Mobile app installs grow by 4% in 2023 despite downturn

The latest Mobile App Trends report by Adjust and AppLovin has revealed insights into global and EMEA specific app data from 2023. Key findings indicate despite a downward trend throughout 2022, app installs still rose by 4% worldwide in 2023. Besides this, there were notable shifts in sectors such as finance/fintech, gaming, and e-commerce.

Payment apps drove the fintech sector with such apps accounting for roughly one third of all fintech app sessions last year. Gaming app installs also witnessed a resurgence, increasing by 7% globally in the fourth quarter of 2023. Interestingly, m-commerce experienced a significant surge with shopping app installs growing 56% in 2023.

There was also an increase in the App Tracking Transparency (ATT) opt-in rates industry-wide, with the rate rising from 29% to 32% in 2023. Gaming saw the highest global rate of 39%. Fintech and e-commerce sectors had substantial rate jumps of 7 percentage points each.

Adjust CEO Simon "Bobby" Dussart suggested that the evolution in the mobile app space did not require forecasting. He opined, "By incorporating predictive analytics into cross-device and cross-channel marketing efforts, mobile marketers and developers can unlock the data and insights needed to make fast, smart decisions on budget allocation and to scale confidently."

AI powered personalisation played a pivotal role, with the gaming hybrid-casual genre showing that strategic incorporation of personalisation into a game's UX can dramatically heighten retention rates and revenue. Daniel Tchernahovsky, VP of International Business Development at AppLovin, extrapolated this insight, advising that sectors such as e-commerce and finance ought to embrace a similarly data-centric and AI-driven approach for customising their in-app experiences. He expanded, "The best way for gaming developers to increase long-term retention is to make their game or app feel like it's designed especially for their players."

Key highlights from the report show that mobile payments sparked fintech app adoption, with payment apps accounting for approximately one third of overall fintech app sessions in 2023. Fintech apps saw a 118% upturn in in-app revenue year-over-year, while app installs and sessions grew strikingly by 42% and 24% respectively. Meanwhile, shopping app installs increased by 56%, while overall global e-commerce app installs rose to 43% in 2023. EMEA saw the second highest growth rates for installs (60%), only surpassed by North America (98%). EMEA also saw the second highest increase in sessions, which were led by LATAM (26%).

The report suggested that CTV, PC, and console offer great potential for marketers in the future. Andrey Kazakov, VP of Demand, Non-Gaming at AppLovin, asserted accordingly, "Acquiring high-value users begins with an effective channel acquisition strategy. Marketers must understand the channels compatible with their specific app's audience and goals, and determine how much they need to spend to hit a critical mass of experiments that can drive more efficient performance."