Mobile App Engagement Index

Transcription

1 Mobile App Engagement Index Q Liftoff Mobile App Engagement Index Q

2 Q Mobile App Engagement Index Introduction The Liftoff Q2 Mobile App Engagement Index measures the costs associated with the most common actions on mobile that marketers look for their users to engage in. The index tracks costs associated with app Installs, Registrations, Shares, Purchases, Subscriptions and Reservations, with a deeper dive into differences across gender and operating systems. It focuses on five major categories of non-gaming apps including: Dating, ecommerce, Social, Travel and Utility. While the cost of mobile events are steadily increasing year after year, Q2 brings a welcome reprieve, with nearly all mobile event CPAs trending downward, with the exception of making reservations. These decreases in cost provide marketers with an opportunity to increase their user acquisition numbers in a more cost effective manner, and may provide a way to preempt what is expected to be a rise in costs over the summer and leading into the holiday season. The Index is based on an analysis of 39 million app installs and 910 million post-install events, 70% of which are based in North America and 30% in Asia, Europe, South America and the Middle East. Liftoff Mobile App Engagement Index Q

3 Highlights Mobile advertisers spent an average $9.60 to acquire a new registered user, consistent with the previous 6 months. While the cost per install and cost per registered user remains flat, subscription services have seen a decrease in cost per subscription of 13.5% in the last 6 months. Social Apps again outperformed all other apps in obtaining registrations, with 77.8% of all installs signing up. ecommerce apps had the second highest install-to-registration rates at 77%. The average cost per reservation has risen 28.9% in 2015, with travel apps spending an average of $45 to acquire a new reservation. Android users are catching up to their ios counterparts in their willingness to make purchases in app. Acquisition costs for ios users that complete a purchase are now only 4% lower than Android at $76.19 vs $ Utility apps show the lowest cost-per-purchase at $35.88, with generally lower cost in-app-purchases that provide a low barrier to entry. Men are more willing to pay for subscription content, which makes acquiring male subscribers 9.5% less expensive than female subscribers. Liftoff Mobile App Engagement Index Q

4 Mobile CPA benchmarks are influenced by several factors including volume of users, app install campaign targeting and optimization, ad creatives, app store rating and reviews, and the in-app experience. Mobile Engagement Benchmarks The mobile engagement benchmarks track the average cost to acquire a new user from a paid app install campaign who engages in a post-install event for the first time. The events measured are registering, making a reservation, making a purchase, subscribing to a paid service, and sharing content. Consistent with Q1 2105, non-transactional events, including registering and sharing, continue to have the lowest CPAs while while transactional event CPAs cost up to 19x more. $73.38 $45.27 $9.60 $17.80 Register Share Reserve Purchase Subscribe Q Mobile Cost per Action Index Liftoff Mobile App Engagement Index Q

5 Mobile Indexes Average Cost per Registration The Registration Index measures the cost to acquire a mobile user from a paid app install campaign who creates an account in an app. Over the past 9 months, the cost per registration has remained relatively flat, showing only a slight increase in November and May, likely due to increased ad spending ahead of winter and summer breaks. Register: A user installs an app and creates an account. $12 $10.66 $10.43 $10 $9.98 $9.25 $9.09 $9.58 $9.43 $9.55 $9.60 $8 Oct-14 Nov-14 Dec-14 Jan-15 Feb-15 Mar-15 Apr-15 May-15 Jun-15 Average Cost per Registration Liftoff Mobile App Engagement Index Q

6 Average Cost per Share Index The Sharing Index measures the cost to acquire a mobile user that shares content for the first time, including a photo, video or message. In Q2, the cost per first share dropped to $17.80, a 23% decrease from Q1. This decrease reflects the increasing normalization of sharing content as a standard interaction in social apps. Share: A user installs an app and shares content for the first time, including a photo, video or message. $30 $25.46 $25 $23.12 $24.30 $20 $22.10 $23.12 $23.14 $20.01 $18.54 $16.65 $15 Oct-14 Nov-14 Dec-14 Jan-15 Feb-15 Mar-15 Apr-15 May-15 Jun-15 Average Cost per First Time Share Liftoff Mobile App Engagement Index Q

7 Average Cost per Reservation Index The Reservation Index measures the cost to acquire a mobile user who makes a reservation, such as a flight or hotel room. Between Q1 and Q2, 2015, we see an upward trend in reservation costs, mostly driven by increased spending amongst travel apps looking to attract summer travelers. Reservation: A user installs an app and makes a reservation, including airlines, hotels and taxis. $60 $50 $50.59 $43.85 $45.27 $40 $37.13 $37.05 $39.52 $40.37 $31.98 $34.15 $30 Oct-14 Nov-14 Dec-14 Jan-15 Feb-15 Mar-15 Apr-15 May-15 Jun-15 Average Cost per First Time Reservation Liftoff Mobile App Engagement Index Q

