• by Ben Frederick  @mp_benfred, March 24, 2016

High-value users, or those users that have generated in-app revenue in the last 30 days, engage four times more than their average counterparts, operating across retail, music/books, sports and communication apps, according to RadiumOne’s State of Mobile Acquisition. 

The report found that the biggest difference between high-value and average users was within communication apps, where high-value users had five times as many sessions as the average user.

The new study hews closely to Pareto’s Principle, which states that for many phenomena, 20% of invested input is responsible for 80% of the results obtained.

One insight from the report observes that those users who spend more time and money on their devices than others may perceive them to be a tool that enables that behavior. For example, a high-value retail user typically will not have as many games on their device, but they will have 45% more lifestyle apps, suggesting that they view the device as a shopping and lifestyle tool, rather than a gaming tool.

Marketers could then consider how a high-value user perceives their device and identify the traits and behaviors typical of a segment that could generate a lot of revenue. Those metrics can’t be found in just one place, however.

“[Marketers need to] look outside their own app for signals to truly get to know their high-value users,” stated Bill Lonergan, CEO at RadiumOne. “Taking in data from the entire ecosystem, including third party apps and web sites, determines how customers act outside of apps and will only help marketers reach them in a more effective way, ultimately leading to increased revenue.”