Mobile App Installs in APAC Sees Strong Growth
As more and more people in APAC are using apps to manage their daily tasks – including work and entertainment, mobile app market in the region reached new heights in the last one year, according to a new report.
The report published by Adjust, a mobile marketing analytics platform suggests that India ranks third with a high 72% fintech install growth rate in 2020 and among the top countries to show impressive growth in hyper casual gaming with 61% installs growth.
However, mobile app installs growing fast doesn’t necessarily mean that people are taking more time to engage with the apps they’re using, the report says, adding that people in Asia Pacific contributed to a 31% year-on-year growth in app installs in 2020, and that could grow by another 4% this year.
“While APAC’s overall sessions growth in H1 2021 has only increased by 1%, it is slowly building momentum and has almost reached 2020’s Q1 peak,” said April Tayson, Regional VP, INSEA, Adjust . “This shows that the app industry is retaining users acquired during the recent lockdowns — and continues to bring new users.”
Nonetheless, installs and sessions increased dramatically in every country in 2020 — all continuing to grow in 2021
Based on Adjust’s top 910 apps from APAC, the report shows that India and Vietnam came closely behind Japan with 27% YoY growth on install rate in 2020, ranking 2nd amongst the APAC countries.
Of the other findings, Japan’s installs grew the most in 2020, climbing 32% YoY, just above the regional average of 31%, Singapore’s sessions have increased by 34% this year, compared to the 1% growth in 2020 and Vietnam, the only country that didn’t grow in 2020, decreasing 9%, is seeing the inverse In 2021 — with sessions increasing by 12%.
The report also takes a close look at the growth of three verticals: gaming (hyper casual and non-hyper casual), fintech and e-commerce in APAC in 2020 — and their continued growth in 2021. Hyper casual gaming grew the most out of all verticals, with installs climbing 66% YoY in 2020, and 49% in 2021. Fintech takes second place (36% and 18%), followed by e-commerce (27% and 8%) and non-hyper casual games (23% and 4%).
Additional takeaways from the report’s breakdown by country vs vertical include the gaming seeing impressive growth in APAC. Vietnam was the top-performing market in gaming, with a 37% boost in installs YoY, followed closely by Indonesia (34%) and India (33%). In H1 2021, Singapore (80%), Vietnam (51%) and Japan (41%) are leading the pack in installs. For hyper casual gaming specifically, Singapore saw the most YoY growth in installs (112%) in 2020, followed by Indonesia (101%) and Thailand (74%). This year, however, Indonesia (64%), India (61%) and Thailand (54%) are enjoying the highest install growth rates.
The other area is fintech that excelled in the region in 2020, as people increasingly turned to mobile banking and payments. The trend continues in 2021. India ranked 3rd alongside Singapore with a 72% growth rate in fintech installs in 2020, while Thailand and Vietnam led the way with 100% and 97% respectively. So far in 2021, fintech app installs are surging in all markets, with standout growth in Indonesia (89%), Singapore (70%) and South Korea (62%). India currently ranks fourth at 24%.
The key to successfully marketing an app is understanding the nuances of the vertical and sub-verticals in which it belongs. The differences on a sub-vertical level might be exceedingly obvious — as with hyper casual gaming — but the user behaviors and in-app patterns can also be deceptively subtle. The number of installs and sessions taking place within a particular vertical or region is an important indicator of how popular or necessary certain types of apps are, particularly as mobile adoption continues to rise in the APAC region.
But it’s the more granular data points that help you understand what users expect and how you can optimize your in-app experience to better meet their needs. As Tayson believes, collecting granular data points on user behaviors and in-app patterns is becoming increasingly important. With this data, marketers will then be empowered to map their users’ journeys, which will in turn help them to test and optimize campaigns to yield more impressive results.
Nonetheless, more people in APAC are turning towards mobile and digital solutions for entertainment and daily tasks than ever before. To truly stand out in this region, the report suggests that developers and marketers need to be more data-driven, focus on perfecting their user experience and prepared to adapt to the ever growing and changing mobile ecosystem.
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