This blog post was written by our partners at Pushwoosh, experts in mobile push notifications.
Push notifications are a powerful tool for keeping users engaged in today’s competitive app market. In fact, 60% of app users actively opt in to receive push notifications, highlighting their importance as a key communication channel.
In some cases, however, push notifications containing plain text—or even those with emojis—may struggle to capture your audience’s attention. This is where rich push notifications come in, transforming a simple message into an interactive experience that drives engagement and boosts conversion rates.
What are rich push notifications?
Rich push notifications are an advanced messaging format that incorporates images, videos, animated GIFs, and interactive links. Whether you’re showcasing products through visuals, offering video previews, or promoting exclusive offers with eye-catching graphics, all these elements serve a single purpose: to nudge users to take targeted actions.
Rich push notification example
To demonstrate the structure of rich push notifications, let’s examine an example from the gaming sector:
This notification directs users to the game’s social media page to claim a promo code. It includes:
- Promotional text;
- An image featuring a CTA
- A link embedded within the image.
This structure is effective on multiple levels: it visually engages users, conveys the main message, and encourages them to take action.
Technical requirements for rich push notifications
The types of rich push notifications you can send vary on iOS, and Android and there are certain requirements they must meet.
- On iOS
Apple’s Push Notification Service (APNS) enables rich notifications with images, GIFs, videos, and CTAs for iOS devices running version 10 or later. However, you must comply with Apple’s strict design and privacy guidelines.
- On Android
While rich push notifications were introduced on Android later than iOS, Android offers fewer restrictions overall. However, Android doesn’t currently support GIFs. If a GIF is sent, only the first frame will display as a static image.
Rich media push notifications vs. traditional push notifications
Rich pushes capture attention more effectively than traditional pushes and prompt users to take immediate action. According to data, rich push notifications achieve a click-through rate (CTR) of 9.2%, compared to 6.9% for standard push notifications. They achieve this in two ways:
- Capture the attention of visually oriented users
Let us recognise an important fact: for some individuals, processing information is not text-centric. They need visual reinforcement to process content effectively. For these users, rich push notifications are more appealing and thus have greater potential for engagement.
- Prompt actions without leaving the screen
Beyond their visual charm, rich pushes simplify the user flow. Customers can instantly claim a limited-time offer, sign up for an event, or share news with friends—all without navigating the app.
Best practices for creating high-converting rich push notifications
1. Use Compelling Visuals
Ensure images and videos are high-quality and relevant to the message.
2. Limit the size and length
Avoid heavy media that might slow down the delivery or feel overwhelming. While there are no strict requirements, a good rule of thumb is to test your rich push notifications on at least two devices before sending them to your audience, including a high-end smartphone, an older model, or a tablet. Additionally, test under different network conditions (e.g., Wi-Fi and mobile data) to ensure optimal performance and compatibility.
3. Test different formats
You might want to A/B test different media types (videos vs. GIFs, for example) and CTA placements to see what resonates best with your audience. Or, in the first place, why not test traditional notifications against rich pushes and find out which format your audience prefers based on data?
4. Automate, segment, personalise
Using rich push notifications alone is not enough—effective campaign management is just as important. Target your communications to relevant user segments and carefully plan your scheduling.
For this, you need an effective campaign mapping tool equipped to automate various communication scenarios. For example, product recommendations, cart abandonment reminders, and re-engagement promo offers all benefit from rich content and require well-executed event-triggered automation.
Make sure that segmentation and personalisation capabilities are built-in, so you can handle all campaign creation steps in one place. This way, you’ll have more time for creative tasks—like designing visuals for your rich push notifications!
Case studies: boosting conversions with rich pushes
Case #1: Conversion to orders;
Strategy: Target campaigns based on customers’ order and browse history;
Company: HungryNaki;
Results: Boost in average order value.
HungryNaki, the pioneering food delivery brand in Bangladesh, aimed to increase orders by encouraging users to discover new restaurants, cuisines, and dishes. To achieve this, they launched promotional campaigns with rich push notifications.
First, HungryNaki identified users who had been active in the past but had not engaged recently. Here are examples of the segments included in the campaign:
- “0 orders in the last 7 days”;
- “Active in the last 30 days but no orders”.
These users received bonuses to encourage them to place an order.
Secondly, HungryNaki targeted the campaign at foodies with specific preferences:
- “Ordered a particular cuisine”;
- “Viewed a particular menu”.
They received offers from similar restaurants or related cuisines.
Rich push notifications used in the campaigns featured visually compelling images of dishes and promotional details displayed in large font (see images below). Messages captured users’ attention and motivated them to explore new food horizons:
Case #2: Conversion to referrals
Strategy: Recurring daily campaigns;
Company: Bladestorm;
Results: Increased engagement and DAU & MAU growth.
Bladestorm, a developer of GC.SKINS, significantly boosted user engagement and DAU & MAU growth by implementing recurring campaigns with rich pushes. The company started sending messages with weekly offers to its entire user base, ensuring that every weekday, gamers received a new bonus.
The key to this strategy’s success was maintaining consistency. Bladestorm automated the regular delivery of notifications, making it easy for marketers to manage these campaigns without additional manual effort:
Each rich push notification contained referral buttons so that users could easily share referral codes with their friends. This simple, user-friendly process contributed to a surge in referral conversions as players eagerly spread the word to unlock bonuses.Bladestorm’s approach of broadcasting recurring offers through automated push notifications resulted in significant growth in engagement and activity across the platform.
Wrapping up
Rich push notifications shine when you want to captivate users visually and prompt immediate action. The results? Higher engagement rates and improved conversions compared to standard notifications.
By following best practices—using high-quality visuals, targeting specific audience segments, and automating communications with campaign building tools—you can craft rich push notifications that truly resonate with users and encourage prompt action. Whether your objective is to increase orders, drive referrals, or ensure any other targeted action, rich push notifications transform user interest into valuable conversions.
