15 mobile push notification examples to inspire you

We’ve been talking about push notifications a lot - and with good cause! When implemented with a strong mobile push notification strategy, push notifications can be a key tool for growing your business. With push notifications, you can boost mobile app engagement while delivering important updates, information, reminders, and news relating to your user’s activities or interests. For example, you can provide information about a new sale, deliver important updates about banking details (or issues), and even create an important channel for solving customer problems. 

Check out this guide to mobile push notifications for everything you need to know about what push notifications are, and why they're essential, and also read some tips on sending good push notifications.

Push notifications can be sent to almost any device, and can be built for Android, iOS, and the web. They can also be built with React Native for hybrid mobile apps. If your team is building push notifications for your app, check out this handy tester tool or FAQs that help while debugging common issues.

15 fantastic examples of mobile push notifications

The best push notifications help you build an effective communication channel with your customers. They fulfill a different need for everyone, and with the right customization, push notifications can be the ticket to customers who are better engaged, happier, and eager to spend money.

Here are 10 of the best examples of mobile push notifications we’ve seen.

Retail and e-commerce push notification examples

Amazon

The classic abandoned cart notification from Amazon is a great example of how easy it is to reach out to potential customers and nudge them to actually hit the buy button. These push notifications are effective because they’re personalized (they speak to a purchase someone almost made), provide specific context, and remind people that they were using your app recently.

H&M

This is a great example of personalization from H&M. It provides a reference to a recent purchase and suggests an accessory to go along with it. It beats a generic sale notification because of that specificity. If someone purchased that jacket for an event and wanted to build out the outfit, this type of content really helps. It doesn’t have to be exactly what the customer is looking for; this push notification gets people thinking about what could look nice with their new purchase – and encourages users to go back to browsing your site!

Health and wellness notifications

Google

This is a really nice example of what can happen when your apps are synced together, something Google does very nicely. Not only does this notification remind the user about an appointment (likely from Google Calendar), but it pulls in map and traffic data from Google maps to tell you exactly when you need to be on the road to get there on time. It’s personalized, relevant, and helps people get where they need to be. It doesn’t even really require users to enter an app, but it definitely provides value.

The Bump

This notification does a great job of providing a little personalized update for a new mom-to-be, with the ability to hop into the app to learn more. It’s not a transactional notification, by any means, but it does help keep people engaged and using the app. Pregnancy apps have a limited window of usefulness, so they have to come up with ways to keep engagement high during that time. The more helpful information they share, the better.

Travel app notifications

Airbnb

Similar to the cart abandonment notification above, this one from Airbnb serves as a good reminder that not only were you looking up lodgings in a specific city or area, but also that you should probably book soon because things are going to fill up soon! In this push notification, Airbnb puts to good use the data they have on how far in advance you need to book to get a rental. This is a great piece of information and gentle nudge for people who procrastinate or who haven’t visited a place like Palo Alto before.

Traveloka

Traveloka is an online travel app based in Jakarta, Indonesia. They enable travelers to set up price alerts for flight tickets so that they are informed about price drops via push notifications.

Tapping on the notification lets you view the best deals available at the time so that you can bag them quickly before they’re gone. You can also customize this feature to work for specific dates, budgets, and flight routes. It works because it’s a simple but highly functional way of letting users take advantage of fluctuating market conditions.

Swarm

Swarm lets you create a lifelog of the places you visit by tracking every restaurant, shop, and destination you visit. It also lets you earn prizes and compete with your friends based on the number of locations you manage to discover.

This push notification helps boost engagement by notifying users each time a friend discovers something new and interesting in town. It makes clever use of emojis and deep links to make things feel interactive and social.

Delivery app notifications

Dunkin'

Dunkin’ nailed it with this one. It’s a strong push to get folks who are used to winter storms to stock up on their favorite at-home variety of Dunkin’s coffee, just in case they get snowed in. The only thing that could make this better would be a link to buy without having to leave the house.

Minibar

It’s not always easy identifying your brand with current events happening around the globe, but this notification from Minibar on election news in the US is a great example. It perfectly matches the brand’s tongue-in-cheek personality while relating effortlessly with their audience base.

It’s a simple notification that requires minimal effort to set up, but the timing is what makes it really stand out as a marketing play.

Glovo

Glovo’s notifications are an excellent example of personalization done at scale. By customizing each push message based on the user’s language, habits, and preferences — they have managed to secure over a million impressions in less than a month.

Above is an example of Glovo’s notification personalization at play with Spanish-speaking users. Each notification is tailored to individual brand and product preferences, with deep links to product pages that let you go straight for a purchase.

Entertainment app notification examples

Songkick

Songkick’s whole offering is around helping people find and buy tickets to nearby concerts (and around the world) and this push notification delivers perfectly on their core offering. It’s telling someone that 9 of their favorite artists are playing somewhere local this month alone! Because they don’t say who, or even hint at it, you’d need to jump into the app to see who is playing, which works wonders to encourage user engagement with the app. Once inside the app, getting tickets to whichever concert you want is only a matter of a few clicks.

CBS

If you’re a Super Bowl fan, you probably already know when the game is starting, but if you’re also a big fan of the pre-game show, this is a great reminder. It’s not unusual for people to be so knee-deep in prep for the game that they space out on the pre-game action. CBS uses push notifications to remind you to tune in.

SoundHound

SoundHound helps you discover new songs by capturing what’s playing around you at the time. It uses push notifications to alert users whenever a new song is playing around them, thus turning its core functionality into a marketing strategy to boost user retention.

This is also a great game in terms of UX design because the user doesn’t need to open the app interface to discover songs they might like. 

Hinge

Hinge wants to rethink online dating interactions to make them more targeted and personable. This notification is part of the app’s “Most Compatible” campaign, which drove 200% more user engagement by pairing users every 24 hours with people they’re most likely to have an interaction with.

Hinge’s experiment is a step away from the entirely forgettable experience offered by most online dating apps. This notification works because it uses hyper-personalization effectively and in a non-creepy way to help app users find genuine connections through the app’s community.

Mobile banking or financial services notifications

It can be hard to get people to update their apps sometimes, and a push notification can be just what you need to get it happening. This one does a good job of not only letting you know there’s an update, but it also highlights what you get from updating. Most importantly, such push notifications make it easy for the update to take place.

This one push notification could save you a ton of hassle if you’re traveling. Think about how often you’re on vacation and your bank freaks out about a purchase you make. This notification helps you avoid that by reminding you ahead of time to let them know you’re going to be away. The last thing you want when you’re overseas is to have to call your bank or deal with a security breach.

Want to create strong push notifications for your business?

If you’re ready to build stronger relationships with your customers by leveraging the power of push notifications, let’s talk!

We can help you build in-app chat or calls and create the perfect notifications for your business, app, or service. With these, you’ll be better able to connect with your customers, and ultimately drive business growth. Contact us today to learn how to get started.