Repeat visits and high engagement levels are crucial for the success of any marketplace app. Getting users to return again and again directly impacts key metrics like time spent, transactions and organic reach.
Carousell is a popular marketplace app that allows users to buy and sell items within their city. With over 20 million listings across multiple countries, Carousell has managed to become a household name. However, sustaining that level of user base requires continuous efforts to drive repeat usage of the app.
In this article, we will explore 11 strategic approaches that Carousell and similar marketplace apps can leverage to increase visits and engagement over time. The objective is to analyze user behavior and incentivize natural habits that encourage repeated use of the app.
Strategy 1: Customize the onboarding experience
The onboarding process sets the right first impression and educates new users about all the app has to offer. A personalized onboarding tailored to individual interests can help drive repeat usage.
When a new user signs up, Carousell should prompt them to add some basic details about location, items of interest and past purchases. This information can then be used to personalize the home feed and notifications later on.
Instead of basic app tours, Carousell can introduce interactive tutorials that walk the user through real purchasing scenarios. For example, it can guide them through the steps to list an item, change photos, track sales etc. Showing the various features through examples helps the user appreciate the app better.
The onboarding slides can also include short videos created by popular Carousell sellers. Hearing from experts within the community makes the app feel more personal and builds instant trust.
The overall goal should be to demonstrate value and set clear expectations right at the start. A great first experience increases the chances of the user returning for future needs.
Strategy 2: Create personalized and targeted push notifications
With millions of daily active users, push notifications are a powerful way for Carousell to selectively promote relevant content and conversations. However, the key is delivering notifications that users find genuinely helpful rather than intrusive.
For this, Carousell needs to analyze past shopping and browsing history of each user. It can then segment the users into various categories based on their interests, location, purchase trends and engagement levels.
For example, a user who frequently buys apparel and shoes in Manila can be tagged as a ‘fashion consumer’. Now Carousell can selectively send push notifications about new listings, price drops and upcoming sales in that category.
Notifications need to be tailored considering the stage of customer journey. A first-time buyer may need recommendations but a regular seller needs updates on their listings. Testing different notification formats across segments helps maximize open rates.
Users should also have an option to customize their notification preferences. This allows them to control the communication and feel in control of their experience on the app.
Strategy 3: Promote user generated content
Marketplace communities thrive on user generated content that educates and inspires others. Carousell can promote top sellers, expert reviewers, discussion moderators and social leaders within the app.
It can create leaderboards, badges and public profiles for top contributors monthly or annually. Even small recognition goes a long way in motivating more participation. Content from these influencers like reviews, questions, photos should also get highlighted across the app.
Carousell can add interactive features like questions, reviews and photo uploads on product pages. A running count of total user contributions encourages healthy competition among communities. Features like photos-of-the-day and question-of-the-week contests keep things lively.
Regularly recognizing and engaging with super users establishes them as subject matter experts. Their visibility and interactions inform and assure newer users, encouraging repeat exploring. Visit Zipprr Carousell Clone App.
Strategy 4: Keep the home feed fresh and personalized
The home feed is often the first item users see when opening the app. It plays a big role in whether they find value instantly and feel compelled to spend more time within the app.
Carousell needs to constantly refresh listings on the home feed instead of repetitive static content. It should analyze which categories and sellers the user has shown past interest in and prioritize featuring new listings from the same over next few days.
For engaged users, the home feed can include updates on their previously viewed listings, watched items or posts they had commented on. This helps them easily continue unfinished tasks or conversations from last visit.
Testing different layouts and highlight designs for the home feed also sparks curiosity among users to scroll more. Information-side items displayed alongside listings trigger impulse buying. Over time, the home feed experience becomes the primary driver for repeat app opens.
Strategy 5: Make searching and browsing efficient
Finding relevant items quickly and easily is crucial to driving repeat usage of Carousell. Users leave if they struggle with search or can’t navigate categories as per their needs.
Advanced search filters allow finding items by location, price range, condition and item specifics. Smart text search understands intent from keywords and suggests relevant listings.
Well optimized category pages arranged by product type and sub-categories help users discover new segments easily. In-category filters and organization further refine search.
Building guided browsing experiences through curated editiorial lists keeps users engaged. For example, lifestyle categories can surface trending products while home category highlights monsoon essentials.
Efficient search coupled with intuitive filters maximize the time users spend exploring within the app during each visit rather than leaving dissatisfied.
Strategy 6: Recommend relevant cross category items
While focused categories aid discovery, recommendations across segments trigger impulse buys from unfamiliar sections. Carousell can leverage user signals to suggest surprising but relevant new items.
For a user buying electronics regularly, recommending camera accessories follows logical next steps. But also mixing in lifestyle recommendations keeps them exploring. A basketball jersey buyer may enjoy checking out sneakers too.
