Business Wire

Airship’s Data Study of Nearly 750 Million Individual App Users Finds Mobile App Engagement Rates Have Soared Under Lockdown

Share

Customer engagement company Airship today revealed top-level results of its global benchmark study, examining the state of mobile app behaviors across nearly 750 million people worldwide. To distinguish between the impact of the pandemic and longer-term changes due to growing data regulations, more stringent app review policies by Apple and Google and ongoing evolution in user behavior, February 2020 was used for year-over-year analysis and then compared to March-June 2020. The full report is available for download here.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200929005324/en/

To view this piece of content from mms.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.

From February 2019 to February 2020, all regions saw average direct app opens (when a user opens an app from a click on a web or push notification) per user per month decline. March-June 2020 reversed this trend with all but one region seeing growth. (Graphic: Business Wire)

Key findings show that the global pandemic led to massive gains for several key engagement metrics that have been trending downward. For example, year-over-year analysis for February showed that while global active mobile app audiences grew by more than 30 percent, the average number of app opens per user declined 28.5 percent to 17.6 app opens per user per month globally. Similarly, global average notification direct open rates decreased from 6.44 percent to 6.35 percent (-1.4%). Both of these metrics reversed this trend by growing 29 percent throughout March-June, averaging 22.6 app opens per user and a direct open rate of 8.2 percent globally. Brands across Northern and Western Europe saw a higher increase in average direct open rates than anywhere else in the world. This trend was also evident in the U.K., where average app opens per user declined 29.1 percent and average notification direct open rates fell 19.5 percent year-over-year, to then grow on average 29.7 percent and 40.3 percent respectively in March-June 2020. This suggests that consumers in countries like the U.K. are much more likely to open apps if encouraged by web or push notifications.

Mobile app engagement metrics vary at a regional level, from markets that are more mature, to rapidly emerging markets with significant mobile-only populations, as well as by industry vertical — especially those most impacted by the global pandemic. For a full view of findings by subregion, industry vertical and mobile operating system, please download Airship’s “The State of Global Mobile Engagement 2020” report.

Notably, across the globe people opting in to share their location with apps has been on the decline for years since the introduction of GDPR — and year-over-year it declined another 2.5 percent for a global average location opt-in rate of 7.7 percent before the pandemic. Between March-June 2020, location opt-in grew every single month, reaching 10.7 percent — a 39 percent growth rate and an absolute rate not seen since before 2018.

Retail continues to have the highest location opt-in rate among the 12 verticals included in the study at 23.1 percent. Three verticals saw their average location opt-in rates more than double over March-June 2020, including Medical, Health & Fitness (+150%), Finance & Insurance (+128%) and Travel & Transportation (+116%).

Among 41 countries included in the study, India, Romania, Mexico, Japan and Brazil saw the biggest gains to location opt-in rates during March-June 2020 — the U.K. was sixth, while the U.S. had the ninth largest growth rate.

“The results clearly show that the pandemic has further cemented the importance of mobile to support our everyday lives. With strong growth in the use of mobile apps and consumer engagement in response to brands’ direct communications on mobile, more and more people are turning to apps as a way to engage with the brands they love,” says Patrick Mareuil, managing director for EMEA at Airship. “Consumers have adopted new behaviours and greater mobile interaction during the pandemic for in-the-moment information and streamlined conveniences, and much of this will continue to grow in the future. Therefore, marketing teams should further invest in mobile to seize this trend, supporting customers with a direct, contactless experience to ensure they have access to all they need at their fingertips.”

Methodology

Airship’s benchmark study analyzes year-over-year aggregate behaviors of global app users active in February 2019 (568m) and February 2020 (744m), compared against all active users throughout March-June 2020. Subregions and industry verticals included were those with 10m or more users in February 2020, while the cut-off for countries was 1m or more users in that same month.

About Airship

Thousands of the world’s leading brands rely on Airship to spark closer connections with their customers through highly contextual and relevant interactions. Only Airship’s Customer Engagement Platform takes a mobile-first, data-led approach that enables brands to focus on individuals and their needs, not which marketing channels to use. Airship makes it much simpler and more effective to grow customer lifetime value in the omnichannel era.

With trillions of interactions intelligently orchestrated across mobile apps, mobile wallet, SMS, websites, and email, Airship optimizes the entire customer journey across all digital touchpoints at scale.

For more information, visit www.airship.com, read our blog or follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.

Contact information

Danielle Stickler
Mission North for Airship
+1 415-749-9124
airship@missionnorth.com

Ana Williams
Airship
+44 (0)20 3405 5160
Ana.Williams@airship.com

About Business Wire

For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.

