Checkout 51 Drives a 93% Click-to-Open Rate With Deep Linking in Ads

Industry

Retail

43%

increase in click-to-open rate

10%

increase in conversion rate

About Checkout 51

Checkout 51, a leading rebate app offering users cashback rewards and great grocery deals, has been mobile-first since its launch. Founded in Toronto, the company quickly gained popularity among shoppers and achieved rapid growth.

In the mobile space, acquiring app users is just the beginning. Most major brands face three key stages of mobile growth: developing and launching the app, acquiring new users, and — most importantly — driving revenue through effective engagement strategies.

The third stage is often the hardest to master. Reengaging app users who have installed the app but haven’t stayed active or converted is a significant challenge. Checkout 51 needed the right partner to overcome this hurdle.

Challenge: Driving app engagement and revenue beyond install

Checkout 51 faced a challenge reengaging app users who had installed the app but weren’t active or converting. While they used paid ads to reengage users, the lack of contextual deep links led to a subpar experience. Ad clicks directed users to the app store instead of relevant in-app content, isolating installation from the pre-install context and resulting in 30,000 to 40,000 weekly drop-offs.

Solution: Reengaging app users with deep-linked ads

Checkout 51 turned to Branch Performance to integrate deep links into its paid advertising strategy. Branch’s deep links allowed the brand to direct users from various channels straight to relevant content within the app, rather than just the App Store or Play Store.

This eliminated the broken experience of traditional links, ensuring users were taken directly to specific offers or promotions. Additionally, deep linking allowed Checkout 51 to apply targeted promotions or cashback rewards to enhance the user experience and drive conversions.

Screenshot of Checkout 51 app page.

With Branch Performance, Checkout 51 could also track ad conversions across devices, platforms, and channels, gaining cross-channel insights to optimize campaigns and track ROI. Using the Branch Dashboard, the team could view conversions by ad partner over time to identify its top-performing channels. This level of insight empowered Checkout 51 to launch a new reengagement campaign targeted at users who already had the app installed.

Screenshot of Branch Dashboard analytics.

Results

By deep linking users directly to relevant offers within the app, Checkout 51 created a seamless ad-to-app experience. As a result, click-to-open rates surged from 50% to 93% in just one month. This jump in open rates translated to a 10% increase in app conversions among users who engaged with the deep linked remarketing ads.

The takeaway? Deep linking allows brands to deliver personalized, high-conversion experiences that drive engagement, boost revenue, and provide valuable insights across complex, cross-platform user journeys.

“Take your users directly to the content they want to see. Reengaging a user through remarketing ads is difficult enough — don’t give them a disjointed experience and make them find the content you are reengaging them with on their own by taking them to the app store first. Deep link users directly to content with Branch and you’ll see positive effects on reengagement spend from day one.”

Alex Potichnyj, Director of Marketing
Checkout 51

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Mobile Growth Playbook for Retail

In this playbook, we explore ways that retailers can grow their mobile presence and how retailers can tap into apps for acquisition, retention, and increased conversions. With first-hand advice, industry data, and quick tips — including insights from our partners at Braze — we take the guesswork out of mobile growth and empower you to thrive.