India is the world's fastest growing mobile market, faster than even China, with the country now accounting for 10 percent of global smartphone shipments, according to IDC. Indian consumers have a relatively high in-app buying rate compared to the global average, especially in shopping apps. “India is a mobile-first country that is very app-centric, with the average Indian app user making in-app purchases valued at $5.50 (USD) over a 90-day period, when taking into account all app categories,” said Sanjay Trisal, India Country Manager at AppsFlyer. “Consumers of shopping apps in particular tend to buy fast, with about one in every two users who make in-app purchases doing so within the first day after downloading a shopping app. Further, in the travel category, nearly all users who download a travel app end up making at least one purchase or booking within two weeks of installing the app.”
The report said that the country's app economy has now surpassed the US in terms of marketing-driven app install numbers to become the top country globally. Despite the healthy growth rate of app installs, marketers are facing challenges in user retention. The data shows that 30 days after installing an app, only a handful of users in India remain active in that app. Three months in, across an entire week, the rate is just over 5 percent.
India suffers from a high uninstall rate due to limited storage space in the Android dominated market. Close to one third (32 percent) of installed apps are deleted within 30 days. Retention is also a challenge with only about 5% of users active 30 days after installing an app.
App install fraud is on the rise in India, up 85 percent since January, 2017. Although this figure still stands lower than the global average due to low payout, the scale and desire to match advertiser expectations will see more fraudsters increasing activity in the region and polluting data that is key for marketers to make informed decisions.
India is increasingly attractive to non-Indian apps, especially Chinese ones. More Chinese apps are now in the top 200 compared to Indian apps. The share of non-Indian apps in the categories of shopping and travel grew by 84 percent and 45 percent respectively. In contrast, the share of Indian-based apps has risen year on year in the entertainment category.
“Mobile is the vehicle that drives the increasingly dynamic customer journey, and data is the fuel powering the business decisions that capitalize on the moments that matter. The MAMA experience is a great chance to promote local learning, participate in high-level networking, and get inspired so that we create an ecosystem with better mobile measurement, marketing ROI and business success — which is ultimately the aim of AppsFlyer as well,” said Oren Kaniel, CEO and Co-founder, AppsFlyer.
