App Downloads Drop 13% After Holiday Season Bump

According to a new report based on the Fiksu Mobile App Marketing Platform, mobile app download volumes and user acquisition costs declined as the holiday season officially came to close.

The Fiksu Cost per Loyal User Index continued its downward trajectory in February, decreasing 17 percent, or 27 cents, to $1.29, from January’s $1.56. February presented a bargain period for mobile marketers who held back on holiday advertising, preferring instead to spread out their spending over several months to maximize impact.

The Fiksu App Store Competitive Index (which measures the average aggregate daily download volume of the top 200 free U.S. iPhone apps) dropped 13 percent, or 810,000 downloads each day, to 5.20 million daily downloads in February, from January’s 6.01 million.

“On the heels of a record-shattering holiday season, February presented a more consistent ‘normalized’ and valuable landscape for mobile app marketers,” said Micah Adler, CEO, Fiksu. “In the absence of major events or device launches during the month, the February Indexes provide early indication of what we can expect the ‘new normal’ to be for marketers this year.”

App Store Competitive Index (February 2013)



Cost per Loyal User Index (February 2013)