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Subscriptions live and die on behaviour, not features. Last week at Appsforum San Francisco, Daniel Saxon, Senior Product Manager for Subscriber Acquisition at CNN, explained how small quirks in human psychology shape conversion, average revenue per user (ARPU) and retention, and how product teams can use them. The subscription page that shouldn’t have worked Saxon opened with a well-known experiment built on an old Economist subscription page. Students were shown two options

For most of the past 15 years, Ben Whately has been frustrated. As co-founder of language learning app Memrise, which has grown to around 85 million users, he has watched his teams pour time and money into one problem: how to build faster. At Appsforum London, he described what happened when that problem started to go away, and why he believes almost every app company is still moving too slowly. "I'm almost sure that whatever you're working in, you're moving too slowly, proba

Bundling Super Duolingo into Revolut's paid plans works for both sides because the cost is low and the payoff is retention. Revolut gets a perk that makes its subscription harder to cancel. Duolingo gets paid distribution to users it might never have converted on its own. For app marketers, this is a useful case study. Partner bundles are increasingly how subscription apps reach new audiences without paying full acquisition costs. Here is how the economics most likely work, b

Have you ever wished an app existed for something oddly specific? Well up until now, the options were to find something close enough or learn to code. Google has now changed the game and given users the opportunity to build their own apps. Private by Default Android Users are now able to build an app through Google AI Studio and install it on their phone through Play, using no more than their usual Google login. No developer registration, no public listing, no strangers downl

Web funnels aren’t just a way around the App Store fee. Learn how to build a web-to-app funnel that turns interest into intent and converts.

Music discovery has never been easier, yet some of the best musical finds still come from other people. Music League is built around that idea, combining themed playlists, friendly competition and social interaction to help people discover music they might otherwise never hear. What began as a game among a dozen coworkers in central Iowa has grown into a platform with more than a million registered users, driven entirely by word of mouth. We spoke to founder and CEO, Eric Wes

Most businesses have spent twenty years designing their online presence for two kinds of visitor: people and search engines. A run of announcements from Meta this week points to a third kind turning up sooner than expected: AI agents doing errands for the people who own them. How fast this is moving Muse, Meta's consumer agent, landed on iPad only weeks after its iPhone release. For comparison, Instagram users waited roughly a decade and a half for a proper iPad app. AppMagic

Is the app dead? No it’s not but it has moved on. It's a question that is deliberately provocative but the role of the app is changing. What once was the centre of the customer journey is now becoming part of a much wider ecosystem. As contributing factors such as AI reshape how people discover, interact and buy from digital products, it is becoming harder to ignore. At Appsforum London 2026, Peggy Ann Salz, Content Strategist and Founder of MobileGroove, Veronica Lee, Global

For years, mobile growth has been built around a simple equation: acquire users, convert them and keep the funnel moving. But as customer acquisition costs continue to put pressure on app businesses, there is a growing realisation that the most expensive user might not be the one you fail to acquire, it could be the one you acquire and then lose. When every install comes at a cost, churn has consequences far beyond a shrinking user count. Acquisition doesn't end at the instal

And just like that, Appsforum London 2026 has come to an end! Over two packed days, senior app growth and revenue leaders came together to tackle the challenges shaping one of the world’s most competitive mobile markets. With 500+ app developers, publishers, marketers and industry experts and 60+ leading speakers, there was plenty of opportunity to learn, connect and share what’s really working in the world of apps. Two days focused on sustainable growth This year’s conversat

The app industry is moving fast. User expectations are changing, acquisition is becoming increasingly competitive, and new technologies are creating opportunities while raising just as many questions. As the industry comes together at Appsforum London on 7–8 September, these are some of the conversations likely to be at the heart of the event. Where does sustainable app growth come from now? Growth has never been straightforward, but the traditional playbook is becoming harde

Web2App funnels are becoming an increasingly important part of mobile growth. Instead of sending users straight from an ad to the App Store, brands can use the web to build intent, personalise the experience and qualify users before asking them to install. But every extra step creates another opportunity for users to drop off. In 2026, the challenge isn't simply getting users into the app. It's understanding where intent disappears between the first click and revenue. Where a

AI is everywhere and something that is becoming increasingly prominent within the apps industry. As the conversation develops, however, the questions facing leaders are becoming more difficult and more important. It is no longer enough to ask “How can we use AI?” The real questions are: Are we building what users actually need? Is AI creating genuine value? And what happens to the app itself when AI starts changing how people discover, choose and use products? At Appsforum Lo

It is safe to say that consumers are now feeling the weight of subscriptions. From streaming services and fitness apps to productivity tools and mobile games, default payments have become the standard business model for digital products. However, the cost of living is increasing and many people are watching their monthly spend. Consumers are becoming more selective about where they spend their money and as a result, subscription fatigue is becoming one of the biggest problem

Building products that people genuinely want to come back to is one of the biggest challenges facing app businesses today. Ahead of his session at Appsforum, we spoke with Dan Kessler, COO of The Mind Company about why sustainable engagement starts with product value, how gamification can encourage lasting behaviour change, and why the future of growth depends on creating experiences users choose to return to, not just clever acquisition strategies. Q: For those who may not