What Is Push Notification Marketing, and How Does It Work?

Imagine you’re browsing your smartphone, and suddenly you receive a little alert: “Flash Sale — 50 % off until midnight!” It pops up even if you’re not in the shopping app or on its website. That alert is a type of push notification, and when it’s used for marketing, it becomes a powerful tool called push notification marketing. Let’s break down in simple language what it is, why it matters, how it works, and how you, as a user, experience it (and how companies use it).

Table of Contents

What is a Push Notification?

A “push notification” is a short message that pops up on your device — smartphone, tablet, or even a web browser on a desktop. You don’t have to open an app or website for it: the message arrives proactively. Here’s how one explanation puts it:

“A push notification, or push message, is a quick alert that goes straight to a user’s device, even if they aren’t using an app or visiting a website.”

To use an analogy: think of getting a “knock on the door” (notification) instead of you going out to visit the store.

What Is Push Notification Marketing?

When companies use push notifications as part of their marketing—to promote offers, updates, reminders, or content—that’s push notification marketing. In other words: messaging through those pop-ups with marketing intent.

Here are a few definitions:

“Push notification marketing refers to the practice of sending marketing messages via ‘push’ technology … on both desktop and mobile devices.”
It is described as “an advertising strategy whereby marketers use browser notifications on a variety of devices to inform their target audience about services and products.”

So when you see a notification like “Your cart is waiting! “Complete your purchase now” or “New article just dropped!” – that’s generally what this is about.

Why Should You Care? (From a User’s Perspective)

From your point of view as a user or customer, there are some good (and some cautionary) reasons why push notification marketing matters:

Good points

Timely updates: Companies can alert you about something that matters right away — for example, a delivery status update, a flash sale, or a new feature in an app.
Relevant offers: If done well, the messaging is personalised or based on your behaviour (such as you browsed a product), so the notification has actual value.
Fewer missed messages: Unlike email (which you might ignore or not open soon), push notifications often get noticed more quickly.

Things to watch out for

If you get too many notifications, or they’re irrelevant, it becomes annoying, and you might turn them off or even uninstall the app.
Since they appear without you opening anything, they require permission (you must opt in in most cases). If you allow them indiscriminately, you might get overloaded.

How Does It Work? (The Mechanics)

Let’s walk through the sequence from both your viewpoint (user) and the company/app side.

On the User Side

You install an app or visit a website.
The app or website asks (usually) for permission: “Allow notifications?”
- - On mobile apps (Android/iOS), this is via the app.
  - On web browsers (desktop or mobile), you might get a small pop-up or prompt: “Do you want to get notifications from this site?”
If you click Allow, your device is now registered for notifications from that app/website.
The company sends a message through its system, and you receive it—even if you’re not using the app at that moment.
- The notification shows up in your notification centre/lock screen/browser bar.

On the Company/App Side

The app or website connects to a push-notification service (for example, for iOS, the Apple Push Notification service (APNs); for Android, the Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM)).

Each device/user (that allows notifications) gets a unique token or registration identifier. That is the “address” to which notifications can be sent.

The company creates the notification content (title, message body, sometimes image or button) and selects recipients (you might belong to a certain segment).

The message is sent through the push service and delivered to the device—a pop-up appears for the user.

If you click the notification, it might open the app, deep-link to a specific page, or take you to a website (whatever the company set up).

Example

You install a shopping app and say “Yes” to notifications.
Later, the app notices you viewed a pair of shoes but didn’t buy them.
The app sends a push notification: “Hey! Those shoes you viewed are now 20% off — tap to grab them!”
You see it while idle on your phone, you tap it, and you go to the app, and (maybe) buy.

Types & Use-Cases of Push Notification Marketing

Companies use push notifications in many different ways. Here are some common ones:

Promotional offers: “Limited time sale – 30% off until midnight!”
Abandoned cart reminders: “You left items in your cart – finish checkout now.”
Personalised product recommendations: Suggesting something based on your past behaviour.
Updates or alerts: “Your order has shipped” and “Breaking news on your favourite topic”. This straddles marketing & utility.
Re-engagement messages: For people who haven’t used the app/site in a while: “We miss you – come back and get a gift!”
Location-based or contextual: If you’re near a store or in a region, you might get a local offer.

Why Do Brands Use It?

From the business side, why is this method so appealing?

High engagement: One source says push notifications have dramatically higher open rates than email.
Direct channel: It’s a way to talk to the user’s phone, browser, or device directly without needing to chase them.
Cost-effective: Compared to many advertising channels, push notifications can achieve strong results at a lower cost (especially when you already have a user base).
Personalisation and segmentation: Brands can tailor messages based on user behaviour, location, device, etc. That improves results.

How Does It Work Specifically in the User Journey?

