A small group of highly active users accounts for the majority of sessions and time spent in publisher apps. Most users remain anonymous, leaving untapped potential for deeper engagement and revenue.
Media and publishing professionals face a critical challenge: a small segment of "super users" is responsible for the bulk of engagement on publisher apps, while nearly half of all users remain anonymous and unconverted. This dynamic, highlighted in a new report from mobile publishing platform Pugpig, has direct implications for audience growth, monetization, and product strategy.
Pugpig's analysis, which draws on data from more than 440 apps across 140 publishers, shows that users who interact with advanced features-such as games, audio, video, search, save, and sharing-spend significantly more time in the app than those who do not. Despite this, a large portion of the app audience has yet to register or subscribe, limiting opportunities for deeper relationships and increased revenue.
The report benchmarks engagement by app type, publishing frequency, and user behavior. It finds that average session duration is rising, especially among users who engage with richer features. Daily news apps lead in overall engagement, but "mobile plus edition" formats also perform strongly. In-app advertising remains underused, and most app sessions are initiated directly rather than through external links.
According to Pugpig, the main obstacle to further progress is not a lack of strategic direction, but limited product team capacity. This finding echoes recent industry analysis showing that direct user engagement can drive higher customer value, as seen in a Swiss publisher's approach to combining ad and reader revenue.
