Claims from industry analysts point towards the rate of app downloads having decelerated after reaching saturation in markets such as the US and South Korea. In August, CNNMoney became one of the many publications to run a piece on this supposed slowdown of app downloads. Flurry Research set out to disprove this claim using their analytics data…
Focusing on the US, Flurry found that consumers are still downloading apps at almost exactly the same rate since 2011. On average, a US consumer downloaded 8.8 apps per month in 2014. That number remained the same in 2013, dropped to 8.6 in 2012, and increased to its highest rate of 8.9 in 2011.
The research takes into account both downloads from Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store to get a comprehensive idea across the biggest app markets. Although it shows that apps are being downloaded at a similar rate, it doesn’t mean the consumers are continuing to use the apps in the long-term. Flurry’s previous research shows that this could be the case.
Flurry dived deeper into their numbers to unveil that most customers (54%) are downloading less than eight apps per month, but a new category has emerged that the firm is calling “install addicts” which could be used as evidence to start preparing some more gaming rehab centers (yes, they exist!)
These install addicts are bumping up the numbers by downloading more than 17 apps per month, which could be across multiple devices. Install addicts represent 20% of the US mobile consumer base, estimated to be around 32 million people.
In terms of demographics, install addicts are 53% female and 47% male. This is in slight contrast to the average mobile consumer who is 48% female and 52% male. Games are, unsurprisingly, the persona which drives install addicts for both genders. Social enthusiasts take second place for males, whilst mothers take that place for females.
Are you surprised by Flurry’s findings about install addicts? Let us know in the comments.
