Disney+ struggling to keep its users interested

While 2019 remains the year of Disney+, the latest data from Apptopia shows the story of a service struggling to retain its audience.

All the focus so far has been about its success, including:

• The 22 million app downloads worldwide
• It topping Google’s “Year in Search” lists
• The Mandalorian dethroning Stranger Things as the top streaming show.

Despite these significant achievements in such a short space of time, the service looks to have a troubled 2020 ahead.

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What Apptopia shows

Apptopia is a mobile analytics company that has revealed some interesting data about the Disney+ app. Their first report presented Disney+ as a phenomenon. However, their fourth report paints a very different picture.

The blue line on the above graph is Disney+. The horizontal progression shows days using the app. So, we can see on Day 1, 35% of users who have the app open it. We can also see that on Day 30, less than 5% of users are still opening the app. This is a massive drop, equal to six out of every seven users.

This shows that at least on mobile devices, users aren’t sticking with the content. Disney+ has a 30-day retention rate one-third that of the top 10% of entertainment apps — and it’s still declining. Fixing that will be a priority for Disney+.

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What Google Trends shows

The way Disney+’s retention drops is significant, so to double-check trends, we compare it against Google’s search information.

The above Google Trends graph shows that searches for Disney+ have dropped exponentially, and at a similar pace and curve to Apptopia’s data.

The Mandalorian, Disney+’s epic Star Wars show, follows a similar trend. A huge initial interest, followed by a gradual decline.

Even Baby Yoda is showing a decline in search interest that’s parallel with the trends in The Mandalorian searches.

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Disney+ is struggling

Disney+ has an overarching issue: an inability to hook its user. Getting an app in front of someone is only one part of the battle; keeping them is the other. The scariest facet of this information is that there is no flattening in the retention data — it just continues downward.

Ironically, this data represents my own experience with the streaming service. I was initially excited about it, but after a few days, I then realized I’ve seen it all before. Now, I’m struggling to even remain interested in The Mandalorian. One thing is certain: 2020 is going to be very interesting for Disney+.

What is your experience of Disney+ so far? Does it match the data?