Purpose Given the rising popularity of mobile commerce among young consumers, this study aims to examine the effect of mobile applications service quality (MASQ), service convenience (SERCON) and satisfaction contributing to the retention of young consumers towards mobile applications. Design/methodology/approach Primary data were collected from 213 active online young smartphone users who have used mobile apps for shopping through a structured questionnaire. Structural equation modelling is used to analyse the data. Findings The results of this study reveal that both MASQ and SERCON strongly support satisfaction, which leads to the retention of young customers. Originality/value This study is one of the few relevant pieces of research that would benefit mretailers encompassing mobile commerce applications to improve their MASQ and SERCON with cutthroat competition in gaining and retaining young customers for shopping through smartphone applications.