Data & Research

App Store downloads drop in February but user costs rebound to $1.31, reports Fiksu

'Robotic downloads' crackdown also has impact

App Store downloads drop in February but user costs rebound to $1.31, reports Fiksu
App Store downloads fell across the month of February according to numbers released by Fiksu, with the platform 'normalising' after a record breaking January.

Fiksu's App Store index, which monitors the aggregate daily download rate for the top 200 free apps in the US, illustrated a rise to 6.79 million app downloads a day in January owing to a rush of new iOS users over Christmas.

February, however, saw that rate fall back again, averaging out at 6.35 million downloads a day – a not unexpected dip, but one that naturally resulted in a rise in the amount of money it costs developers to attract new users.

Paying the cost

Indeed, Fiksu claims its Cost per Loyal User Index – its monitor on the amount of cash it costs to attract someone who will start the app up three times or more – rose from $1.14 in January to $1.31 in February.

That's still a comparatively low figure when measured against previous rates outside of the Christmas period, however, with September 2011 playing host to a cost per loyal user figure of $1.64.



"As we moved out of the holiday and New Year discovery rush period, consumer download activity slowed during the month of February," said CEO Micah Adler.

"Still, with plentiful volume at reasonable costs, our Indexes show that February presented another valuable opportunity for mobile marketers to acquire loyal app users."

Interestingly, Fiksu also claims Apple's vocal crackdown on what it terms as "robotic install traffic sources" - otherwise known as bot farms – may have impacted download rates overall, despite the fact the firm claims it doesn't monitor such traffic sources.

[source: Fiksu Indices]

With a fine eye for detail, Keith Andrew is fuelled by strong coffee, Kylie Minogue and the shapely curve of a san serif font.