Subscribe to releases from Business Wire

Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Latest releases from Business Wire

Year-old European startup Maisa named alongside Google and Amazon in elite list of leading AI agent vendors in top global US research reports by Gartner3.7.2025 02:01:00 EEST | Press release

Maisa, a rising star of enterprise AI, has been named by leading global research and advisory firm Gartner in its list of leading vendors for developing reliable AI agents. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250702640749/en/ Maisa founders David Villalón and Manuel Romero Inclusion in Gartner’s 2025 Hype Cycle for AI and Hype Cycle for the Future of Work marks the first time a Spanish startup has been mentioned in these influential reports. The company, which is barely a year old and made its first raise of $5m+ from leading US investors last year, now finds itself named alongside global giants Amazon Web Services, Google, Salesforce and LangChain. The Gartner Hype Cycle for AI Agents provides an overview of emerging technologies in AI, helping organizations navigate the evolving landscape of autonomous software agents. The Hype Cycle for the Future of Work provides CIOs with a crucial human-first lens on the tra

Hoffmann Green Announces a Historic Increase in Production Over the First Half of 2025, Already Outperforming the Annual Volumes Realized in 20242.7.2025 20:05:00 EEST | Press release

Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies (ISIN: FR0013451044, Ticker: ALHGR) (“Hoffmann Green Cement” or the “Company”), an industrial player committed to the decarbonation of the construction sector that designs and markets innovative clinker-free cements, today announces a strong acceleration of production over the first half of 2025, validating the relevance of its industrial and commercial business model. Production volumes reached 19,640 tonnes over the first half of 2025, compared with 7,833 tonnes in the first half of 2024, representing a 2.5-fold increase. This very strong level of activity enabled the Company to outperform its total 2024 volumes (16,269 tonnes) over the first half of 2025. This dynamic is illustrated by the supply of more than 130 construction sites across the country during the half-year, exceeding 60,000 m³ of concrete formulated with 0% clinker cement delivered by more than 10,000 truck mixers. Julien BLANCHARD and David HOFFMANN, Co-founders of Hoffmann Green Ce

Institutional Real Estate, Inc. Announces Acquisition of U.K.-based Lyndon Publishing 2 Limited2.7.2025 19:44:00 EEST | Press release

Institutional Real Estate, Inc. (“IREI”) has completed its acquisition of the assets of London-based Lyndon Publishing 2 Ltd (“Lyndon Publishing”), which include The Property ChronicleandThe Green Chronicle.The former Lyndon Publishing 2 will now operate as a division of IREI. The Property Chronicle reaches a global audience of real estate investment professionals, researchers, and academics. Its sister publication, The Green Chronicle, is edited to address the interests and concerns of emerging young talent in these real estate professions. Both publications are produced as weekly news briefings filled with original content and contributed feature articles from industry thought and opinion leaders. In addition, The Property Chronicle is also published as a quarterly, illustrated full-color magazine available in both digital and print formats, while The Green Chronicleis published exclusively in digital format. Together, the two publications reach approximately 50,000 professionals acr

Sinopec Wins Technological Innovation Award at 2 nd Sino-European Corporate ESG Best Practice Conference2.7.2025 19:21:00 EEST | Press release

China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation ("Sinopec", HKG: 0386) has won the "Best Scientific and Technological Innovation Practice" award at the 2nd Sino-European Corporate ESG Best Practice Conference (the "Conference") on June 26 in Stuttgart. Sinopec’s case submission of Breakthrough in Depth, Climb to New Heights — Empowering the Energy and Chemical Industry with Technological Innovation stood out among numerous entries. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250702387465/en/ Wang Tao, Sinopec representative, delivered a speech at the conference. The Conference reviews and awards the best ESG application cases in six areas of environmental protection, social responsibility, corporate management, scientific and technological innovation, education, and training to further enhance mutual understanding between Chinese and European businesses, facilitate bilateral economic and trade exchanges, and showcase China’s open,

Xsolla Releases Their Q2 2025 The State of Play Report: Mobile Gaming Is Projected to Hit $126B in 2025 Amid Global App Boom With In-Depth Analysis of Trends, Genres, and Monetization Strategies2.7.2025 19:00:00 EEST | Press release

Xsolla, a leading global video game commerce company, proudly announces the release of the Q2 2025 Edition of “The Xsolla Report: The State of Play.” This detailed report provides crucial insights, trends, and opportunities shaping the gaming landscape, empowering industry professionals to adapt and thrive in today’s rapidly changing market. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250702208715/en/ Graphic: Xsolla In 2024, global mobile app usage soared to an astonishing 4.2 trillion hours, an all-time high that powered a massive $150 billion consumer spending across mobile platforms. Mobile gaming is leading this charge, which accounted for more than half of that total. Despite a 6% dip in overall game downloads, falling to 49.6 billion, in-app purchase (IAP) revenue surged, indicating deeper user engagement and a more valuable player base. And the momentum is far from over: mobile gaming revenue is projected to grow

In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.

Visit our pressroom
World GlobeA line styled icon from Orion Icon Library.HiddenA line styled icon from Orion Icon Library.Eye