The Effect Of Coronavirus On App Installation And Marketing Budgets
The rapid spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19) sends shock waves across the globe as we all try to adapt to a new reality. Businesses are trying to recognize what they are doing and what steps they need to take to stay moving through the economic recession.
What will mobile apps look like in 2020? When people sit home, they turn to their cell phones to conduct various tasks, which is an opening for other verticals. But, in the longer term, the economic recession will reduce overall consumer spending and lower user lifetime value.
ENTERTAINMENT APPLICATIONS
In March, with large portions of the U.S. population trapped indoors, a lot of people resort to devices to keep themselves amused. For example, the use of music apps Musi, Groovepad, DrumPad, and young radio increased by 100 percent in March and January.
In the streaming music room, Pandora has seen a surge in new apps installed so far during March. It would be fascinating to see how their use of audio devices advances in March. Apps like Spotify have made a variety of developments in podcasts that are mostly synonymous with flipping. This remains to be seen whether users will turn to audio for viewing, or whether the video will stay ascendant.
TRENDS IN THE SOCIAL MEDIA APP
Many people are even moving to social media services right now. Across the majority of March, Snapchat, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook cumulative installs rose by 23 percent from January 2020.
TikTok had 32 percent more new apps installed in the first three weeks of March, while Snapchat saw 49 percent more new apps installed at the same time. The number of new Instagram app downloads rose by 48 percent in February and 25 percent in the first three weeks of March. Facebook applications that are used primarily for entertainment have attracted primarily new users relative to media devices that have a lot of news as well.
TRENDS IN THE VIDEO APP
On the video side, YouTube saw a spike in the number of new smartphone devices launched in March, as did Twitch’s gaming-focused streaming site. And by mid-March, the new installations of Netflix, Hulu, Tubi TV, and Pluto TV had been combined by 33 percent since the beginning of the year. This again indicates a growing interest in the pure entertainment material of customers during this time.
TRENDS IN MOBILE GAMING APP
Gaming apps have also seen an increase in new users. By the second week of March, Candy Crush, CoinMaster, Fox next, Peak games, and Subway Surfers had raised by 95 percent from the January 2020 figures. And by the second half of March, the use of CoinMaster, Daily Themed Crossword Puzzle, and Words with Friends had increased by 67 percent since the beginning of the year.
USING APPS FOR EXERCISE
What’s with the exercise? Are people moving to smartphones to keep them healthy? Myfitnesspal saw a significant jump in new installations in March, and Strava also saw a small increase in the month. But both Myfitnesspal and Peloton saw a larger increase in new app installs at the beginning of January — probably for New Year’s resolutions.
There are only a few trends at play here. It is not shocking to see both Peloton and Myfitnesspal have a noticeable rise in usage at the beginning of the year, as many people are trying to start the year better, only to find their choices slip over time.
Not only are they not selling themselves as aggressively as before, but it’s also possible that consumers are less interested in exercise right now when they buy food or consume video videos. For example, a new Peloton order typically needs an in-house contractor to set up, which is not ideal for social distancing.
What are the patterns in space in March? Outdoor-focused apps like Strava tend not to see major increases in use when it’s cold outdoors across much of the country, even though outdoor exercise is one of the only activities allowed outdoors in shelter-on-order areas.
If the virus continues to have a dramatic impact on life in May and June, it is certainly possible for these outdoor-oriented apps to see a higher-than-normal increase in new users.
Compared to some other applications such as Strava, Myfitnesspal also includes a dietary and nutritional component. This may be part of why there are more new users relative to other properties in this room.
USING APPLICATIONS TO WORK AT HOME
As a result of the novel coronavirus, many companies had their workers operating from home. This led to a sharp spike in Zoom’s new app installs in mid-March, with a noteworthy uptick for Skype for Business, GoToMeeting, and Join.me. In fact, between March 11 and March 22, the total number of new installs of these four apps increased by 2,000 percent over the January total.
• The number of new Zoom app installs increased by 57 percent in February and by 266 percent in the first three weeks of March.
• The number of new Skype Business App downloads rose by 51 percent in February and 66 percent in the first three weeks of March.
• The number of new GoToMeeting app downloads rose by 53 percent in February and 85 percent in March.
• The number of new Join.me app installs increased by 48% in February and 43% in March.
CONCLUSION:
There has also been an increase in telemedicine app usage late, with hospital services trying to minimize in-person contact, if possible, and patients choosing to stay away from sick people. Doctor on Demand, WebMD, and MDLive all saw a jump in the new app installs in March, although it’s worth noting that some medical professionals are now using consumer-facing tools like Zoom and Apple’s FaceTime. Even, the cumulative new downloads of these three telemedicine-specific devices rose by 70% in March relative to January 2020.
