User Acquisition in 2025: What Strategies Will Lead to App Success?

User Acquisition (UA) is the core of a successful strategy for any mobile app. Without users, even the most innovative ideas and advanced features go unnoticed. However, by 2025, the mobile app market will have become so saturated that every installation will require significant effort. With over 5 million apps on the App Store and Google Play competing for audience attention, relying solely on technology or a good idea is no longer enough. Success now requires a comprehensive strategy that combines organic promotion with paid channels.

What lies ahead in 2025? How can we overcome significant challenges and adapt to new market conditions? Let’s explore how to build a winning UA strategy this year.

The Current State of the Mobile App Market

To strategize effectively, we must first understand the market landscape. In 2024 (according to Sensor Tower Report), the industry achieved impressive results:

• 136 billion app downloads on iOS and Google Play, maintaining last year’s momentum.
• Users spent 4.2 trillion hours in apps, averaging 3.5 hours per day per person. However, this growth is slowing in developed countries due to digital fatigue.
• Global in-app purchase (IAP) revenue grew to $150 billion, the highest growth since 2021.

Despite these positive trends, competition is fiercer than ever. Market leaders dominate audience attention, leaving minimal room for newcomers to succeed organically. While the U.S. remains the largest market, Europe shows the fastest growth rates, making it an attractive target for UA campaigns.

For developers, success depends more on user retention than increasing install numbers.

Challenges in User Acquisition for 2025

High Competition
This barrier has been a challenge for years and remains just as relevant today. The number of apps continues to grow, and category leaders easily capture users' already fragmented attention.

Declining User Loyalty
User churn rates in the early days of app usage have never been higher. Nearly 80% of users abandon an app within the first three days after installation. Retention has become a critical priority, yet the lack of practical retention tools leads to alarmingly high churn rates.

Economic Efficiency and Financial Performance
Economic efficiency and financial results are now at the forefront. The global climate of uncertainty has not only persisted but worsened. Crises and their looming effects disrupt the market, so we must be prepared to act efficiently amidst worldwide instability.

Privacy
Stricter requirements from app stores are no longer just plans—they are concrete conditions coming into effect this year.

High Costs of Paid User Acquisition
Acquiring users has become more challenging and, consequently, more expensive. Striking a balance between organic and paid acquisition methods is essential for profitability.

Technological Challenges and Adaptation
New technologies, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and user behavior analytics for advertising are now integral to the industry. However, leveraging these advancements requires investments in technology and skilled professionals.

Retention vs. New User Acquisition
Since last year, focusing on retaining existing users has remained relevant. The rising costs of paid acquisition and declining user loyalty drive this. To stay successful, developers must explore ways to increase engagement and satisfaction among current users through personalization, referral programs, and in-app rewards.

Organic User Acquisition Strategies: The Foundation of Long-Term Growth

Despite the saturated market, organic methods remain critically important. They not only attract new users but also help reduce long-term costs.

ASO: The Key to Visibility

App Store Optimization (ASO) is the backbone of organic growth. In a highly competitive environment, it’s essential to rank high in search results and convert page views into installs.

Key components of ASO include:

• Keywords: Relevant and high-traffic keywords make your app more visible to potential users.
• Visual Content: Eye-catching screenshots, videos, and icons increase the likelihood of downloads.
• Reviews and Ratings: Users trust apps with high ratings. Consistently managing reviews strengthens your app's reputation and builds trust in your product.

All about ASO in 2025 you will find here.

UGC: User-Generated Content

User-generated content (UGC) is becoming an increasingly powerful promotional tool. Reviews, hashtags, viral challenges, and recommendations help drive audience engagement.
For instance, launching a TikTok campaign with a hashtag promoted through UGC can create a genuine viral effect.

Social Media: Engagement and Community Building

In 2025, social media marketing is inherently cross-platform. Short-form videos are ideal for TikTok, while more professional content resonates on LinkedIn. Regularly sharing behind-the-scenes content or hosting Q&A sessions strengthens user connection and fosters loyalty.

Paid Strategies: Fast Results in a Changing Landscape

Paid advertising remains an essential tool for quickly acquiring users, especially during the early stages of app promotion.

Key Platforms

In 2025, the focus should be on:

• Apple Search Ads: Perfect for reaching users ready to install an app immediately.
• Google App Campaigns: Utilizing machine learning to optimize ad placements and maximize efficiency.
• TikTok Ads: Ideal for engaging younger audiences through creative and native video content.

Influencer Marketing

Influencers, especially micro- and nano-influencers, continue to be highly effective promotion channels. Their close connections with their audiences make their recommendations feel more genuine and trustworthy.

Video Advertising

Short, interactive videos have become the standard. These ads capture attention and visually demonstrate your product's value, making them compelling for user acquisition.

