AppsFlyer today released the 2022 edition of its State of eCommerce App Marketing report, outlining key global trends to guide marketers in building a mobile-first experience that will drive engagement and sales for the upcoming holiday season.
Following the Covid-19 pandemic-related considerable surge in eCommerce over the previous several years, both app marketing in general and eCommerce, in particular, have experienced a natural downturn. In 2022, eCommerce is no longer bringing in as many new customers, and finances and planning for marketing are beginning to suffer as a result of price increases. Efficiency should be at the top of marketers’ minds as we approach the holiday season, which is characterized by an economic slump, supply disruptions, as well as ongoing privacy regulations and data restrictions.
“The likelihood of a downward trend for eCommerce apps is not the end for marketers, as November is annually the best month for installs and sales across most markets with Black Friday and Singles Day,”
“This year, especially, consumers might still have an appetite for spending in the holiday season thanks to the addition of the World Cup. For this reason, apps should focus on remarketing to retain the users they did pick up over the past few years and publishers need to make the most of their owned media channels.”
Shani Rosenfelder, Director of Market Insights, AppsFlyer.
Key Global Insights:
- eCommerce app marketers spent $6.1 Billion on user acquisition, but global ad spending nosedived over -50% Year-over-Year (YoY) due to rising iOS media cost, post-Covid relative return to normalcy, and other macroeconomic conditions. Globally, app installs ad spending among eCommerce apps took a significant hit due to rising and volatile CPI with a 55% YoY drop in Android in January, as well as a similarly steep 53% dive for iOS.
- Android eCommerce app installs dropped -5% globally YoY (H1 2021 vs. H1 2022) excluding India which gained significant new traffic. iOS installs also took a slight 4% downturn in the same period after the surge in downloads during Covid.
- Owned media conversion surge across platforms, jumping 360% YoY (July 2021 to July 2022). This reflects that marketers are now doing what they can to squeeze more value out of tight budgets.
- iOS CPI climbs 60% YoY (H1 2022 vs. H1 2021) to reach $4.2 per install. In contrast, Android CPI fell 15% during the same time frame despite a 30% rise from April to June.
- Thirty-day retention on Android declines 13% as mobile users continue to explore new apps and services. Meanwhile, iOS dropped 5%, while reporting better retention overall than Android users, in keeping with historical trends.
Methodology
AppsFlyer’s State of eCommerce App Marketing, 2022 Edition is an anonymous aggregate of proprietary global data from 5.1 billion app installs from 700 apps and 26 billion remarketing conversions.
