Mobile App Launch: The First 60 Days Roadmap for Shopify Growth

Announce on All Existing Channels

Make use of all of your existing channels, including social media, website banners, landing pages, SMS, and email. Make the message simple and to the point – “Download our app for quicker shopping and special rewards.”

Provide Simple Incentive in the form of “Welcome Offer”

Incentivizing your customers can go a long way for just a small investment — “10% off your first in-app order” and/or free shipping on the first order are usually good options.

Streamline Your Mobile App’s Onboarding Experience

Your app should be seen as a quicker, more intelligent way of shopping. Make your onboarding simpler. Promote those features that provide ease, such as saved carts, one-click checkout, and rewards points.

Create Excitement With Launch-Week Exclusives

Give your target audience a reason to download your app immediately. Offer app-only bundles, early product drops, or limited-time deals.

Create Habit Loops Using Strategic Push Notifications

Retention relies on building habits. Send reminders not only for cart abandonment, but also for:

• Wishlist drops: Send notifications like – “An item you saved is on sale.”
• Low-stock: Send notifications like – “Only 2 left, buy now or forever hold your peace.”
• Limited-time offers: Provide short 24-hour flash deals exclusive to app users.

Provide a Daily Engagement Hook

Many successful apps like Starbucks’ mobile app marketing strategy involve building loyalty by encouraging daily usage. You can only introduce a “daily check-in reward” or a rotating deal-of-the-day. Even if customers don’t buy every time, you are increasing “app opens,” which directly impacts retention rates.

Run Lightweight A/B Experiments

This is the ideal time to test assumptions and fine-tune your mobile app launch plan. Experiment with push notification timing, free shipping vs. discounts, and different message styles. These light experiments will provide data-driven insights, helping you refine your mobile app launch marketing plan.

Social Proof & Community Building

During this phase of your mobile app launch, the most effective way to establish trust & repeat engagement is to let your customers see each other.

• Add reviews and UGC galleries within the app.
• Highlight loyalty tiers so early users feel special.
• Encourage them to share app-exclusive finds for social media promotion.

Maximize App Store presence (ASO for Shopify Merchants)

Your app store presence is most critical for app discovery. Pay attention to optimizing:

• App title and keywords: Include your brand name and primary products.
• Screenshots and app descriptions: Display actual benefits such as “fast checkout” or “app-exclusive offers.”
• Positive reviews: Request ratings from satisfied customers. App store social proof has a big impact on installs.

Also read: 10 Best Tips To Implement Successful App Store Optimization

Utilize Affiliates and Influencer Marketing

At this stage of launching your app, Influencer Marketing is one of the most feasible options to expand your business’s reach among new audiences. Collaborate with micro-influencers in your business’s niche who can provide high engagement. Ask them to feature the true shopping experience within your app, not generic promotions. You can also build affiliate partnerships where they provide discounts or loyalty points for their referrals within the app.

Run paid mobile app launch campaigns with App-First CTAs

Instead of sending all ad traffic to your website, shift some of your budget to app install campaigns. Meta and Google make it possible for you to directly promote your app post-launch. Retarget your current website visitors with CTA’s like “Shop faster in our app” or “Download for app-only deals.”

Use Shopify Ecosystem for Cross-Promotion

Your Shopify store is still your biggest acquisition channel. Include links to the app in order confirmation emails, emphasize app-only benefits on product pages, or “Download App” prompt at checkout. Adding this into your mobile app launch marketing strategy helps customers easily transition from web to app, where app retention is stronger.

Analyze Cohorts and Cut Waste

Post-launch data gives real insight into customer behavior. Analyze acquisition cohorts to see what brings repeat buyers with high retention rates. Remove those channels that do not show low or any conversion. This saves resources and you can use them to scale channels that give good performance.

Automate Top-Performing Push Campaigns

Examine which push notifications were most effective in earlier phases of your mobile app launch. Convert those types of push notifications into automated processes. It ensures high engagement when your audience grows and even without requiring any human intervention.

Introduce a Simple Loyalty Program

At this stage of your mobile app launch plan, it’s time to secure repeat buyers. Create a two-tier loyalty program providing points for every order to members and privileges like free shipping, extra rewards, or early access for VIPs .

Use a Shopify loyalty app to set the basics: the number of points per order, the expiration date, and the minimum amount required to redeem.

Prepare for Holiday/Seasonal Campaigns

For holidays, BFCM, or significant sales occasions, start organizing seasonal campaigns. Align your app promotions with your Shopify web store so there is a consistent brand experience across platforms. Planning in advance guarantees that your app will scale smoothly and be ready for traffic spikes during the holiday season.

Read More Festive Sales and Holiday Marketing Blogs – Here.