Data Shows Declining App Store Downloads in the US
A concerning trend in the U.S. App Store affects both large and small businesses. While overall App Store revenue is increasing, most apps are facing a decline in downloads. Appfigures’s data confirms that even some significant apps face low traction due to intensified competition, reducing overall app installations. Although this trend isn’t essential enough to topple the leading apps like Facebook, it still has a solid impact.
The analysis focuses only on the U.S. App Store and relies on Appfigures’ Mobile Market Index. This index checks the downloads and revenues of the top 25 apps in each category and country and compares the data to January 1, 2018, to gauge app growth over time. Last year, the Mobile Download Index stood at 91.87. This highlighted a slight decline compared to 2018 data. By August 31, 2023, the Index had decreased to 83.59, marking an 8.28 point decline, or a 9% drop from its initial point. This decline shows a worsening trend in app downloads.
In the last year, the Download Index faced a decrease. Still, it temporarily rose in December 2022, a strong month for new app installations due to the holiday period. This growth was short-lived; by April, the Index had plunged to as low as 64.50 points. It’s noticeable that this decrease doesn’t affect every app category equally. Some categories like sports streaming, medical, business, education, shopping, travel, and productivity apps are still growing or stable. News, games, and entertainment apps have declined double, probably due to market saturation. Overall, many apps across different categories are experiencing declines rather than growth. Appfigures co-founder and CEO Ariel Michaeli said in a statement:
“I think the main reason is that the big apps are slowly losing their appeal as new entrants come in. Acquisition has also become hard thanks to App Tracking Transparency, but I don’t think that’s the primary driver behind this.”
Despite declining app installations, the U.S. app economy is still thriving. App revenue in the U.S. has consistently increased, with the Mobile Revenue Index boosting from 363.13 last year to 458.3 by August 31, a 36.4% rise from its initial point. It is noticeable that productivity apps saw strong revenue growth, up 69.3%, while board games in the gaming category faced a remarkable 584.9% surge. Only four U.S. App Store categories saw revenue drop, all in gaming. Most categories saw an increase in revenue over the past year.
