How to get people to keep using your app: what a business can learn from games

An app retains users when it gives people a concrete reason to come back (something new every day, progress they don’t want to lose, someone to compare themselves with) and removes every bit of friction to get in. Games solve this better than anyone, because if they don’t retain players, they don’t survive.

In my games (Sudoku Play, Block Puzzle Play, Block Drop Play and others) I designed specific mechanics to bring people back. Here’s what they are and how they translate to a restaurant, gym, or retail app. You won’t find made-up retention percentages here; what you will find are concrete design decisions.

Which game mechanics work for a business?

Why remove friction first?

The best mechanic in the world is useless if people quit before they see it. In Block Drop Play and Block Puzzle Play I made the full game playable without an account: progress is saved on the phone, and if you later sign in with Google or Apple, everything syncs. Color Sudoku Play also offers guest sign-in, plus a 6-screen interactive intro that explains the game before asking for anything.

For a business, that means letting people browse the menu, catalog, or schedule without signing up, and asking for an account only when they want to do something that needs one (an order, a booking, earning points).

Why does the app have to work all the time?

An app that hangs on "loading" in the subway or somewhere with poor signal loses the moment exactly when the user wanted it. Sudoku Play works offline: the puzzles live on the phone, and whatever you do syncs when the connection returns. For a business app, that can be the difference between placing an order and losing it. I explain how it works in apps that work without a connection.

Speed retains users too. My games respond instantly during gameplay because they don’t wait on anything outside the phone: an app that responds instantly feels trustworthy, and one that stutters gets closed.

How do you use notifications without getting muted?

Push notifications are the most powerful tool to bring someone back, and also the easiest to burn. In Sudoku Play I added them in the same phase as onboarding for new users: the two are designed together, because they shape the first impression.

For a business, the notifications that work are the ones users are glad to get: tomorrow’s appointment reminder, an order that’s ready, a streak about to be lost, a perk that’s expiring. What doesn’t work is a generic promo three times a week. If you’re unsure about a notification, don’t send it.

Why does progress have to be safe?

Nothing makes people abandon an app faster than losing what they’ve built up. In my games, coins, XP, and purchases aren’t decided by the phone, and every action is recorded exactly once: if users switch phones or play on two devices, the result is the same and nothing gets duplicated or lost.

In a points program it’s the same, only more so: if a customer loses their points or sees a different balance in two places, they don’t just stop using the app, they stop trusting the store. And if points can be redeemed for something, they need protection against cheating.

Have you thought about who’s left out?

An app more people can use has more people who can come back. Color Sudoku Play swaps numbers for colors with a broad audience in mind, including people who struggle with numbers and kids, and has a colorblind-friendly palette ready. The apps are available in Spanish and English. For a business, that means readable type, big buttons, good contrast, and clear copy: cheap details that widen your audience.

Which retention mistakes should you avoid?

• Interrupting the main task. In my games, ads never show during gameplay. In a business app, don’t throw a pop-up in the middle of an order.
• Gamifying for the sake of it. A mechanic unrelated to what your customer wants to do feels like filler.
• Worthless rewards. If the perk for a streak or points is symbolic, nobody makes the effort.
• Asking for everything up front. Sign-up, permissions, and notifications on the first screen scare people off.
• Launching without measuring. Every mechanic is a hypothesis: check whether people use it, and adjust.

Does your business need an app for this?

Not always. If customers visit you once a year, a good website is enough; I compare both in mobile app or website. If they come back often (a gym, a café, a vet clinic, a neighborhood store), the mechanics in this post make a lot of sense. There are concrete ideas by industry in apps for gyms, apps for restaurants, and apps for retail. How an app like this pays for itself is in how to monetize an app, and how a mobile game comes together in how to build a mobile game.

Frequently asked questions