The outbreak of COVID-19 has upended economies throughout the world, including the app-based businesses. Global SaaS company Adjust’s annual App Trends 2020 report takes a look at long-term trends based on data from 2019 and includes insights into how COVID-19 has affected the app economy by comparing Q1 2019 and Q1 2020 figures.
The data shows that many app verticals are seeing increases in sessions and installs in 2020, most notably in the Business, Food & Drink, and Gaming verticals.
The research further noted that the increase is in line with the pandemic forcing the majority of employees to work remotely, which contributes to Business apps seeing a significant rise in sessions (up by 105 per cent from Q1 2019) and installs (up by 70 per cent). Revenue events are also up by 75 per cent, as users opt for premium versions to help ease the transition to working from home.
The increase in various verticals
In Food & Drink sector, many restaurants are forced to turn to takeout-only which contributes to Food & Drink apps experiencing a significant increase in sessions — up by 73 per cent on this time last year, while installs increased by 21 per cent.
In Gaming verticals, there has also seen a large uptick in installs, with the need for entertainment surging. In the last week of March, the vertical saw a 132 per cent increase in the number of installs compared to last year.
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In total, Gaming apps saw a 47 per cent increase in sessions and 75 per cent increase in installs in Q1 2020 compared to Q1 2019.
The engagement behaviour’s slight changes
“Beyond these increases in installs and sessions, the report shows little evidence to suggest that there’s been a fundamental shift in user behaviour post-install,” said Paul H. Müller, co-founder and CTO of Adjust. “Users are still taking the same actions in-app, such as averaging a little above two sessions a day, to churning at predictable points in the customer journey.”
The report also details on differences between paid and organic installs, noting that app marketing is fast becoming a pay-to-play game — as the market becomes increasingly competitive. The number of installs from paid sources amounted to 30 per cent of total installs in 2019, up from 24 per cent in 2018.
Additionally, the report explores when users typically engage with app verticals throughout the day, offering insights into peak times and the windows of opportunity for reactivation campaigns for businesses.
First, e-commerce apps see a peak of sessions both at lunchtime, between noon and 2 pm, and again in the evening, with sessions between 7 and 10 pm accounting for a quarter of their daily total. Similarly, Food & Drink apps see a spike in use between 5 and 8 pm, accounting for 31 per cent of their total daily sessions.
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On the other hand, many Gaming apps don’t see significant shifts in engagement throughout the day. Casual game activity increases between 12 and 4 pm, but it’s a modest jump of only at 15 per cent. Meanwhile, Mid-core games rise from very early in the morning (5 am) to peak at 1 pm.
The takeaways
The report also includes its takeaways:
- The current state favours the old players in app-based businesses, which presents challenges for newcomers to breakthrough. With this in mind, marketers are advised to build up the paid activities and focus less on organic. To improve paid activities, marketers have to make sure that campaigns are tied to the seasons and the contexts allow the business to engage and retain valued customers.
- Marketers for app-based businesses are looking to a broader range of networks to find new audiences. The research finds that there is more experimentation with networks with marketing automation unlocking this potential, giving marketers more time to manage even more campaigns. However, the more the businesses succeed, the more they have to handle alongside fraud prevention.
- The importance of re-engagement differs depending on the businesses’ vertical, but many app marketers agree that not enough emphasis is placed on retargeting. In 2020 this activation technique could take more of the spotlight — Shopping leads the pack, but others could follow.
The full report is available for download here.
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