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2017 US Mobile App Report PDF
2017 US Mobile App Report PDF
The 2017 U.S. Mobile App Report leverages several data sources unique to comScore:
▪ The report is based primarily on behavioral measurement from comScore Media Metrix® Multi-Platform, which provides
deduplicated reporting of digital audiences across desktop computers, smartphones and tablets, and comScore Mobile
Metrix®, which provides deduplicated reporting of mobile web and app audiences across both smartphones and tablets. The
report also includes survey-based data from comScore MobiLens®.
▪ Custom analytics data derived from the aforementioned products’ data streams is also included.
▪ The report also incorporates results from a survey of 1,033 smartphone users in July 2017 to understand their habits. In some
charts we compare these results to our August 2016 and August 2015 surveys.
Important Definitions:
o Any reference to “mobile” means the combination of smartphone and tablet. When data is referring specifically to
smartphones or tablets, it will be labeled accordingly.
o All mobile data is based on Age 18+ population.
o Age 18-34 segment may be referred to as “Millennials”.
o A “unique visitor” is a person who visits an app or digital media property at least once over the course of a month. This
metric, in app parlance, is equivalent to a “monthly active user/MAU”.
For more information about subscribing to comScore services, please contact us at www.comscore.com/learnmore.
App Overview 4
Desktop
34%
Smartphone App
50%
Tablet Web
2%
Tablet App
Smartphone Web
7%
7%
© comScore, Inc. Proprietary. 5
The smartphone dominates for 18-24 year-olds, who spend an amazing
2/3rd of their digital media time on smartphone apps alone
4.0
3.5
3.2
3.0
Average Daily Hours per Visitor
2.6
2.5 2.3 2.3
2.0
2.0 1.8
1.6
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
Total Age 18-24 Age 25-34 Age 35-44 Age 45-54 Age 55-64 Age 65+
Mobile Web
13% 18%
12%
82%
Mobile App 88%
87%
© comScore, Inc. Proprietary. 8
The average user spends 16x more time on the top apps than they do on
the top mobile websites, but mobile web tends to capture larger audiences
Top 500 Mobile Apps vs. Top 500 Mobile Web Properties
Source: comScore Mobile Metrix, U.S., Age 18+, June 2017
Average Monthly Unique Visitors (MM) Average Monthly Minutes per Visitor
186.9
15.7
2.2x 16x
mobile mobile
app web
7.0
11.9
Rank 1-10 Rank 11-50 Rank 51-100 Rank 101-500 Rank 501+
Users
downloading 13% 1 App
0 apps
+2 pts 0 Apps 1+ Apps
vs. June 2016
11% 2 Apps
51% 49%
8% 3 Apps
5% 4 Apps
7% 5-7 Apps
5% 8+ Apps
* comScore made significant improvements to the statistical weights and audience projections for MobiLens in 2015. Due to these changes, 12
© comScore, Inc. Proprietary.
comparisons of this chart with a similar version that appeared in The 2014 U.S. Mobile App Report should be avoided.
App discovery is down across several channels, including the app store,
word-of-mouth and advertising. Is interest in new apps waning?
