App Store downloads are on the decline, while the cost of acquiring loyal users is increasing, according to the new monthly figures from mobile app marketing firm Fiksu.
The company's App Store index measures the average aggregate daily download volume of the top 200 free iPhone apps in the US.
For the month of April It shows app downloads continuing to fall to a daily average of 4.23 million after a considerable January boom and then a sharp drop last month following Apple banning bot farms.
Meanwhile, Fiksu posits that increased competition in the social networking and gaming categories caused mobile marketing costs to slightly increase in April, leading to a rise in the cost per loyal user rate to $1.46.
Downward trajectory
"April's continued downward trajectory of app downloads was expected, as no major events sparked discovery during the month," explained Fiksu CEO Micah Adler.
"Additionally, app marketers continued to scale back their use of robotic install tactics in response to Apple's policy on third-party marketing services," Adler continued, referring to Apple's crackdown on the use of bot farms to increase an app's standing in App Store rankings.
"However, we observed more aggressive advertising spending as marketers moved out of the first quarter lull and began to seek new opportunities to compete for rank especially in the dynamic social networking and games categories, which experienced volatility during the month."
You can see Fiksu's research, which is generated from more than 21 billion mobile app actions and more than 280 million downloads - here.
Data & Research
Related Articles
News
Feb 28th, 2017
CPMs are falling on Android and iOS but users aren't sticking to new apps for long
Top Stories
News
4 hours, 9 minutes ago
PocketGamer.biz Podcast Week in Mobile Games E14 -Supercell's Squad Busters goes global and why Steam does discoverability better than mobile
News
May 31st, 2024
Week in Views - Squad Busters goes global, broken app stores, and Hill Climb Racing gets the LEGO treatment
News
May 31st, 2024
Mobile Movers: All the latest appointments and job moves from around the industry
Events
Indie Game Fest & Indie Campus 2024 | Europe | May 31st |
Indie Craft K-Game Festival 2024 | Europe | May 31st |
BostonFig Online 2024 | Jun 1st | |
GameSummit Summer 2024 | Jun 1st | |
Gotland Game Conference 2024 | Nordic | Jun 3rd |
Games Mental Health Summit 2024 | Europe | Jun 3rd |
Dev Play Conference 2024 | Europe | Jun 3rd |
Tribeca Games Festival 2024 | North America | Jun 5th |