The relationship between immersive experience and shelf life of mobile apps: an empirical study of a gaming application

Purpose Mobile apps usually have a short lifespan, and this prevents the majority from surviving long enough to generate revenue for their developers. To address this issue, this study aims to recognize the role of engagement and immersion and develops a cognitive-affective theoretical framework to associate these factors with the lifespan of an app. Moreover, the authors focus on gaming apps because of their dominance on mobile platforms, and because a few of them become lucrative while the majority perish within a few weeks. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a longitudinal survey-based approach to collect data on one of the popular gaming apps (Pokémon Go), which received international attention. The design focuses on identifying factors that extend the lifespan of the app and affects users’ decision to continue or stop using the app over time. The authors use the survival analysis and structural equation modeling to analyze the theoretical framework. Findings The authors find the centrality of the users’ experience of immersion to extend the mobile app lifespan. Engagement influences immersion and immersion predicts users’ decision to continue or stop using the app. Users’ experience of immersion increases the probability of the apps’ survival by 12%. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the only study that proposes a theoretical framework, meticulously investigates the factors that can lead to survival of a mobile app and uses longitudinal data for the empirical analysis.