Lifecycle · CRM · Experimentation
Holdout-tested email and push that measurably lifted retention
Built trigger-based email and push flows in MoEngage and proved their impact with holdout groups, not guesswork.
- +4.7%
- Claims within 36h
- +2.8%
- Day-7 retention
- 2.4%
- Email CTR vs 1.45% benchmark
Context
We were sending email and push, but nobody could say whether a message changed behaviour or simply took credit for something users would have done anyway.
The challenge
Build lifecycle messaging that genuinely moved key actions, and prove it rigorously enough that the wider team would trust the numbers and act on them.
What I did
I mapped the moments that mattered most, such as unclaimed rewards and early drop-off, and built trigger flows in MoEngage around each one.
Every flow kept a random holdout group who received nothing. Comparing the two groups showed the true lift of each message, not just activity that would have happened regardless.
From there I iterated on copy, timing and channel mix. Anything that beat the holdout stayed, and anything that didn't was cut.
Results
Trigger flows lifted reward claims by 4.7% within 36 hours compared with the holdout, and improved day-7 retention by up to 2.8%. Email click-through reached 2.4%, against a 1.45% benchmark for the fitness industry.
Holdouts turn "we sent a campaign" into "this campaign caused this result", and that changes which ideas get funded.
- Push
- Data