Welcome to another installment of our Pulse on Current App Trends report. Every month we round up the key insights on app trends from the previous month to help you better market your app. This month we’re reviewing July 2021 trends, including the limited effect iOS 14.5 has had on app revenue in the US and the rise of parking and event ticketing apps.
iOS 14.5 Has Limited Effect on App Revenue in the US
It seems that Apple’s IDFA changes have had less of an effect on app revenue than previously expected. In-app revenue of the top 50 grossing apps has remained steady as iOS 14.5 adoption increased throughout the summer. This comes in the wake of expectations that Apple’s ATT would cause a significant decline in app performance due to less effective ad targeting.
As of June 27, iOS 14.5 adoption reached 75%. This has not coincided with a significant loss to in-app revenue. However, as the graph below illustrates, it has coincided with a dip in app downloads. That being said, if the downturn in downloads continues, revenue should follow suit. We’ll keep monitoring performance and give an update in the months to come.
Source: Apptopia
In the mobile gaming category, there are similar trends in response to Apple’s IDFA changes. Namely, Apple’s ATT has had no clear effect on game monetization, with in app revenue across game categories remaining steady despite increased iOS 14.5 adoption.
Source: Apptopia
However, in contrast to non-game apps, there has also been no change to game app downloads.
Source: Apptopia
What could be the reason behind the lack of change in app performance? Some explanations include game apps’ increased investment in user acquisition to overcompensate for any potential losses in revenue or installs. Many of the larger game publishers could also be using the IDFV to run cross-promotional campaigns on iOS. Of course, there’s also the possibility that more users are opting-in to tracking than the industry previously expected.
Parking App Installs Rise as Public Transportation Declines
Both first time downloads and monthly active users of the top parking apps are above pre-pandemic levels. For reference, the three fastest growing parking apps by monthly downloads are ParkMe Parking, SpotHero and RinGo Parking. These parking apps help users locate garages near their destinations, provide mapping to available spots and facilitate parking payment.
Given the fear of virus transmission from human contact, it makes sense that users would be eager to use apps to pay for parking via their mobile devices rather than through an attendant or publicly-used machine.
Source: Apptopia
While parking app usage has increased as in-person activities gain steam, transit apps have dipped. Transit apps show schedules for public transportation options like trains, subways and buses. Transit app usage has decreased to 38.7% below pre-pandemic levels. This is in contrast to parking app usage which is currently 6.2% higher than pre-pandemic levels.
Source: Apptopia
The relative decline of transit apps compared to parking apps could be due to the fact that many people moved out of cities during the pandemic. This could result in less use of public transportation and increased use of personal vehicles. Additionally, many people might be avoiding public transportation due to virus transmission concerns.
Data shows that public transit ridership has plummeted across cities in the US. This is not just due to concerns about virus transmission but also changing life and commute habits. With many companies allowing remote work in the face of stay-at-home orders, less people are using public transportation to commute to work.
Source: NBC News
In-Person Event Ticketing Apps Show Gains
Event ticketing apps have rebounded as more in-person events take place. In-person event ticketing app installs reached 86% of pre-pandemic levels. This includes the rates of the top five most-downloaded ticketing apps in the US including Ticketmaster, Eventbrite, StubHub, SeatGeek, and AXS Tickets. In July, these apps collectively generated 1.8 million installs, close to the number of installs generated in pre-pandemic July 2019.
Source: Sensor Tower
Of note is the Ticketmaster app which generated the most installs in July of the top five apps mentioned. The app saw more than 1 million downloads from U.S. app stores. This represented an 18% increase in downloads over pre-pandemic levels.
Source: Sensor Tower
The boost in event ticketing apps also falls inline with the increased use of vaccine passport apps. As more cities around the country issue vaccine mandates, more businesses are requiring patrons to show proof of vaccine status. For example, starting in September, New York City will require people to prove they’ve received at least one dose of a COVID vaccine to eat indoors, visit gyms, and go to theaters. To meet this trend, the use of vaccine passport apps is on the rise.
This includes apps like CLEAR, which launched a new feature called “Health Pass” in early June. This allows users to add a digital version of their vaccination cards when they’re required to show proof. The CLEAR app has seen steady growth throughout the summer driving over 212,000 new downloads in July.
Source: Apptopia
Top Apps in July 2021
Most Downloaded Non-Gaming Apps
Tiktok continues to be the most downloaded non-game app. In July 2021, the video sharing app drove 63 million downloads. The countries with the largest number of installs were China at 15%, and the US at 9%.
Facebook was the second most installed non-gaming app worldwide last month with more than 53 million installs. Leading growth was India at 27% of installs and the US at 7% of installs. Facebook-owned Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp rounded out the top five most installed non-gaming apps worldwide for the month.
Source: Sensor Tower
Most Downloaded Gaming Apps
PUBG Mobile was the most downloaded mobile game worldwide in July 2021. The countries with the largest number of PUBG Mobile installs were India, where the game has been localized as Battlegrounds Mobile India. The next country with the most downloads of PUBG Mobile was China, where the game has been localized as Game For Peace.
Count Masters was the second most installed mobile game worldwide last month. The countries with the largest number of installs were the United States followed by India.
The global mobile games market generated 4.7 billion downloads across the App Store and Google Play in July 2021. This marked a decline of a little over 2% year-over-year. Globally, the No. 1 market for game downloads was India, with 815 million installs, or 17.2% of total worldwide downloads. India was followed by the US, which generated 9.3% of global downloads.
Source: Sensor Tower
Takeaways
In this installment of our Pulse on Current App Trends report, we reviewed July 2021 trends, including overall app download and revenue in the face of iOS 14.5 adoption and the rise of parking apps and event ticketing apps.
- iOS 14.5 has had limited effect on app revenue in the U.S. In-app revenue of the top 50 grossing apps has remained steady as iOS 14.5 adoption increased throughout the summer.
- While overall app revenue remains steady, there has been a dip in overall app downloads.
- In the game app category, there has been no significant dips in revenue or downloads
- Parking app usage has increased over pre-pandemic levels. This is in contrast to public transportation app usage which has declined markedly in the face of decreased public transit ridership across the country.
- Despite uncertainty with the spread of COVID-19 variants, in-person event ticketing apps have gained traction. Currently, the top in-person event ticketing apps have reached 86% of pre-pandemic levels. Ticketmaster drove the most downloads in July 2021, with over 1 million downloads.
- The rise of in-person event ticketing apps falls in line with the rise of vaccine passport apps to meet oncoming vaccine mandates in major cities.
- TikTok was the top non-gaming app in global downloads overall in July 2021. PUBG Mobile was the top gaming app in global downloads.
- India was the No. 1 market for mobile games in July 2021, generating a little over 17% of overall global game downloads. The U.S. was the No. 2 market.
