Deferred deep links cut onboarding drop-off 16 points

Deferred deep links cut onboarding drop-off 16 points
A marketplace app sent paid users to a generic post-install home screen. New users had to re-find the listing they clicked.

They wired Branch deferred deep links so the post-install session opened straight to the clicked listing, passing UTM + listing ID through the install.

Result on 90k attributed installs:
— activation (first listing view) rose from 61% to 77%
— D7 retention +4.2 points, paid CPA effectively −14%

✓ Same spend, better post-install continuity
✓ Branch links survived the install gap reliably on Android
✗ iOS deferred match weaker without a clipboard/SKAN bridge
✗ One QA miss sent 3% to a 404 deep link for a week

Verdict: deferred deep linking is the cheapest CPA cut you're not doing.
Best for: apps with content-specific landing intent.