Retargeting (sometimes called remarketing) is paid advertising targeted at users who already installed your app — vs cold acquisition (paid ads to non-users). The audience is built from your own user list, uploaded to ad networks via Custom Audiences. Common goals: re-engage lapsed users, drive specific in-app actions (trial start, purchase, content engagement), reactivate churned subscribers.
Why retargeting works (when it does)
- Prior brand awareness — users have used the app, recognize it, install / re-engage at higher rates than cold audiences. CPC / CPI typically 30-50% lower.
- Specific action targeting — you can target users at specific funnel stages (lapsed 7 days, completed onboarding but didn't subscribe, abandoned cart, paywall-viewed-not-purchased).
- Custom messaging — ads can reference past behavior ("Come back to your favorite playlist", "Your trial is about to end").
- High-LTV audience targeting — retarget your highest-LTV cohorts specifically, getting the network to bid more for them.
The incrementality problem with retargeting: this is where most retargeting programs fail. The users you're targeting are already familiar with your app; many would have returned organically without seeing the ad. The "retargeting install" or "retargeting purchase" gets credited to the ad campaign, but the user would have done it anyway. Typical incrementality tests find that 50-70% of retargeting "wins" are organic conversions the ad happened to be present for. Net actual lift from retargeting can be 30-50% of the attributed impact — substantial, but much less than gross numbers suggest. Run incrementality tests before scaling retargeting budgets.
Common retargeting plays
- Lapsed-user retargeting — users who haven't opened the app in 7-30 days. Re-engagement focus.
- Cart-abandonment retargeting — users who viewed paywall but didn't subscribe. Conversion focus.
- Trial-end retargeting — users approaching end of free trial. Conversion-to-paid focus.
- Churned subscriber win-back — users who cancelled subscription within last 30-60 days. Discount-driven offer.
- Cross-product retargeting — users of your other apps / brands; retarget for new product launches.
- High-LTV expansion — users in your top LTV cohort, retargeted with upgrade messaging.
Most mature mobile UA portfolios allocate 10-25% of budget to retargeting, the rest to cold acquisition. The exact split depends on user base size and lifecycle stage.
Retargeting vs cold acquisition — key trade-offs
| Dimension | Cold acquisition | Retargeting |
|---|---|---|
| Audience | Users who never installed your app | Users who already installed (paid + lapsed) |
| Typical CPI / CPC | Higher — cold prospects expensive to acquire | 30-50% lower — prior brand familiarity |
| Conversion likelihood | Lower per click (cold intent) | Higher per click (warm intent) |
| Incrementality reality | Mostly net-new users (high incrementality) | 50-70% organic-anyway recovery (low incrementality) |
| Typical % of UA budget | 75-90% (the bulk) | 10-25% (supplementary) |
| Best for | Volume / growth | Trial-conversion + winback + LTV-expansion |
Incrementality testing matters most for retargeting — much of what looks like retargeting "wins" would have happened organically. Run incrementality holdouts before scaling retargeting budget materially.