Fueling App Growth at Every Turn: How YouAppi Powered Fetch’s Next-Level Wins

Retention is the holy grail of app growth. Yet, most apps struggle to hold onto new users after download. According to Adjust, the median retention rate across all app categories drops to just 26% on day 1, 13% by day 7, and a mere 7% by day 30. In other words: for every 100 installs, only 7 users are still active after a month.

With numbers like these, it’s clear that growing an app isn’t about installs alone — it’s about re-engagement, feature adoption, and long-term stickiness. That’s why America’s leading rewards app, Fetch, turned to YouAppi to reignite lapsed user engagement, drive adoption of new features, and guide users through critical activation points.

The result? Three campaigns. Three unique challenges. Three wins. And one powerful lesson: YouAppi’s flexible retargeting engine adapts to solve any growth dilemma.

The Challenge: Three Growth Walls

Like many top apps, Fetch faced hurdles that reflect common pain points across verticals:

• Dormant users — lapsed users (30–60+ days inactive) missing out on high-value engagement.
  
  
• Feature under-adoption — new launches like Fetch Play weren’t gaining expected traction.
  
  
• Activation gaps — users registering but failing to complete the crucial first receipt scan.
  
  

Each of these bottlenecks can tank retention and ROI if left unchecked. YouAppi’s mission? Turn them into growth opportunities.

The Playbook: Adaptive Growth at Scale

YouAppi brought a multi-pronged strategy, powered by data and machine learning, to the table.

• Dynamic Audience Segmentation — creating live cohorts based on recency, behaviors, and app activity.
  
  
• Predictive Engagement Models — leveraging AI-driven insights to identify who is most likely to convert, and when.
  
  
• Funnel-First Optimization — moving beyond vanity metrics like app opens to focus on deep, value-driving conversions.
  
  

This flexible toolkit became the foundation across three distinct campaigns.

Campaign Story #1: The Super Bowl Reactivation Blitz 

The challenge: To capitalize on the cultural moment that is the Super Bowl, Fetch had lined up a live, in-app event to capture that wave of excitement. But here was the risk: millions of users had gone quiet, slipping into 30–60+ days of inactivity. Without reactivating them in time, Fetch risked empty seats at their biggest digital stadium of the year.

YouAppi’s approach:

• Segmented inactive users into 30–60 days vs. 60+ days buckets.
  
  
• Delivered time-sensitive, event-aligned offers.
  
  
• Optimized mid-flight to target users most likely to engage live.

The result:

• 372,000 users reactivated
  
  
• $1.06 CPA (vs. $3–$4 goal)
  
  
• 130% ROI above target
  
  

Winning insight: Contextual timing + behavioral segmentation = reactivation at scale.

Campaign Story #2: Leveling Up “Fetch Play” 

The challenge: When Fetch launched Fetch Play, its new in-app gaming hub, excitement was high but adoption lagged. Many users ignored the feature altogether, while others opened it once and never came back. A shiny new feature was at risk of becoming shelfware, unless Fetch could turn passive downloaders into active players.

YouAppi’s approach:

• Built micro-segments: never-played vs. low-engagement gamers.
  
  
• Tailored creative and messaging to prior app behavior.
  
  
• Focused resources on users with high re-engagement propensity.

The result:

• $1.34 CPA (vs. $5 goal)
  
  
• 113% more efficient than target
  
  

Winning insight: Prior downloaders = prime converters for new features.

Campaign Story #3: Closing the First-Scan Gap 

The challenge: For Fetch, the magic doesn’t start at sign-up. It starts at the first receipt scan. But too many users were stalling out at the finish line, registering for the app and then… nothing. No scan. No rewards. No real engagement. Without that first activation, the entire loyalty loop risked breaking down.

YouAppi’s approach:

• Identified users who signed up but never scanned.
  
  
• Served immediate post-registration nudges and targeted incentives.
  
  
• Applied progressive learning to refine audience definitions in real-time.
  
  

The result:

• $4.82 CPA (vs. $5 goal)
  
  
• Exceeded activation target by 3.67%
  
  

Winning insight: Striking while the sign-up is fresh dramatically boosts conversions.

Why This Case Applies to Every App

Fetch’s funnel may be unique, but its struggles aren’t. The truth is, every app faces the same three walls:

• Dormancy and churn — users install, poke around, then disappear.
  
  
• New feature under-adoption — product launches stall when curiosity doesn’t convert into usage.
  
  
• Activation gaps — users stop short of completing the critical first action that turns them into loyalists.
  
  

And the numbers back it up:

• Across categories, 70% of users churn by day 7 (Adjust).
  
  
• Shopping apps average just 11–16% day 1 retention, while travel apps fall to 12% in North America.
  
  
• Even high performers like gaming apps plunge from 29% day 1 retention to only 10% by day 14.
  
  

For most apps, these walls look like dead ends. What Fetch proved with YouAppi is that they can become springboards — opportunities to re-engage, reintroduce, and reactivate.

As Krishnan Menon, SVP of Growth Marketing at Fetch, put it:

“YouAppi’s ability to adapt strategies across event-driven and evergreen campaigns made them a critical partner in our growth journey. Their precision targeting and consistent performance speak for themselves.”

The Big-Picture Impact

When challenges are reframed as launchpads, the results are undeniable:

• +130% Reactivation ROI
  
  
• 113% CPA efficiency on feature adoption
  
  
• First-scan CPA goal exceeded
  
  

The lesson? With the right partner, even the toughest retention barriers can fuel long-term growth.

Takeaways for App Marketers

What can every app team learn from Fetch + YouAppi?

• Contextual timing drives high-intent traffic. Align campaigns with events and user behavior cycles.
  
  
• Past engagers are your lowest-hanging fruit. They’re more likely to adopt new features than net-new users.
  
  
• Onboarding is only half the battle. Post-signup nudges and incentives are crucial to close activation gaps.
  
  
• Flexibility is the growth unlock. Campaigns succeed when you pivot strategies to fit the problem.

Ready to Unlock Growth at Every Stage?

Whether you’re reigniting dormant users, rolling out new features, or fixing funnel leaks, YouAppi’s growth engine turns complexity into conversion.

📲 Learn more about how YouAppi can drive your brand’s retention, revenue, and ROI.