App tourism is on the rise according to new report

Data and analytics company App Annie has partnered with marketing measurement platform AppsFlyer to produce a report titled: 'State of App Marketing in Australia and New Zealand'.

It explores the impact that COVID-19 has had on the mobile industry in the ANZ region and provides guidance on how organisations can analyse data and therefore capitalise on opportunities to drive more sales.

The report also found ways that companies can learn from the data to generate better marketing strategies as the world emerges from lockdowns and business conditions begin to stabilise.

It suggests that the introduction of Apple's privacy-centric iOS 14 and the App Tracking Transparency (ATT) framework earlier this year have made remarketing more challenging, as reliance on user-level data has become a thing of the past.

According to the report, the pandemic conditions saw a sustained period of growth from Q1 of 202 to the end of Q2 in 2021, with consumers looking for alternatives to their regular shopping, services and general digital habits. This led to significant increases in in-app spending, right across the breadth of categories measured in the report.

Conversely, however, the report – which measured 3,250 apps and over 237 million app installs - also suggests that consumers have become more fickle over the past 18 months, with a higher rate of app tourism.

More people have been trying out apps by downloading them and not sticking around. Categories including health and fitness, gaming, and shopping all saw a surge in downloads but witnessed year-on-year reductions in spending from 2019 to 2021.

"In many ways, the mobile app market in ANZ has never been healthier, and consumer spending has never been higher as Australians and New Zealanders double-down on new mobile-first habits. But if the pandemic created 'app tourism', the challenge for marketers moving into 2022 will be how to get consumers to settle down more permanently," says App Annie managing director APAC Cindy Deng.

"App Annie helps act as that bridge between brands and their consumers to understand fluctuations in mobile preferences and values, and how to therefore fuel winning mobile experiences."

Other key insights and statistics from the report include:

• Finance app downloads in Australia and New Zealand grew 35% and 25% respectively year-on-year between H1 2020 and H1 2021 as the pandemic accelerated the trend away from cash.
• Entertainment and lifestyle (primarily dating) apps have been identified as standout areas of consumer spending growth, registering a 75% and 45% year-on-year increase respectively in Australia in Q1 2021, and a 45% increase all around in New Zealand.
• Shopping apps have almost doubled in-app purchases year-on-year across both markets.
• Food - Drink saw a 66% increase in remarketing conversations in Q2 2021 as residents turned to food delivery services to ride-out the stay-at-home orders.
• There was a quick and sustained bump in iOS budgets and install spend post-ATT enforcement, averaging at 66%.

"Six months into the enforcement of Apple's ATT, marketers in the ANZ region are still struggling to understand the material impact of these privacy measures in their mobile marketing strategies." says AppsFlyer director of growth ANZ Antony Wilcox.

"With ANZ being an iOS dominant region with a whopping 80% user penetration, we encourage all advertisers to find that balance between consumer privacy, while providing personalisation through a smart approach to data insights. Our mission at AppsFlyer in this region is to empower app marketers and technology partners to create better and more meaningful customer relationships."