Inside Q5 - How shopping apps fight for repeat buyers - Sue Azari (AppsFlyer)

It’s often said that for e-commerce brands, the holiday season is the 5th quarter of the year. Sue Azari, e-commerce industry lead at AppsFlyer, joins Taylor Lobdell for a tactical breakdown of how the smartest e-commerce apps move from Q4 user acquisition to Q5 retention and remarketing. From UK and EMEA trends to global shifts in spend, Sue details why remarketing spend surges fivefold at the end of the year, how loyalty and personalization schemes actually drive a second purchase, and what makes non-organic installs disproportionately valuable for real app revenue. Referencing real examples from brands like Zara, H&M, Temu, and Shein, Sue lays out the structural shifts, practical tactics, and emerging risks facing every marketer trying to build durable, app-based revenue in a volatile global market.

Key topics and questions

• The in-house consultant role at AppsFlyer and its cross-functional focus
• How the UK’s mature e-commerce market shapes global strategies
• Why Q5 matters, and how its install/revenue spike emerged
• When and why remarketing eclipses UA spend
• Tactics for turning a Q4 buyer into a repeat customer in Q5
• Personalization, loyalty, and exclusive drops to drive frequency
• UGC, influencer content, and AI tools for creative ideation
• What e-commerce needs to steal from gaming’s diversified media mix
• Why DSPs and Reddit remain underused in e-commerce
• Paid–organic uplift: why half of installs deliver three-quarters of revenue
• How to respond to high December CPMs and new market entrants
• The 70-20-10 rule for channel testing
• Global UA patterns: Android vs iOS, tariffs, rapid spend reallocation
• QR codes, in-store modes, and the app as a bridge to physical retail
• Segmentation: why abandon basket and uninstalled users matter most
• Staying current in a market defined by privacy shifts and macro volatility

Timestamps

• (0:03) – Intro, Sue’s cross-functional role and background
• (1:11) – UK and EMEA, market maturity, lessons, and cross-region strategy
• (2:52) – Defining Q5, why end-of-year cycles matter for apps and travel
• (4:10) – Black Friday: remarketing spend is five times UA at peak
• (5:03) – Tactics: loyalty, personalization, and getting to the second purchase
• (6:12) – Creative best practices, UGC, influencers, and new AI tools
• (7:02) – Diversifying media, DSPs, app-to-app installs, and what e-commerce misses
• (7:55) – Community and AI as emerging channels
• (9:13) – Paid–organic uplift, nearly three-quarters of revenue is non-organic
• (10:38) – Coping with high CPMs, moving spend, leaning on owned media
• (11:43) – Testing new channels; the 70-20-10 rule for risk
• (13:47) – Regional differences in UA: China, tariffs, and aggressive spend moves
• (17:00) – How Sue tracks trends, privacy changes, and new industry moves
• (17:32) – Temu/Shein: billion-dollar UA, loyalty pivots, and physical store expansions
• (19:42) – QR codes, attribution, and bridging digital and physical with apps
• (20:51) – Retargeting segments: abandon basket and uninstalled users
• (21:46) – Lightning round: favorite channels, brands, tactics, and London recommendations

Selected quotes

• (4:13) – “When we look at spend, remarketing spend is five times that of UA for e-commerce apps during the end of Q4.”
• (10:06) – “Nearly three quarters of purchase revenue comes from non-organic sources. Users are much more likely to buy something if they’ve been driven to the app by a particular marketing campaign.”
• (21:01) – “Abandoned baskets are my primary focus for remarketing, because 70% of users who install an e-commerce app will abandon their basket. The other one that I think is not as commonly done, but I think it’s very valuable, is remarketing to uninstalled users.”

Mentioned in this episode

• AppsFlyer
• Sue Azari on Linkedin