16%
15%
15% 14%
13%
11% 11%
10% 10% 9% 9%
10% 9%
8% 8%
6%
5%
0%
Searched app store Featured/ Top List via friend/ family via comment/ via news/ print via a website via Ad on device via Ad on TV/ print/
in app store review/ social site review/ TV show browser/ app billboard
Jun-2016 Jun-2017
50%
30% 26%
22%
19%
20%
10%
0%
I’m always looking for new and There’s a lot more I wish I could I get excited about new apps
interesting apps do with my apps
* Represents the percentage of smartphone users who responded on a 5-point scale that they “Strongly
Agree” or “Somewhat Agree” with the statements shown. © comScore, Inc. Proprietary. 14
Millennials are much more willing to shell out cash for apps, with 1 out of 5
downloading an average of one paid app per month
100% 3% 1%
5% 4% 2%
90% 19% 8% 13%
80%
18%
17%
% of Smartphone Users
70%
12+ purchased apps
60%
14% 5-11 purchased apps
50% 3-4 purchased apps
40% 14% 1-2 purchased apps
80%
66% 0 purchased apps
30%
20% 36%
10%
0%
Age 18-34 Age 35-54 Age 55+
100% 2%
6% 3%
90% 23% 9% 6%
70%
23% 17%
12+ in-app purchases
60%
5-11 in-app purchases
50% 12% 3-4 in-app purchases
40% 1-2 in-app purchases
13% 72%
30% 58% 0 in-app purchases
20%
30%
10%
0%
Age 18-34 Age 35-54 Age 55+
50%
40%
30% 30%
30%
19% 20%
20%
10%
0%
I download new apps more often now than I did a I download new apps more often than I
year ago delete/uninstall old ones
* Represents the percentage of smartphone users who responded on a 5-point scale that they “Strongly
Agree” or “Somewhat Agree” with the statements shown. © comScore, Inc. Proprietary. 17
The top reasons for deleting apps are largely consistent across age
groups, with usage frequency ranking as the top factor
60% 57%
51%
% of Smartphone App Deleters
30%
20%
10%
0%
How often I used the app I wanted to declutter my My interest in that app The amount of storage space
phone changed/declined it used on my phone
* This question was only asked of smartphone users who reported they deleted an app in the past year. © comScore, Inc. Proprietary. 18
Logos matter. Because apps confer social identity, Millennials will delete
an app if they don’t like how it looks on their screen.
Deleted Apps in the Past Year Because They Didn’t Like How it Looked on their Home Screen*
Source: comScore Custom Survey, U.S., Age 18+, 2017 Wave
25%
21%
20%
% of Smartphone App Deleters
15%
10%
5%
3%
2%
0%
Age 18-34 Age 35-54 Age 55+
* This question was only asked of smartphone users who reported they deleted an app in the past year. © comScore, Inc. Proprietary. 19
App Usage Habits
Smartphone Tablet
70% 65% Avg. # of Different Apps Used per Month
60% 25
49%
Share of Time Spent on Apps
50% 14
40%
10%
10% 7% 6%
4% 4% 3% 1% 4%
2% 2% 1% 2% 1% 1% 0% 1% 0% 1%
0%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11+
Individuals’ Top Ranked App by Usage
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Top 1 Top 3 Top 5 Top 10
1-10 apps 11-20 apps 21-30 apps 31-40 apps 41+ apps
2016 2017
Age 18-34
77%
41%
Age 35-54
47%
25%
Age 55+
35%
In Folder
+3 pts
vs. 2016
2%
5% Home Screen - Individual App
Secondary Screen - Individual App
11%
Menu of All Mobile Apps
67%
Percent of Users that Intentionally Move Apps Top Factors Influencing Decision to Move Apps
to Home Screen to Home Screen
Source: comScore Custom Survey, U.S., Age 18+, 2017 Wave Source: comScore Custom Survey, U.S., Age 18+, 2017 Wave
Intentionally
Moved Apps to
Home Screen
80% I often need to access the app quickly 49%
+5 pts Intentionally Moved
vs. 2016
Apps to Home Screen
My interest in that app or kind of app 34%
% of Smartphone Users by Age Segment Who Only Operate Phone with Two Hands
Source: comScore Custom Survey, U.S., Age 18+, July 2017
50%
40%
% of Smartphone Users
39%
30%
5x vs.
18-34 Year
20% Olds
19%
10%
8%
0%
Age 18-34 Age 35-54 Age 55+
* Represents the percentage of one-handed smartphone users who responded on a 5-point scale that they “Strongly Agree” or “Somewhat Agree” with the
following statement:
“Agree/Disagree: The ease with which I’m able to reach an app with my thumb when operating my phone affects where I have positioned that app on my © comScore, Inc. Proprietary. 29
smartphone?”
