TLDR: WATCH THE VIDEO (click above)
If you have a few minutes, I do recommend watching the video for this one teardown. It has a lot of examples and actionable nuggets. Pro tip: It’s 4 minutes only if you put it on 2x.💡
What’s the secret sauce behind the apps you can’t seem to put down? If you’re a product manager, you’ve probably wondered why some apps nail engagement while others struggle to keep users interested. The answer often lies in behavioral science—how these apps are designed to tap into the psychology of user behavior.
In this teardown, we’ll dissect six top consumer apps (Duolingo, Slack, Strava, Headspace, MyFitnessPal, Peloton) to uncover the strategies they use to drive engagement, retention, and willingness to pay. We’ll dig up some insights into what these apps are doing right and what you can learn to apply to your own products.
🐤 Duolingo: Offer immediate value
Duolingo understands that users want value without the wait. By letting users jump straight into a lesson before signing up, they’ve managed to increase daily active users by 20%. And when those users drift away? They welcome you back with 300 gems—no questions asked. This is not rocket science and PMs know “time to value” matters. The insight Duolingo offers is that the value should literally be immediate. Offer users something of value within seconds of them coming into your app.
➡️ Slack: Onboarding that prompts action
Slack’s onboarding gets users to take meaningful action right away. Instead of a static carousel, Slack prompts you to create or join a workspace immediately. This endows the user, who now has something within Slack. They created it! It could be scary to ask your users to take an action during onboarding—but doing so ensures they put enough effort into the product to value and stick with it.
🥅 Strava, Headspace, and MyFitnessPal: Break down big goals
Strava, Headspace, and MyFitnessPal excel at making large tasks feel manageable. Strava and Peloton encourage users to focus on small, consistent improvements, which taps into our natural desire for self-improvement. They measure us on our activity output, but any improvement is counted. Headspace makes big goals (like a meditation habit) feel more achievable by breaking them down into smaller actions through their “Today” tab. Simplifying the path to progress can make users feel more accomplished and increase their commitment over time.
☄️ Peloton, Duolingo: Use streaks to build commitment
Peloton has refined the use of streaks to keep users engaged over the long term. Offering weekly streaks instead of daily ones makes it easier for users to maintain their momentum. Duolingo pushes the daily streak, but also gets that we all need some cheat days and lets users pause their streaks for a fee. This approach encourages users to stay connected to the app without the pressure of daily engagement—while bringing in some extra $$$.
🔔 Strava, Duolingo, and Headspace: Leverage timely reminders
Notifications are key to keeping users engaged, and these apps have fine-tuned their approach to them. Strava taps into social influence by notifying users when friends complete activities, creating a sense of community and competition. Duolingo times its reminders based on when users are most likely to be available, ensuring they don’t miss their daily practice. Well-timed reminders can be crucial in keeping users engaged without overwhelming them.
Actionable insights you can apply
Here are three key takeaways from this teardown:
📈 Show value early: The faster you can provide value, the better. Don’t be afraid to think outside the box to do this..
🔔 Get the user to do something. Ask them a question, give them an action. The more invested they are in you, the harder it is to leave.
🎯 Simplify progress: Breaking big tasks down into manageable steps helps people feel like they’ve accomplished something and keeps them engaged.
That’s a wrap on our look at these six apps and the behavioral strategies that have contributed to their success.
Next time, we’re diving into paywalls—because nothing says “I value you” like your credit card (just kidding)! 😉 We’ll look at what works, what doesn’t, and how you can make sure your paywalls are compelling rather than annoying. Don’t miss it!
TLDR: WATCH THE VIDEO (click below) for specific examples and actionable nuggets! 💎
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Questions about your product? Email kristen@irrationallabs.com.
Want to increase conversion, retention, engagement? Reach out to Irrational Labs.
We design products that change behavior, using behavioral science. Check out our case studies to see it in action.
Product lessons from 6 top consumer apps