak activity windows.
  • Content: Personalize messages based on user behavior and in-app events. Push notifications with emojis in the message copy have reached CTRs as high as 13.33% in our data.

Milestone #3: Increase DAU to 5% in 45 Days

DAU reflects how often users choose to build your app into their daily routine. It's one of the clearest signals of habit formation and long-term product value. To achieve this milestone, pay attention to when usage naturally spikes. Is it early morning? Late at