Such varied recommendations sustain surprise and serendipity with every visit. Machine learning models analyzing past engagements can predict unknown interests to expose to broader selections.
Carousell can highlight top cross-category search combinations or up-sells done by other similar users to tap into network effects. Over time, a feedback loop of personalized recommendations habituates repeat interactions within the app ecosystem.
Strategy 7: Incentivize user participation and contributions
Encouraging active participation through gamification boosts community involve and ownership. Carousell should recognize top curators, influencers and super-fans within the platform.
Public leaderboards for monthly/annual rankings of highest reviews, photos, answers can act as social proof for others to emulate.
Exclusive digital badges or profile labels for moderator roles, top answerer maintain prestige and prestige as informal authorities.
Loyalty programs award points for activities which can redeem exclusive deals, free shipping, first access to launches keeps users engaged.
Contests for user generated videos showcasing stories push community spirit. Branded merchandise as recognition for superfans strengthen brand affinity through crowdsourced advocacy and UGC.
Rewarding contributions via recognition, privileges and incentives motivates repeat knowledge sharing, networking and advocacy on behalf of the platform.
Strategy 8: Host interactive community events
With a massive organic community spanning countries, Carousell can foster shared experiences through curated online events. Campaigns around new launches or festive seasons spur purchase trigger conversations.
It can facilitate online product photoshoots involving top reviewers for sneak peeks. Live tutorials by experts on product usage promote brand affinity.
Discussion boards around interests like gardening, gaming, food bring people together. Users help and learn from each other through Q&As, builds trust in marketplace.
Contests like reel campaigns around themes encourage UGC submissions. Votings and rankings motivate networking for social proof and discover new connections.
Well moderated interest-based groups complement dedicated brand pages in driving purchase triggers and community bonding beyond transactions.
Strategy 9: Promote personalized deals and offers
Targeted deals are proven drivers for repeated transactions. Carousell needs to nurture 1:1 relationships through customized promotions.
It can segment users into geographies and analyze past browsing/purchase behavior to identify category affinities. Tailored limited period discounts targeted at these segments re-engage lapsed users.
Push notifications about time-bound offers exclusively for top spenders and loyal customers act as FOMO triggers for others as well.
Bundling discounted essentials based on seasonality and previous buys complements existing needs. Referral programs credit accounts of friends making a purchase.
Carousell can even promote tried-and-tested product combinations or up-sells suggested by other similar users to the target group. Personalized promo code delivery customizes the value proposition for each user.
Strategy 10: Consider a loyalty program
Loyalty programs are a powerful way to cultivate repeat spending and visits over the long term. Carousell can introduce a tiered loyalty system rewarding user engagement on the platform.
Users earn points on activities like listings, orders, reviews, referrals spend which levels up their tiers – Bronze, Silver, Gold etc. Higher tiers unlock better deals, priority support, personalized assistance.
Points never expire but can redeem various rewards – free shipping, store credit, merchandise depending on accrued amounts. Redemptions encourage reciprocal spending to earn more perks in positive feedback loop.
Strategy 11: Rethink the default home screen
The home screen is often the first impression for users launching the app. Its effectiveness in driving engagement needs constant testing and optimization.
Carousell can A/B test different layouts for the home feed to evaluate which generates more time spent and repeat visits. For example, a two column layout with enlarged hero images may spark better discoverability than a single column.
Highlighting different types of content like new launches, ongoing deals, community updates keeps the home screen lively. Customizing the emphasis based on individual stage in the buying funnel also improves relevance – new users need recommendations whereas regular sellers need status updates on listings.
Personalizing the call-to-actions displayed based on past behavior is also important. For instance, recently active users can see buttons to continue unfinished tasks while lapsed users see prompts to browse favorite categories.
Developing multiple configurable home screen versions allows customizing the emphasis and flow depending on user goals during each session. A dashboard to easily switch between layouts based on metrics helps continually optimize the default experience over time.
Conclusion
Building repeat visits at scale requires understanding users holistically and incentivizing natural habits that keep them engaged. The strategies discussed focus on personalization, community participation, relevant content and rewards to consistently bring users back to Carousell and similar apps.
Some key metrics to track the impact of these efforts include – repeat usage percentage after 7, 30 and 90 days, average time spent per session, organic reach of shared content, velocity of transactions and spend per user over time.
Customized onboarding, push notifications, personalized recommendations and targeted deals drive affinity by fulfilling individual needs. Encouraging knowledge-sharing through contributions, events and experts retains valued community members.
Constant A/B testing new concepts keeps the experience fresh for existing users while loyalty programs foster genuine long-term relationships. With the right strategic focus on engagement, Carousell can optimize these factors to significantly boost retention and lifetime customer value.
In the dynamic e-commerce space, marketplace platforms that deliver the most personalized and rewarding experiences for their users will continue gaining loyal customer base over others. Repeated optimization holds the key.