As single-handed, tech-savvy smartphone users, Millennials are more
likely to use the reachability feature – especially on iPhone
% of Smartphone Users who Use Reachability Feature by Age Segment & Platform
Source: comScore Custom Survey, U.S., Age 18+, 2017 Wave
iPhone Android
80%
70% 76%
% of Smartphone Users
60%
50% 55%
40%
41% 39%
30%
32%
29%
20% 26%
17%
10%
0%
Total Age 18+ Age 18-34 Age 35-54 Age 55+
51%
49%
50%
39%
40% 36%
20%
10%
0%
My smartphone would be useless to me The instant I feel bored, I get an urge to When I see a notification for one of my
without apps pull out my phone and open an app apps, I have to check it immediately
* Represents the percentage of smartphone users who responded on a 5-point scale that they “Strongly
Agree” or “Somewhat Agree” with the statements shown. © comScore, Inc. Proprietary. 31
Last year’s increase in ‘push notification fatigue’ reversed itself in 2017. Is
the uptick in news events making users want to stay more connected?
Always Often
45% 43%
40%
35% 33%
30% 27% +16 pts 24%
% of Smartphone Users
-6 pts
25%
22%
20%
19%
15%
10% 19%
5% 11% 8%
0%
2015 2016 2017
* This question was only directed to those smartphone users who indicated that they received a request for
push notifications. © comScore, Inc. Proprietary. 32
As the most permissive of push notifications, Millennials have only
themselves to blame for their high level of annoyance at receiving them
Q: How often do you agree to an app’s request to Strongly Agree/Somewhat Agree*: “I get annoyed
allow push notifications? when I get too many app notifications”
Always Often
63% 71%
59%
30% 51%
23% 21%
33% 18% 16%
5% 5%
Age 18-34 Age 35-54 Age 55+ Age 18-34 Age 35-54 Age 55+
* Represents the percentage of smartphone users who responded on a 5-point scale that they “Strongly
Agree” or “Somewhat Agree” with the statements shown. © comScore, Inc. Proprietary. 33
Top & Fast-
Growing Apps
Facebook Messenger
FB Messenger 68%
Google Search
Google Search 61%
Google Maps
Google Maps 57%
Instagram 50%
Snapchat 50%
Gmail
Gmail 44%
#1 App Top 3
highest engagement
by monthly users
app among 50%+ of
on both smartphone
smartphone users
and tablet
across age groups
46% #1 App
of smartphone
smartphone users
users have
say is ‘most
Facebook on their
essential’
home screen
1 1 1 1
2 2 2 2 Google Search
6 Google Search 6 6 6
7 Google Maps 7 Google Search 7 7 Apple News
8 8 8 Gmail 8 Gmail
*Highest Indexing Apps based on ranking of the Top 50 apps by unique visitors according to each age segment © comScore, Inc. Proprietary. 38
Smartphone users are most likely to select Facebook as their ‘most
essential’ app, but otherwise favor functional apps over entertainment
35% 35%
35% 34%
29% 30% 30% 30%
30%
26%
25% 24% 24%
22% 21%
20%
14%
15% 11%
10%
5%
0%
Facebook Gmail
Gmail Amazon Google Maps
Google Maps Google
GoogleSearch
Search
* Survey respondents were asked to select their top 3 ‘most essential’ apps (i.e. the apps they couldn’t go
without) of the apps they own. Apps listed were selected by at least 20% of overall survey respondents. © comScore, Inc. Proprietary. 39
Facebook is also the most likely app to be positioned on smartphone
users’ home screens for easy access
* Not all values in chart will sum due to rounding to nearest percent. © comScore, Inc. Proprietary. 40
There’s a strong correlation between how essential an app is to a user
and whether it gets placed on their home screen
60%
% of Home Screens On Which App Appears
50% Facebook
Gmail
40% Google Maps
Facebook Messenger Amazon
YouTube
30% Google Play Store Google Search
Instagram
Twitter Apple App Store
20% Netflix eBay
Pandora
Uber Snapchat
10%
0%
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%
% of Smartphone Users Who List App as Their Top 3 Most Essential
* Home screen incidence includes any apps that appear on the home screen, whether individually or in a folder.