8 Average Cost per Purchase Index The Purchase Index measures the cost to acquire a mobile user that makes a first purchase. In Q2 2015, the average cost per first purchase decreased by 15% compared to Q1. Seasonality appears to be a key factor influencing consumer behavior, with the warmer months driving an increase in purchases, including apparel and accessories. Purchase: A user installs an app and makes a first purchase (not including in-app). $120 $ $ $100 $87.25 $84.18 $80 $85.07 $81.07 $86.57 $73.38 $66.89 $60 Oct-14 Nov-14 Dec-14 Jan-15 Feb-15 Mar-15 Apr-15 May-15 Jun-15 Average Cost per First Time Purchase Liftoff Mobile App Engagement Index Q

9 Average Cost per Subscription Index The Subscription Index measures the cost to acquire a mobile user who subscribes to a paid service, including dating and prosumer apps. Between Q1 and Q2 2015, the average cost per subscription decreased by 13.5%. The rise of mobile-first dating apps with well-oiled funnels and user experiences is helping drive down dating CPAs. Non-dating apps with a subscription event continued to demonstrate lower CPAs than dating apps. Subscribe: A user installs an app and subscribes to a paid service including dating apps, business apps and other consumer-related apps. $250 $ $ $ $200 $ $ $ $ $ $150 $ $100 Oct-14 Nov-14 Dec-14 Jan-15 Feb-15 Mar-15 Apr-15 May-15 Jun-15 Average Cost per Subscription Liftoff Mobile App Engagement Index Q

10 Engagement by Platform ios vs. Android 43% The cost to acquire a registered user on Android was 43% less than on ios. In Q2 we continue to see sizeable differences in mobile CPAs amongst ios and Android users. Android again delivered lower CPAs for non transactional events including registering and sharing content. Yet the advantage ios held in Q1 with lower CPAs for transactional events narrowed quite a bit in Q2. Paid subscriptions on IOS were 12.1% less than Android, compared to 22% less in Q1, with the purchase CPA on Android dropping by $45. The CPA gap between platforms in first time purchase narrowed even further, with ios users costing 4% less than Android users. 16% ios was more cost effective in acquiring reservations (16% less). Where ios continues to strongly outperform Android is in mobile reservations. In Q2, the cost per reservation on ios was $40, or 16% less than on Android. Register Share Reseve Purchase Subscribe Cost per First Time Engagement by Platform Liftoff Mobile App Engagement Index Q

11 vs. Engagement by Gender Males vs. Females In Q2, we continue to see notable differences in mobile engagement CPAs by gender. The cost per share and cost per purchase were again significantly lower for women, suggesting women have a greater interest in sharing and shopping than men do. Women also continue to have a lower registration CPA, coming in at 5.7% less than men. Continuing Q1 trends, men again demonstrated a stronger interest in paid subscription services than women. The cost per subscription amongst men was 9.5% less than women, widening the gap compared to Q1. In addition, the cost per reservation continued to be lowest amongst men, though by a slim margin of 2.9%. Register Share Reseve Purchase Subscribe Cost per First Time Engagement by Platform Liftoff Mobile App Engagement Index Q

12 Engagement by App Category Dating In Q2, the install-to-registration rate for new users of dating apps was 39.8%, nearly identical to Q1. The install-to-subscription rate was 1.4%. The average cost per dating subscription was $175, with a range of $100 - $500. Compared to Q1, the cost per subscription is down by more than $100, a result of both warmer climate as well as a growing number of lower cost mobile-first dating subscription services. We continue to see differences by gender persist in Q2, with men having a lower cost-per-install, lower cost-per-registration and higher install-to-registration rate, suggesting men have a greater interest in dating than women. But unlike in Q1, the install-to-subscription rate was nearly equal for men and women. With men converting at such a high rate and a low cost, marketers of dating apps can benefit by targeting user acquisition efforts more heavily towards men. Dating App Engagement Funnel * Install to action (ITA) is the % of users who install an app and convert in a post-install event. Dating App Engagement Funnel by Gender Liftoff Mobile App Engagement Index Q

13 Finance In Q2, the cost per install of financial apps (eg. financial protection, credit score monitoring, etc.) increased by 25.7%. The install-to-registration rate for new users of financial apps improved slightly to 47.5%. And the install-to-purchase rate was 9.2%. The average cost per registration was $16.16, with a range of $7 to $30. Gender differences persist in use of financial apps. Men cost 14% less to acquire as registered users. But this is dwarfed by the difference in the cost per first purchase, with women costing 4x more to acquire than men. Marketers may be best served to target men and women separately with creative optimized to each gender. Finance App Engagement Funnel * Install to action (ITA) is the % of users who install an app and convert in a post-install event. Finance App Engagement Funnel by Gender Liftoff Mobile App Engagement Index Q

