China's app loss is Israel, USA and Germany's gain: AppsFlyer report

2020 saw an increase in India's app installs with 38.5% of market share of the total apps installed in the country, beating China and Israel, according to a study by AppsFlyer.

 

The study analysed 7.3 billion installs that were recorded in India from 1 January to 30 November 2020, including 4,519 apps covering entertainment, finance, shopping, gaming, travel, news, food and drink, and utility verticals. The data sample also includes 933 billion app opens and 3 billion remarketing conversions.

 

Apps that were headquartered in China saw a decrease in installs, making China end the year with a 29% market share – a dip reflecting the prevailing political climate.

 

Apps from Israel were third on the list – with a 5% market share, followed by Russia, the USA, and Germany.

 

The study also revealed that demand from semi-urban areas increased drastically in 2020. Here are a few other key highlights:

 

• Overall mobile usage increased, and semi-urban areas emerged as the hub for mobile usage giving rise to an ideal opportunity to reach younger digital consumers.

• States with predominantly semi-urban areas emerged as the new sweet spots for mobile usage.

• Uttar Pradesh, India's most populated state, led the market in non-organic installs (NOI) at 12.10%, leaving behind Maharashtra at 11.49%.

• Owing to the availability of cheaper mobile data and handsets, tier 2, 3, and 4 cities saw a rise in mobile usage in gaming, finance, and entertainment.

• Additionally, the year saw apps being launched in different verticals that target lower-tier cities that boosted mobile usage in tier 2 and 3 cities.

 

Further, due to the lockdown's financial implication, app marketers slashed their budgets, resulting in lower overall spending leading to a 12% decrease in app retention rates. This encouraged marketers to change their strategies towards remarketing.

 

The report also shed light on some key user acquisition insights, as follows:

 

• Entertainment apps enjoyed the fastest time-to-first purchase, often converting the user within the first 10 minutes.

• Shopping events and promotions made for a significant rise in in-app purchases and relaxed Covid-19 restrictions also helped support this spike. 

• Overall, 50% of all app uninstalls happen within the day of installation. Uninstall rates increased as compared to last year – this insight paves the way for marketers to launch their remarketing campaigns.

 

Other insights:

 

1. Remarketing: Owing to retention rates dipping, sectors like gaming, travel, and fintech that were most hit, invested heavily into remarketing to incentivise their existing user base. These remarketing tactics proved to be highly effective and in twelve weeks the retention rate went up to 85% as compared to the sectors that did not invest in it. Therefore, app marketers need to analyse the marketing ROI and invest in remarketing campaigns that are providing better returns.

 

2. Mobile ad fraud: According to the report, reduced spend and marketing budgets led to lower fraud rates across all apps, improved preventive measures also contributed to the decline in mobile frauds. It adds that fraud will remain a serious issue and return in 2021 as soon as marketing budgets recover. Travel, entertainment, and finance were the most affected verticals and will remain most vulnerable to fraud. Apart from being exposed to bot fraud, which is the most dominant fraud type, app marketers need to watch out for click flooding and install hijacking.

 

Sanjay Trisal, country manager, AppsFlyer India, said, “The State of App Marketing Report is the source of truth for apps to drive marketing success in 2021 and beyond. While Chinese apps have slipped in terms of overall market share (29%), Indian apps leveraged this opportunity by dominating the install volume (40%) in the country. Foreign apps from Israel, the United States, Russia, and Germany made further inroads into this rapidly growing market and are in line to challenge China. Closer to home, it is encouraging to see tier 2 and 3 markets provide tough competition to the metros when it comes to gaming, entertainment, and fintech. Regional content is a key by-product of this trend, and it will be the next big pivot for app marketers.”