Introducing In-App Messages: Games and Offers Inside Your Mobile App

In-app messages are slide-ups, modals and full-screen messages that appear inside your mobile app while a customer is using it, targeted to a segment and triggered by what that customer just did. Gameball In-App Messages is now live, so you can launch them in your iOS and Android app from the same dashboard that runs your loyalty program, games and journeys.

Here is the problem it solves. Customers open your app, do one thing and leave. Meanwhile the spin the wheel, the points balance and the tier they are close to reaching sit inside a widget they have to go looking for. Web messages already brought Gameball campaigns onto your website. In-App Messages brings them into the app itself, in front of the right customer at the right moment. This guide covers the three formats, what can go inside a message, how targeting and measurement work, nine use cases, and how to launch your first message.

What are in-app messages?

In-app messages are messages shown inside your app during an active session, while push notifications reach a customer outside the app to bring them back in. Because the customer is already in the app, an in-app message can respond to what they are doing right now: viewing a cart, finishing an order, or opening the app for the first time in two months.

Gameball In-App Messages supports three formats:

• Slide-up: a small bar at the top or bottom of the screen, for light nudges such as a back in stock alert.
• Modal: a pop-up card in the middle of the screen, for offers, games and reward moments.
• Full-screen: an overlay that covers the whole screen, for launches, onboarding and big win-back offers.

Here is how in-app messages compare with the two channels most teams already run.

The channels work best together: push brings the customer back, and the in-app message turns that visit into an action. Our earlier guide on using push notifications and in-app messages together covers how to pair them.

Why in-app messages matter for retention

In-app messages matter because the app session is the one moment you know a customer is paying attention, and most apps lose that attention fast. OneSignal's 2024 mobile benchmarks put average day one app retention at 28.29% and average 30 day retention at just 7.88% (OneSignal Mobile App Benchmarks 2024). The same report found that apps showing 6 to 10 in-app messages a week reported the highest average session length.

Personalization is the other half of the case. McKinsey found that 71% of consumers expect companies to deliver personalized interactions, that 76% get frustrated when this does not happen, and that personalization most often drives a 10 to 15 percent revenue lift (McKinsey). An in-app message targeted by segment, tier or recent behavior is personalization delivered at the moment it counts. To see where this fits in a wider plan, read our companion guide to retention marketing, which maps how lifecycle messaging, loyalty and win-back work together.

What's new in Gameball In-App Messages

Gameball In-App Messages gives your marketing team three formats, flexible content and built-in actions, all designed and previewed in the dashboard, without an app release for every campaign.

You set the message, header and button colors, then check a live preview for iOS and Android before you launch. The permission action is more useful than it looks: OneSignal notes that apps which introduce the native push prompt with an in-app message first see higher opt-in rates, so one in-app message can grow your push audience too.

Games, surveys and loyalty elements inside the message

This is the part we are most excited about. A Gameball in-app message can hold a spin the wheel, a scratch card or a quick survey, so customers play right where they already are instead of hunting for the widget. Points balances, tiers and stamp cards can appear in the message too, which is what turns a reminder into a reason to act. If you are new to these mechanics, our guides to scratch and win campaigns and gamified rewards programs explain how each one drives repeat purchase, and the full library lives in Gameball gamification.

How targeting and triggers work

Every in-app message answers four questions: who sees it, when it shows, how long it runs and on which platform. You set all four in one screen.

Targeting uses the same Gameball segments as your web messages and journeys, so an in-app message can also be one step in an automated flow built in Gameball marketing automation: a customer moves up a tier in your loyalty program, and a modal celebrates it the next time they open the app. Guest targeting matters as well. A full-screen message aimed at guests can push sign-ups, an audience a loyalty program alone cannot reach.

