Introducing Collections, a new on-device surface for your content

Posted by Cullen Rotroff, Product Manager, Google Play

Over the past year, the Play Store has evolved into a dynamic engine for discovering apps and their great content. We continue to invest in features that create the best experience for people who love apps. At Google I/O this year, we debuted new on-device surfaces that take content discovery beyond the Play Store, powered by the Engage SDK.

Today we are happy to announce that this new surface is ready to turn heads. collection: Seamlessly showcase personalized content and lead users on a continuous journey directly into your app.

Extend your app’s reach beyond the Play Store

Collections are full-screen, immersive spaces that automatically organize the best and most relevant content from your installed apps and place it into purpose-oriented spaces like Watch & Listen, Shop, and Social, where users can deep link directly into your app to complete their journey, whether that be enjoying your content or completing a purchase.

You can use this surface to highlight the content that’s most important to you, such as personalized recommendations and promotions. If a user has your app installed but isn’t logged in, Collections can prompt the user to sign in to surface the most personalized content. Additionally, if your app is integrated but not installed, Collections can recommend that the user install it.

Users enter their collections through the Play Store widget – there’s no need to install a new app, users can simply preview the experience in the Play Store and add the widget to their home screen.

Engage users with personalized, customizable messages

There are multiple ways to use Collections to engage your users.

A continuing journey is the anchor for this experience, appearing at the top of most spaces and allowing users to resume their journey with a tap. For example:

• Shop allows users to recover abandoned shopping carts.
• “Listen” allows users to return to their recently played albums, playlists, podcasts, audiobooks, or live radio stations.
• Food also allows users to pick up their open cart or reorder recently ordered meals.

And we understand that developers know their users best, which is why you can create up to five collections to give you more control over your collections experience. Recommended ClustersThese clusters can be personalized based on user behavior within your app and organized by themes such as new releases, price drops, users’ favorite topics, etc. For users who are not logged into your app, you can serve content with broad appeal to drive new sessions.

Finally, collections highlight hero content. Featured Clustersa larger, more premium UI template. It can display one personalized recommendation card per user, dynamically updating throughout the day. Recommendation clusters are perfect for personalized top promotions and deals, such as:

• Promote memberships or special business models such as loyalty programs.
• Highlight the best personalized deals.
• Launch new product and app features.

Get started with Engage SDK

To get started with Collections, Engage SDKis a client-side integration that leverages on-device APIs and takes most developers approximately one week to complete. Designed to be simple and lightweight, the integration adds less than 50 KB to the average app’s APK.

The Engage SDK allows apps to push personalized app content to collections. The integration is designed for personalized content on your app’s front page, so you don’t need to initiate and maintain a new content strategy. The content strategy, metadata, and personalization you need are already in place; you just need to expose it using the Engage SDK.

Today we are inviting all apps with users in the United States and content in supported categories. Watching, Listening, Reading, Shopping, Food, Social, Travel & Events, Health & Fitness, Dating – Click here to get involved. Over 35 top apps have already integrated with the Engage SDK, including Adidas, Amazon Prime Video, Audible, Best Buy, iHeartRadio, Nextdoor, Spotify, Shopify, and Walmart.

Visit the Engage SDK integration guide to see if your app meets the eligibility requirements and express your interest.