Localytics: Track your offline usage too

Do you know what your users are doing when they’re on an airplane? What about when they’re on the subway, or just in a building with bad coverage?

If you don’t, says app analytics tracker Localytics, you’re missing out. The firm recently estimated that developers could be losing track of 15 percent of customer engagements by not having the ability to monitor offline use of their creations. While lots of apps support offline usage, Localytics said, few have the ability to track it.

In a blog post, Localytics VP of market development Brian Suthoff talks about apps he uses offline and how their developers would not know his preferences and usage without tracking ability.

 Two of my favorite iPhone apps are The New York Times and Instapaper. Before getting on a plane or subway, I’ll often open the NYTimes app and quickly download the latest news. I won’t read a single article then, but after losing coverage, I’ll browse through the entire “newspaper.”

 Without the right app analytics, that session and the 20 odd articles opened would be lost. Lost usage means lower app engagement, which for many app publishers directly translates into lost revenue. At a minimum, the artificially low user reach and frequency statistics hurt efforts to sell advertising space. Worse, impressions for advertisers and sponsors that were made while offline will either not be counted or be incorrectly reported.

The solution according to Localytics is, not surprisingly, to use Localytics (or another mobile app analysis platform). But it’s sound advice: The company points out the importance of knowing whether and how an app was use, which really is just as important when mobile users are connected and when they’re not. Further, the firm says, platforms like Localytics’ provide more accurate timing than, say, an analytics tool build for the web.

Developers should take all of this into consideration. Success is not just about creating the app and getting people to download it, or even getting them to use it. It’s about how they use it, and about how you can make alterations and improvements to it based on what your users want and need.