Blog 104: User Engagement in 2025: What Moves the Needle?
- Idea2Product2Business Team
- Oct 6
- 4 min read
Updated: Oct 7
Why “more users” means less if they don’t stick
Counting users is easy. Keeping them is the hard part. In 2025, with attention spans shorter, privacy concerns higher, and choice everywhere, engagement isn’t about getting people in the door — it’s about convincing them to live there.
Good engagement today means the product isn’t just used often — it's used with intention, satisfaction, and repeat value. The danger is investing in superficial metrics that look good in dashboards but erode trust and retention.
In this post I’ll break down what meaningful engagement looks like now, where common traps lie, and a playbook you can use right away to build engagement that endures.
What “real” engagement looks like in 2025
To matter, user engagement should satisfy three criteria:
1. Habit + Frequency: Users come back because the product delivers something core, not because of constant prodding.
2. Depth + Action: It’s not enough to open the app — core value actions must happen (e.g. messaging, creation, workflow completion).
3. Positive Sentiment & Trust: Users should feel satisfied, respected, and confident. Poor UX, creepy personalization, or unclear value kills engagement quietly but decisively.
Engagement done right: real-world examples
The Iconic (Australia) – Front Row Loyalty Program
The fashion retailer co-designed its loyalty program with 50,000 customers, rewarding past purchase behaviour from the prior 12 months with status tiers and benefits. Since its “Got You Looking” campaign in 2024, Iconic reported major lifts: +34% in unprompted brand awareness, +9% in purchase intent and etc. Global Fashion Group
MoEngage + Nykaa
Re-engagement and retention campaigns using multiple channels; dynamic segmentation & retargeting. These activities improved retention significantly; campaigns that re-targeted app users who dropped off “app uninstall / inactivity” helped retention increase by ~55%. MoEngage
Netflix – Viewing Time & Transparency
In the “What We Watched” report (January-June 2023), Netflix disclosed that nearly 100 billion hours were viewed globally across over 18,000 titles — representing about 99% of all viewing in that period. Business Today
Also, as per a report in Mediapost, Netflix viewers spend around 90 minutes per day on the platform — placing it well ahead of most competitors in the streaming space. Mediapost
Tanishq (Titan / MoEngage)
Personalised messaging, in-app journeys, special campaign during festival season, testing + iteration. Achieved ~25% uplift in weekly retention, 107% increase in click-to-conversion during Akshaya Tritiya, better cart abandonment recovery etc. TechCircle
Spotify – Discover Weekly Genre Controls & Streams
Spotify confirmed its “Discover Weekly” playlist has surpassed 100 billion streams since launch. In mid-2025, they added new controls letting users tweak genre preferences (pop, R&B, funk, etc.) to reduce repetition and improve relevance. The Verge
These companies show that engagement isn’t just about raw numbers — it’s about clarity in what the numbers mean, making products feel relevant, and valuable.
Multiply your engagement
1. User Value & Onboarding: show value quickly.
2. Personalization & Relevance: align content & experience to user preferences.
3. Habit Mechanics: routines, streaks, micro-goals.
4. Community / Social: belonging, sharing.
5. Emotional Trust & UX Delight: smooth interfaces, clarity, avoid manipulative design.
6. Sustained Retention: long-term return, not just sessions.
Do’s & Don’ts for user engagement
Pitfalls: What looks like engagement but isn’t
Engagement without retention: If users come back only when pushed (push notifications, marketing), but churn when you drop the push, the metric is hollow.
Too many notifications: Over-messaging leads users to turn off notifications or uninstall. The quality of interaction matters more than frequency.
Personalisation overreach: Personalisation is a great idea until users feel watched.
Ignoring feedback loops: Users dropping off mid-journey often leave clues. Without qualitative signals (surveys, support), you’re flying blind.
Misaligned internal metrics: If your metrics reward activity over outcomes (e.g. number of shares instead of satisfaction or retention), teams optimize for the wrong behaviours.
User engagement playbook:
(Playbook for PMs - Boost user engagement in the age of AI)
Conclusion: Engagement That Lasts
In 2025, high engagement is no longer about how many times someone taps or how long someone stays. It’s about why someone returns, how satisfied they are when they use your product, and whether the product earns a place in their habits.
Hence, build for clarity of value, allow personalisation with respect, encourage habits without coercion, and measure with intention.
Jump to blog 100 to refer to the overall product management mind map.
I wish you the best for your journey. 😊