Synergy Between Paid and Organic Methods of User Acquisition in 2025

One of the key strategies for 2025 is the integration of organic and paid approaches. This combination maximizes visibility and enhances user acquisition efforts. Examples include:

• ASO and Paid Advertising: Launching paid campaigns during the first weeks after app publication helps boost the app's search rankings, strengthening its visibility.
• Promoting UGC: Ads on TikTok and Instagram amplify the impact of user-generated content, drawing even more attention to the app.
• Traffic Boost for ASO Metrics: Paid campaigns drive traffic that improves ASO metrics, which fuels the growth of organic installs.

This synergy ensures a balanced approach, optimizing results while controlling costs.

Contextual Targeting 2025

Based on analyzing the page's content where ads are displayed, contextual targeting has become a key tool for user acquisition in response to stricter privacy regulations. Instead of relying on users' data, advertisers increasingly focus on the content and environment of ad placements.

A key emphasis in 2025 is on content relevance. Contextual targeting goes beyond simple keyword matching, considering the page's topic, style, and audience to deliver highly relevant content.

The success of contextual advertising now depends more heavily on integrating creatives. Visual and textual content is tailored to fit seamlessly into the environment where it appears, making ads feel natural and non-intrusive.

Additionally, contextual targeting supports a multi-platform approach. It is no longer limited to web advertising but is also applied in apps, social media, and video platforms. This allows advertisers to engage audiences at every stage of their interaction.

Using AI and Machine Learning to Enhance Targeting Efficiency

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are playing a pivotal role in advancing contextual targeting by introducing innovative and data-driven approaches:

• Content Analysis: AI enables a deeper understanding of pages' theme, tone, and target audience by analyzing their content comprehensively.
• Effectiveness Prediction: Machine learning predicts which ads are likely to perform best based on historical data, allowing for more precise targeting decisions.
• Automatic Optimization: Algorithms dynamically adjust ad placement strategies in real-time, modifying creatives and keywords to maximize ROI and campaign effectiveness.

These technologies improve targeting accuracy and enhance overall campaign performance, making them indispensable for modern advertising strategies.

Balancing Advertising Effectiveness and Privacy

As the focus on data protection grows, advertisers must strike a balance between personalization and maintaining user privacy:

• Contextual Targeting as an Alternative: Unlike behavioral advertising, contextual targeting does not rely on personal data, making it a safer and more privacy-conscious option.
• Compliance with SKAN and Privacy Sandbox: Advertisers must adapt to new standards that limit data collection, adopting more transparent and ethical approaches to data use.
• Consent-Based Advertising: Users must be informed about how their data is used, fostering greater trust in the brand and ensuring ethical advertising practices.

This balance ensures effective ad performance and adherence to evolving privacy regulations, enhancing brand reputation and user confidence.

User Acquisition Trends in 2025

The mobile app world continues to evolve rapidly, and several long-term trends are already shaping User Acquisition approaches for the coming years. These changes will impact both the apps and how users interact with them.

1. Privacy-Focused Advertising. Stricter privacy regulations are making it essential to shift toward advertising that respects user rights. Contextual targeting and consent-based campaigns are becoming the standard. The declining effectiveness of behavioral targeting pushes companies to invest in contextual approaches, which provide a secure yet precise way to reach target audiences.
2. Adapting to New Rules (SKAN, Privacy Sandbox). Advertisers must revise their strategies due to the mandatory implementation of SKAN and the upcoming Privacy Sandbox. This requires overhauling ad campaigns and training specialists to align with the new standards.
3. Hybrid Approach: AI and Human Expertise. Artificial intelligence is increasingly used to analyze user behavior, predict actions, and adapt marketing campaigns.

• Personalization: AI will automatically analyze user preferences and create individualized offers.
• Automation of UA Campaigns: Algorithms will quickly adapt creatives, targeting, and budgets.
• Prediction: AI will forecast users' lifetime value (LTV) even before installation, helping developers plan budgets more effectively.

4. Slowing Growth of User Bases: Challenges and Focus Areas. In regions with high smartphone penetration, markets are approaching saturation, and "digital fatigue" reduces user activity. This makes it harder to attract new audiences and increases acquisition costs.

Under these conditions, retaining existing users becomes a priority. Developers actively implement strategies to boost loyalty, such as gamification, personalized rewards, and referral programs. Analyzing user behavior helps predict and prevent churn, ensuring stable app growth.
The primary focus is creating value that retains users and makes the app indispensable.

Long-term forecasts suggest that the mobile app market will continue to evolve under the influence of new technologies and user needs. Super apps, the development of AI, slowing user base growth, and a stronger emphasis on retention will be key trends. To build a successful User Acquisition strategy, it is crucial to adapt to these changes, stay flexible, and be prepared for new challenges.

Optimize and attract new users💙