14 Shopping In Q2, the install-to-registration rate for shopping apps was 77%, a 5% improvement over Q1. The install-to-first-purchase rate was 2.1%. The average cost to acquire a first purchaser was $210, with a range of $30 to $400. Given the high lifetime value of a mobile shopper, ecommerce companies can comfortably spend at this level. Amongst shopping apps, women continue to outperform men across all metrics including a lower cost per install, cost per registration and cost per purchase. The cost per registration of women was 33.5% less than men, with the gap in first purchase CPAs even larger at 46.5%. Shopping App Engagement Funnel * Install to action (ITA) is the % of users who install an app and convert in a post-install event. Shopping App Engagement Funnel by Gender Liftoff Mobile App Engagement Index Q

15 Social Social apps performed similar to past quarters. The CPI and registration CPA were lower than in Q1, but at $9.13 per first share, the CPA was on target with the previous quarter. The install-to-registration rate remained consistent with past quarters, a reflection of well designed apps with light-weight registration flows. The install-to-first-share rate was 33.7%, a slight dip from Q2. The average cost to acquire a registered user was $3.96, with a range of $4.00 to $ We continue to see gender differences across all metrics, with men costing nearly 40% more to acquire as active users than women. In addition, 30% more women who install a social app from an app install campaign go on to share content. Social App Engagement Funnel * Install to action (ITA) is the % of users who install an app and convert in a post-install event. Social App Engagement Funnel by Gender Liftoff Mobile App Engagement Index Q

16 Travel The install-to-registration rate amongst travel apps was 42.9%, nearly equal to Q1 performance, while the cost per first time reservation was $45.27, a 7.3% increase. Reservation CPAs fell within a range of $20 to $400. Travel apps had the second the highest cost-per-registration, with Finance apps taking the top spot in Q2. The average cost per reservation was $45.27, a slight increase over Q1. The increase was mostly due to an increase in ad spending amongst travel apps entering summer. CPIs continue to be lower for men. And similar to Q1, the cost per registration was nearly equal for both men and women. However, the cost per reservation for men increased quite significantly in Q2, resulting in a 31.5% gap between men and women. Travel App Engagement Funnel * Install to action (ITA) is the % of users who install an app and convert in a post-install event. Travel App Engagement Funnel by Gender Liftoff Mobile App Engagement Index Q

17 Utilities In Q2, the install-to-registration rate amongst utility apps was 20.1%, a decrease of 6.2% from Q1, and the install-to-first-purchase was 8.1%. The average cost to acquire a first-time financial purchase was $35.88, with a range of $30 to $200. Utility apps again had the lowest install-to-registration rate, a reflection of the fact that many utility apps do not require users to create an account in order to use the app. Utility apps also have the highest cost-per-registration at $14.41, compared to all other app categories. However, they continue to demonstrate the lowest cost-per-purchase, at $35.88 per purchase, almost 6x less than Shopping apps. Given that many Utility apps have light-weight purchase funnels that deliver more immediat gratification, the data is inline with expectations. Utilities App Engagement Funnel * Install to action (ITA) is the % of users who install an app and convert in a post-install event. Utilities App Engagement Funnel by Gender Liftoff Mobile App Engagement Index Q

18 The Bottom Line While most CPA benchmarks decreased or remained flat in Q2, this will soon change, driven by growing mobile marketing budgets and the coming holiday season. Gender differences continue to be a factor, however these effects appear to remain relatively constant over time. Women are still more willing to engage in sharing content and remain the primary mobile shopping demographic, while men are more likely to subscribe to mobile content. Mobile operating systems remain a relevant influence, with Android users engaging in more lightweight non-transactional events and ios users more willing to open up their pocketbooks to spend. The magnitude of the difference, however, appears to be changing and we may be seeing mobile behaviors between these two groups starting to balance out. If this is indeed the case, as the revenue potential of Android increases, we can expect to see a corresponding rise in the traditionally less expensive cost per install for Android apps. Fueling Mobile Growth. Liftoff is a full-service mobile app marketing and retargeting platform which uses post-install data to run true CPA-optimized mobile user acquisition and retention campaigns. With Liftoff, campaigns are optimized to drive specific actions beyond the install, to acquire users who engage in more profitable post-install events like booking a hotel, subscribing to a service or making a purchase. Contact us: Liftoff Mobile App Engagement Index Q