© comScore, Inc. Proprietary. 41
Survey respondents were asked to select their top 3 ‘most essential’ apps (i.e. the apps they couldn’t go without) of the apps they own.
35% of Millennials selected Amazon as one of three apps they can’t go
without, and often ranked more functional apps over social apps
App on
Don't have
Amazon 35% Home
app
Screen
Gmail
26% 26%
Gmail 30%
Facebook 29%
App in Folder
Have App, on Home
FB Messenger
Facebook Messenger 18% but not on Screen
Home Screen
YouTube 16% 21%
27%
Google
Google Maps
Maps 14%
Google Search
Google Search 11%
WhatsApp 11%
Instagram 11%
* Survey respondents were asked to select their top 3 ‘most essential’ apps (i.e. the apps they couldn’t go
without) of the apps they own. © comScore, Inc. Proprietary. 42
Many of today’s most prominent fast-growing apps are marketplaces or
services that are thriving due to network effects
Waze +127%
20
WhatsApp +91%
Uber +99%
15 Wish +171%
Unique Visitors (MM)
letgo +1,224%
Bitmoji +2,078%
10
OfferUp +166%
Lyft +282%
5
Musical.ly +630%**
Venmo +441%
0
Jun-2015 Sep-2015 Dec-2015 Mar-2016 Jun-2016 Sep-2016 Dec-2016 Mar-2017 Jun-2017
* Based on a selection of apps with at least 5 million monthly visitors growing at very strong rates over the past two years.
** Musical.ly’s percent change figure represents its app audience growth from August 2015 to June 2016. © comScore, Inc. Proprietary. 43
Consumers reported a wide variety of apps when asked what app they
considered their ‘hidden gem’
21%
of smartphone users
have an app they
consider their
‘Hidden Gem’
Source: comScore Custom Survey, U.S., Age 18+, 2017 Wave. Select apps chosen from the following open-ended question:
Q: What app do you consider to be your ‘hidden gem’? Your hidden gem would be the one app that you love, but that you think
is not widely known or not used by many people, but you think it should be. © comScore, Inc. Proprietary. 44
App Content
Categories
Games
Photos
3% Instant Messengers
3%
18% Music Retail
3%
+2 pts
3% vs. June 2016 Search/Navigation
3%
News/Information
4%
10% Maps
10%
Other
Multimedia
+3 pts
vs. June 2016 © comScore, Inc. Proprietary. 46
Engagement in several content categories continues to transition to apps,
with News seeing one of the most notable shifts from a year ago
Mobile App Share of Total Digital Time Spent for Selected Content Categories
Source: comScore Media Metrix Multi-Platform & Mobile Metrix, U.S., Total Audience, June 2017
Point Change
vs. June 2016
Maps 96% +3
Instant Messengers 96%
Music 96%
Photos 95% +3
Weather 84% +4
Games 81%
Personals 79% +4
Social Networking 70%
Retail 47%
News/Information 41% +6
Sports 34%
Portals 19%
Politics 5% +4
93% Facebook
Desktop
Demographic Profile
22%
Index of Category vs. Total App Audience
Mobile Web
8% Mobile App
Age 18-24 Age 25-34 Age 35-54 Age 55+ Male Female
Source: comScore Mobile Metrix, Age 18+, June 2017; comScore Media Metrix Multi-Platform (desktop) © comScore, Inc. Proprietary. 48
News Apps: Category Snapshot
Mobile
99 99 107 98 101 Web
92
24%
Age 18-24 Age 25-34 Age 35-54 Age 55+ Male Female
Source: comScore Mobile Metrix, Age 18+, June 2017; comScore Media Metrix Multi-Platform (desktop)
* “News” category refers to comScore’s News/Information category. Apps exclusively focused on weather © comScore, Inc. Proprietary. 49
were not included in the ranking of News apps.