Let’s follow a user journey step-by-step:

Install/visit: You install an app (say, a shopping or news app) or visit a website and accept notifications.

Behaviour tracking: The app notes your behaviour: what you view, what you buy, what you skip, and how often you open it.

Segment & trigger: Based on that behaviour, the app assigns you to a group (“interested in shoes”, “inactive user for 7 days”, etc.).

Message craft: The brand creates a push notification tailored for that segment (for example, “Rock that new sneaker you looked at”).

Send & deliver: The push notification is sent and appears on your device.

User action: You click and open the app/website. Maybe you buy, maybe you ignore.

Feedback loop: The brand sees who clicked, who ignored, and who converted. They refine future messages.

From your side, this means you might see offers and updates that are more relevant to your interests (if done well), or you might see annoyances if the brand misuses the channel.

What Makes a Good Push Notification – From Your Point of View

Since you’re the receiver, here are features of push notifications that feel good (and ones that don’t).

Good ones

Short, clear headline and message: “20 % off until midnight!”
Relevant to you (you already showed interest, or it’s something you need).
Sent at a reasonable time (not too early in the morning or too late at night).
Features useful actions such as “Tap to avail” and “Check your status”, among others.
Pleasant frequency: not too often, so you don’t feel spammed.

Bad ones

Too many messages per day or messages you didn’t ask for.
Irrelevant content: “50 % off skis” when you always buy books.
Sent at inconvenient times: 2 a.m. notifications wake you up.
No clear value: “Check us out!” without a reason.

Many users end up turning off notifications when they’re misused. For example, one Reddit user wrote:

“I completely turn off push notifications for any app that sends me a marketing message via push notification.”

How You Can Manage/Use It Smartly

Here are tips from the user side so the experience stays good for you:

Opt-in consciously: When an app asks to allow notifications, think: Do I really want updates from this app?
Adjust settings: Most devices allow you to control notifications per app, enabling you to allow only “important” notifications (such as order status) and disable purely promotional ones.
Check frequency: If an app sends too many notifications, consider turning it off or reducing the type of notifications.
Use your preferences: Some apps allow you to set what kind of notifications you’d like (sales only, not general marketing).
Stay aware: Recognise when a push notification is valuable vs when it’s just noise. If you feel it’s too often and not useful, turn it off.

The Future/Trends of Push Notification Marketing

What’s ahead? Here are some things happening:

Better timing & context: Brands are working to send notifications when you’re most likely to engage — using time zone, device usage, and behaviour insights.
Rich media notifications: Instead of plain text, notifications might include images, video, buttons to tap, etc. That can enhance the experience.
Web push (desktop/browser): Not just mobile apps — websites are increasingly using browser push notifications (on desktop and mobile) to reach you.
Privacy & opt-in focus: As users become more aware, apps need clear permission, transparency, and user control. The balance between helpful and intrusive is important.

In Summary

Push notifications are short pop-up-style messages sent to your device, even when you’re not active in the app or site.
Push notification marketing = using those messages for marketing: offers, updates, and re-engagement.
As a user, you benefit when the messages are relevant, timely, and helpful; you suffer when they’re irrelevant, frequent, or intrusive.
Brands use this channel because it offers direct reach, higher engagement, and personalisation, but it comes with the responsibility to use it well.
You can take control by managing your preferences, opting in thoughtfully, and tweaking settings as needed.

FAQ’s

Are push notifications safe to allow on my phone or browser?

Yes, push notifications are generally safe. They don’t access your personal data or files. However, you should only allow them from trusted apps or websites to avoid spam or unnecessary messages that clutter your screen.

Can I stop receiving push notifications anytime?

Absolutely! You can turn off or mute push notifications anytime in your device or browser settings. You can even choose which apps or websites can send them. This helps you control what updates or promotions you actually want.

Why do I get so many push notifications?

If you’re receiving too many notifications, it’s likely because multiple apps or sites are sending promotional messages. Adjust your settings or unsubscribe from non-essential notifications. Most apps let you customise the frequency or types of alerts you receive.

How are push notifications different from SMS or email?

Push notifications appear instantly on your device screen without opening an app, while emails or SMS messages need to be checked manually. Push alerts are shorter, more direct, and often used for time-sensitive updates or limited-time offers.

Do push notifications use my mobile data?

Yes, but very little. Push notifications use a minimal amount of data—usually just a few kilobytes per message. Unless they contain large images or videos, you won’t notice any impact on your data usage.

Can companies track what I click in a push notification?

Yes, most companies track basic engagement like clicks or opens to understand user interest. This helps them send more relevant messages. However, they don’t see private data—only anonymised insights about what users respond to.

Should I allow notifications for every app I install?

No, only allow notifications from apps or websites that provide real value to you—like delivery updates, news, or important alerts. Avoid granting permission to apps that send frequent promotions or irrelevant content.