Report: App usage patterns shift over Xmas
January 19, 2022
Users engage with their mobile phones as much as ever, with overall session and install numbers remaining consistent, but the apps they engage with shift for a few weeks, reports app marketing specialist Adjust. Someone who typically uses a health and fitness app every day might take a break and gravitate toward food delivery, and a person who uses a gaming app every day might find themselves streaming music more often.
Adjust took a look at the global trends from December 23rd 2021 through to New Year’s Day of 2022 to determine how the data measured up against the average for 2021 and for the month of December.
Music streaming increases dramatically over the festive season
Usage of mobile streaming apps surged over the entire week from December 23rd to January 1st, but Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve hit impressive new heights. On December 25th, installs for the vertical were 86 per cent higher than the yearly average. People were feeling festive in general throughout December, as the month’s average installs were 15 per cent up on the rest of the year. Moving away from Christmas carols, music streaming spiked again globally on New Year’s Eve, with numbers up by 24 per cent.
Health & fitness bounces back after a quick break
Health and fitness apps dip significantly in the last week of the year every year as many people take a break from their regimes, and 2021 was no exception. In fact, December 24th was actually the worst day of the year for installs in the vertical, sitting at 48 per cent below the yearly average. December 25th was a little stronger for installs, but was still 32 per cent lower than average.
In terms of sessions, Christmas Day was the slowest day of the year, at 39 per cent below average. By January 1st, however, we see users shifting gear as they move into the new year, with installs and sessions back up. Installs for the first week of 2022 are up 39 per cent compared to the 2021 average (and 160 per cent compared to December 24th), with January 3rd the top day so far. Sessions have also jumped, with the first week of January up 54 per cent compared to Christmas Day.
‘Tis the season for gaming apps
Gaming apps perform consistently throughout the year, but Adjust identified a considerable spike in usage over the festive season. Users may have been playing games with friends and family, or perhaps had more time on their hands to lay back and use their phones. Either way installs and sessions were up. Gaming app installs for the December 25th and 26th were 28 per cent higher than average.
It’s the New Year when things really start to kick off, however. Over the first three days of 2022, installs performed at 58 per cent higher than the 2021 average, and sessions increased by 8 per cent.