Retail Apps: Category Snapshot
75% Amazon
47%
106 112 Mobile
91 101 99
87 Web
13%
Age 18-24 Age 25-34 Age 35-54 Age 55+ Male Female
Source: comScore Mobile Metrix, Age 18+, June 2017; comScore Media Metrix Multi-Platform (desktop) © comScore, Inc. Proprietary. 50
Gaming Apps: Category Snapshot
67% Mobile
Web Desktop
Words With Friends
1% 18%
Demographic Profile
Index of Category vs. Total App Audience
Mobile App
106 101 103
91 90
109 81%
Age 18-24 Age 25-34 Age 35-54 Age 55+ Male Female
Source: comScore Mobile Metrix, Age 18+, June 2017; comScore Media Metrix Multi-Platform (desktop) © comScore, Inc. Proprietary. 51
Travel Apps: Category Snapshot
27% Uber
Mobile App
Demographic Profile
Index of Category vs. Total App Audience Desktop 33%
48%
Mobile
107 116 Web
95 96 104
90
19%
Age 18-24 Age 25-34 Age 35-54 Age 55+ Male Female
Source: comScore Mobile Metrix, Age 18+, June 2017; comScore Media Metrix Multi-Platform (desktop) © comScore, Inc. Proprietary. 52
Sports Apps: Category Snapshot
23% ESPN
Mobile App
Demographic Profile
Index of Category vs. Total App Audience
Desktop 34%
42%
145
Mobile
107 107 Web
96
79
58 24%
Age 18-24 Age 25-34 Age 35-54 Age 55+ Male Female
Source: comScore Mobile Metrix, Age 18+, June 2017; comScore Media Metrix Multi-Platform (desktop) © comScore, Inc. Proprietary. 53
Dating Apps: Category Snapshot
11% Tinder
Mobile
Web
7%
Desktop
14%
Demographic Profile
Index of Category vs. Total App Audience
170
147 Mobile App
117 79%
85
73
60
Age 18-24 Age 25-34 Age 35-54 Age 55+ Male Female
Source: comScore Mobile Metrix, Age 18+, June 2017; comScore Media Metrix Multi-Platform (desktop) © comScore, Inc. Proprietary. 54
Summary &
Key Findings
Mobile Apps are the More signs of having Millennials prove to be the
1 primary driver of digital
media consumption but
2 reached ‘peak app’ are
emerging as interest in
3 most engaged,
sophisticated and
activity is concentrated new apps begins to wane addicted users of apps
• The average user spends 2.3 • Many app acquisition methods • Millennials are more likely to
hours per day using mobile apps are seeing modest declines over engage in curation of apps by
• Apps dominate mobile web in the past year location and accessibility on
usage time, 87% to 13%
• The majority of app users don’t their home screens
• Half of digital media time spent download any apps per month
occurs in smartphone apps • While they love social and
• Smartphone users’ #1 app • Most app users across all age entertainment apps, they are
drives half of their app time, and segments access 20 or fewer also extremely reliant on more
the Top 10 drive 95%+ apps in a month functional apps
• Apps have a shorter long-tail for • While many fast growing apps • They can’t live without their
usage compared to the web, still exist, fewer apps have
with less than 30% of app time emerged of late to revolutionize apps, but also show signs of
occurring outside the Top 50 the digital landscape app fatigue
Adam Lella, Senior Marketing Insights Analyst • alella@comscore.com Kelly Pedotto & Vivey Chen
Andrew Lipsman, SVP Marketing & Insights • alipsman@comscore.com
CUSTOM DATA ANALYTICS BY
J.P. McElyea
© comScore, Inc. Proprietary. 57
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