How to prove an in-app message actually worked

You prove an in-app message worked by splitting your audience into variants and a control group, setting a goal, and reading the difference. Gameball builds all three into the campaign:

• A/B variants: test a different image, different copy, or even a different format, such as a modal against a full-screen message, and split customers between them.
• Control group: hold back a share of eligible customers, for example 10%, who qualify for the message but never see it. Some customers would have come back anyway, and the control group shows you the difference.
• Goals: track a specific event in a time window, such as placing an order within 7 days. Once a customer reaches the goal, the message stops showing to them and the conversion is credited to the campaign.

Results sit in Gameball analytics next to your other channels, so you can see whether in-app, push or email moved the goal for each segment.

How Gameball keeps in-app messages helpful, not spammy

Priority, frequency rules and quiet hours apply across every campaign, so each customer sees the most important message rather than every message you have running.

These rules protect the channel itself. A customer who sees one relevant message a session keeps paying attention to the next one.

9 in-app message examples you can launch this week

The nine use cases below are the ones brands are setting up first, each with its audience, trigger and format. Watch the walkthrough, then use the table as your starting point.

The right first use case depends on your business. Retail and ecommerce brands usually start with checkout upsells, back in stock alerts and review requests. Banking and wallet apps in fintech lean on onboarding nudges toward a first transaction and on tier and points reminders. On-demand and delivery apps get the most from free delivery offers, order milestone games and daily habits built with streak campaigns.

How to set up your first in-app message in Gameball

To create an in-app message, go to Campaigns, then Communication, then Create Communication Campaign, and pick In-App. The walkthrough below shows every step, from choosing the audience to designing the message.

In-App Messages is available now. Talk to your account manager to switch it on for your app.

How Gameball helps

Gameball In-App Messages runs on the same platform as your loyalty program, games and gamification, promotions and journeys and automation, so every message already knows each customer's tier, points and history, and every result lands in one analytics view. To see In-App Messages running on your own app, book a demo.

Related reads

• Gamified Rewards Programs: The Mechanics That Drive Repeat Purchase
• Scratch and Win Campaigns: How to Run Them Without Killing Your Margin
• Retention Marketing: How to Build a Retention-First Growth Engine

Frequently asked questions

What are in-app messages?

In-app messages are slide-ups, modals and full-screen messages shown inside a mobile app while the customer is using it. Unlike push notifications, they only appear during an active session, so they can react to what the customer is doing at that moment, such as viewing a cart, finishing an order or reaching a new loyalty tier.

What is the difference between in-app messages and push notifications?

Push notifications reach customers outside your app, on the lock screen, to bring them back. In-app messages appear inside the app once the customer is already there, to guide the next action. Most retention programs use both: push drives the visit and an in-app message turns that visit into an order, a redemption or a sign-up.

Can a Gameball in-app message include a game?

Yes. A Gameball in-app message can hold a spin the wheel, a scratch card or a quick survey, and it can show loyalty elements such as points balances, tiers and stamp cards. Customers play inside the message without opening the widget. Games use your Gamification module, and points or tier elements use Loyalty and Rewards.

Which platforms does Gameball In-App Messages support?

Gameball In-App Messages runs inside iOS and Android apps, and each campaign can target iOS, Android or both, with a live preview for each platform. Gameball web messages cover your website, so you can reach customers on the website and inside the app from the same dashboard and the same segments.

How do I know if an in-app message worked?

Set a goal, such as an order within 7 days, and hold back a control group of eligible customers who never see the message. Gameball credits a conversion to the campaign when a customer reaches the goal, and the gap between the campaign group and the control group shows the lift the message actually caused.

How is Gameball In-App Messages priced?

In-App Messages is a channel inside the Journeys and Automation module, alongside email, mobile push, web messages and automated journeys. The module is priced on Monthly Contacted Customers, the unique customers you reach in a month, not the number of messages. If outbound communication is already in your contract, In-App is included.

Will in-app messages annoy my customers?

Not if you use the guardrails. Gameball applies priority levels, frequency rules across every campaign and quiet hours, such as 10 PM to 8 AM, and stops a message once the customer reaches its goal. Each customer sees the most relevant message for them rather than everything you have running.