In brief
Push notification engagement appears highest during evening leisure time, suggesting that sending notifications after 6 p.m. may improve results. The analysis of 671 million notifications connects this pattern with daily routines and media usage.
This article examines data on 671 million push notifications to identify interesting trends, with a particular focus on when notifications are sent.
First, let us look at when marketers send push notifications and how users interact with them. The chart above shows average weekday notification sends and opens in North America, based on a sample of millions of notifications. The data uses normalized local time and represents raw sends and opens within each time period. The blue line shows the raw number of notifications sent, measured against the left axis. The red line shows the raw number of opens, measured against the right axis.
An interesting trend emerges here: sends and opens generally rise throughout the day, with several small peaks in the afternoon, a somewhat larger peak around 3 p.m., and the largest peak in the early evening. The pattern after 6 p.m. is particularly interesting. Opens initially reach their highest level relative to other times, while sends are comparatively low. This suggests that apps send large numbers of notifications before the evening. Sending them after 6 p.m. might produce better results, as user engagement appears to be high after that time.
Between 7 and 9 a.m., people wake up and begin their morning routines: eating breakfast, commuting, and starting work. These tasks before arriving at the office can explain why engagement with push notifications is low before noon. The video shows an interesting shift in activity around 3 p.m., which also coincides with higher numbers of sends and opens. At this time, people may take a short break, have a coffee, or go for a walk, picking up their phones to check them. Around 6 p.m., most people finish work and begin leisure activities.
The higher number of push notification opens between 6 and 9 p.m. also has a plausible explanation. Once work is finished, people may check their phones, open apps, and browse social media. This leisure time continues until around 10 p.m., when most people begin showering and getting ready for bed. Peak engagement with push notifications is closely linked to leisure time after work.
Media Usage Across Channels
The analysis above suggests that people are more likely to open push notifications during leisure activities. So what do they do during this time? Flurry's daily media usage data across channels reveals some interesting trends.
Internet usage has two main peaks: one at 8 a.m. and a higher one at 7 p.m. Around 7 a.m., usage of iOS and Android apps begins to rise, growing throughout the day and peaking at 9 p.m. before declining. Television viewing generally takes place after work, with a major peak between 7 and 11 p.m. This can be compared with a similar media usage chart published in the UK.
These two charts show that television is an important channel during leisure time, especially after work. Voice communication mostly takes place during the day, and online communication (SMS / email) also generally takes place during the day.
Push Notification Engagement vs. Media Usage
By connecting daily routines with push notification engagement, we can infer why engagement is higher in the early evening. I believe we all see mobile devices as a second screen: people interact with push notifications on their mobile devices while occasionally looking at the television. People generally carry their phones with them and can use apps at any time.。
What 670 Million Mobile App Push Notifications Reveal About People's Daily Routines