Study throws light on mobile app usage activity among Android and iOS users

CHENNAI: Consumers in Asia are different from users in the rest of the world in their app usage and install behaviour, show data released by mobile marketing and analytics company AppsFlyer. Even within Asia, there are noticeable differences between Android and iOS users when it comes to app usage and install behaviour.
AppsFlyer conducted a study on the State of App Marketing – H2 2015 which analyzed over 1.1 billion non-organic app installs of over 6,000 apps and five billion app launches from June 1 to December 15, 2015 to help marketers understand, among other things, when users in different parts of the world install apps and when they use them.
The apps represented a variety of categories including social, games, entertainment, shopping, music, travel, communication, business and more.
iOS installs highest on Thursdays and Friday, Android flat throughout the week
In Asia, the most popular day overall for app installs is Thursday - which is one of the least popular days for app installs in North America and Europe. Consumers in Asia tend to install the most apps on Thursdays and Fridays, at least on iOS. Install activity is 27% higher on these two days than during the first part of the week.
iOS app marketers and those looking to attract users to their apps via marketing and advertising efforts should reduce campaign spending on Mondays and Tuesdays, when users are almost 20% less likely to download apps.
On Android, the day of the week has only minimal impact on how many apps are downloaded.
Sanjay Trisal, India country manager at AppsFlyer, says: “The massive success of mobile apps has opened up many exciting options for marketers in India, Asia and across the globe. However, it has also created an ultracompetitive landscape in which attracting app users and getting them to stick around for the long run are challenges. To overcome these challenges, marketers must rely on data and analytics to find every advantage they can get. Armed with this valuable knowledge they can pinpoint their user acquisition and engagement campaigns to generate better results.”
Asian app usage highest on weekend for iOS users; it’s highest during the week for Android users
App engagement among mobile users throughout Asia is highest on weekends for iOS users, but it is lowest during the weekend for Android users, who show the highest in-app engagement during the week, with a peak on Thursdays.
Where there is a relatively big jump in app engagement among iOS users from Thursday to Friday, the opposite happens with Android users -- a drop-off in app engagement between Thursday and Friday.
App usage peaks between 8:00pm and 9:00pm in Asia
Worldwide, app usage is highest during the evenings, with a small lunchtime-bump that is more pronounced in some regions than in others. In Asia, usage among iOS users is 25% higher from 6:00 – 10:00pm than during other hours of the day. On Android, it is 20% higher during these hours.
More apps are installed during lunch and at night
Asian consumers install the most apps during their lunchtime break and at night, with install activity peaking at 9:00pm for iOS users and 8:00pm for Android users. App installs begin to trail off around 10:00pm on both platforms. There is a pronounced “lunchtime bump” on both platforms, when consumers are installing a lot of apps between noon and 2:00pm.