We’re excited to announce that the 10th Edition of The AppsFlyer Performance Index — AKA Edition X or IndeX — is almost out! On March 31st, we will release the complete rankings.
When Edition I was released in Q3 of 2015, it was hard to imagine that 5 years later we would publish Edition X, and that this mini-brand within the AppsFlyer brand would have such an impact on the industry.
So there’s no better time to say: thank you all for the vote of confidence.
To illustrate just how much has changed, take a look at the rankings from Edition I, for gaming and non-gaming apps across iOS and Android (look for the icons, it’s the original design). For those who were around back then, it’s quite a sight (click on the image to zoom in):
A quick glance tells the story: The media landscape in mobile advertising has drastically changed in 5 years, as consolidation reshaped the space.
Since Edition I, the Google-Facebook duopoly has significantly increased its install market share as both giants grew taller and taller. Google, in particular, got off to a relatively slow start, but has since ramped up its presence on mobile.
We can see that many logos are no longer present, while other big players like TikTok Ads, Apple Search Ads, Snap, and Liftoff have emerged.
The numbers speak for themselves:
- 60% of media sources that appeared in Edition I, will not be in X
- 75% of media sources that will be in Edition X, did not appear in I
The shift from quantity to quality in media is exemplified in two sweeping trends:
- A distinct clampdown on fraud and reduced tolerance to any sign of polluted data
- A shift in budget allocations to media partners with robust in-house technology that can crunch data and drive return
Fast Forward 5 Years: Edition X Marks Google’s Takeover
Edition X is a worthy ending to an explosive decade for mobile apps. It was during the 2010s when apps became our go-to source for content, games, and services. By the end of the decade, App Annie reported app downloads reached 204 billion in 2019.
However, with millions of apps in the stores, developers have been increasingly reliant on marketing to drive installs.
Indeed, almost 60% of downloads of apps with marketing spend in 2019 were driven by app install campaigns — up 15% compared to 2018 and almost 30% since 2017.
Translating this to money, app install ad spend in 2019 totaled a staggering $57.8 billion, according to our recent report.
Ultimately, when marketing plays such a central role in the success of mobile apps, so does the Index.
Mark your calendars for March 31st
…And get the complete rankings of Edition X including:
- 252 rankings including 20 new categories (e.g. finance, entertainment, and gaming sub genres)
- Retargeting Index rankings by region
- Growth insights on Google, Facebook, Apple Search Ads, Snap, ironSource, AppLovin, Unity Ads and others
- Key insights and actionable takeaways
The post AppsFlyer Performance Index: Ahead of Edition X, a Look Back at Edition I appeared first on AppsFlyer.