1、JAPAN MOBILE APP ENGAGEMENT 2018 User Acquisition Trends and Benchmarks REPORT PURCHASE RESERVE SHARE SUBSCRIBE Introduction Mobile Engagement Benchmarks 6 Average Cost-per-Install by App Category Engagement by Gender Engagement by Platform Retention: First 30 Days 12 Retention by App Category 13 Re

2、tention by Organic vs Paid 15 iOS Paid vs Organic 30 Day Retention Rates 15 Android Paid vs Organic 30 Day Retention Rates Seasonal Trends 17 Registration Costs and Engagement Rates by Month 18 Purchase Costs and Engagement Rates by Month Summary Table of Contents 3 5 8 10 11 16 19 Japan Mobile App

3、Engagement Report: User Acquisition Trends & Benchmarks3 While Japan is currently the third-largest market as measured by gross app store consumer spend at approximately $14-billion,1 it has continued to keep pace with the second-place United States, even surpassing it on occasion. And yet, as our d

4、ata shows, the app-centric Japanese market is unlike any other, and understanding its unique dynamics can be crucial to building effective campaigns and optimizing mobile ad spend. Liftoff and Adjusts inaugural report on app engagement in Japan delivers a few surprises, while highlighting potential

5、marketing opportunities for brands operating here. For Introduction instance, while cost per engagement in this market is seen to be relatively expensive across a majority of app categoriestypical for such a mature economyinstall-to-action engagement rates are also remarkably high. That is, while ma

6、rketers have to spend more to attract a consumer to install an app, those users who do install are much more engaged, with a relatively high percentage of them registering, making purchases and subscribing to services, when compared with Liftoffs global app engagement benchmarks. Among the worlds la

7、rgest developed economies, Japan has historically punched well above its weight in terms of mobile consumer app spend. 1 2018, App Annie Intelligence, 2017 Retrospective Japan Mobile App Engagement Report: User Acquisition Trends & Benchmarks4 But perhaps most interesting is the outsized role that w

8、omen are playing in the Japanese app market, outperforming men in metrics of engagement across all cost and in- app events. Our data shows women accounting for over two-thirds of all app installs, more than twice as much as men, with a cost per install thats noticeably lower. This would suggest that

9、 apps and campaigns specifically targeting women in the Gaming, Entertainment and Shopping app categories, for instance, could potentially outperform campaigns targeting men. The Japan Mobile App Engagement Report draws from Liftoff and Adjust data from Aug 1, 2017 to July 31, 2018, sampling over ni

10、ne billion impressions across over 100 million clicks and 1.45 million installs. A total of 123 apps were included in the sampling, and data is broken down by platform (iOS and Android) and gender. This report tracks costs and engagement metrics across the entire mobile app conversion funnel, from i

11、nstall and registration to in-app purchase and subscription. We also analyze seasonal trends as well as mobile app retention within the first 30 days. Women are outperforming men in metrics of engagement across all cost and in-app events. Japan Mobile App Engagement Report: User Acquisition Trends &

12、 Benchmarks5 The Japan Mobile Engagement Report benchmarks the average costs and conversion rates associated with acquiring a new user from a paid app install campaign. The report provides insights into app engagement across the entire in-app funnel, from install and registration to purchase or subs

13、cription. Mobile Engagement Benchmarks The average cost-per-install (CPI) and cost-per-action (CPA) show wide variance across app categories in Japan, with Finance, Gaming, and Dating apps spending the most to acquire new mobile users. This is likely due to the competitive nature of these app catego

14、ries and consumer willingness to spend in these apps. Which app categories convert at a higher rate? AVERAGE COST-PER-INSTALL BY APP CATEGORY Japan Mobile App Engagement Report: User Acquisition Trends & Benchmarks6 The underperforming Dating app category, however, is another story, and perhaps refl

15、ects the lingering stigma around online dating in modern-day Japan. It costs a record $7.66 just to entice a user to install the app, and almost double that ($12.92) to register, a 59.3% install-to-register rate. And Dating app subscriptions represent the most expensive of brass rings in the Japanes

16、e app world, costing an exorbitant $120.96 per subscription, for an install-to- subscription rate of 6.3%. Average Cost-per-Install by App Category Installation and registration are remarkably inexpensive for Entertainment apps, costing only $2.14 per installation and $2.84 for every registration, w

17、hich is to say that 75.4% of installed users end up registering for the service. DATING APPS: COSTS & ENGAGEMENT RATES ENTERTAIMENT APPS: COSTS & ENGAGEMENT RATES Japan Mobile App Engagement Report: User Acquisition Trends & Benchmarks7 GAMING APPS: COSTS & ENGAGEMENT RATES SHOPPING APPS: COSTS & EN

18、GAGEMENT RATES In the context of Japans robust e-commerce market, the second most economical app category (for marketers) is Shopping, costing just $3.01 per user installation, and $38.65 to get that coveted first purchase, resulting in a 7.8% install-to-purchase rate. And finally, Gaming apps cost

19、$6.07 to acquire a user who will install with a $84.23 cost to acquire an in-app purchase. The 7.2% install-to- in-app purchase rate fell just behind that of the install-to-purchase rate of Shopping apps (7.8%). Japan Mobile App Engagement Report: User Acquisition Trends & Benchmarks8 A comparison o

20、f acquisition costs and engagement rates reveals women in Japan cost less to acquire and engage at a significantly higher rate than men. In fact, looking across all key metrics, women outperform men by a wide margin, including Registration (men cost 39% more), In-App Purchase (men cost 56% more) and

21、 Subscription (men cost 159% more to acquire). In addition, women in Japan account for 66.9% of all app installs acquired programmatically, more than 2x that of men. Women are clearly more open Engagement by Gender to trying out new app experiences and subsequently making in-app purchases, confirmin

22、g reports that Japanese women have long viewed smartphones as the device of choice for consuming entertainment, including games, videos and music. And according to Liftoffs Mobile Gaming Apps Report, female gamers are much more engaged than men, with a 79% higher likelihood of making in-app purchase

23、s. Here, Japanese women appear to be leading the way, with many publishers in recent years Do males or females convert best? Japan Mobile App Engagement Report: User Acquisition Trends & Benchmarks9 starting to aggressively target this market by developing mobile games with the female gamer in mind.

24、 Were now witnessing a proliferation of mobile games for women in Japan, much more so than in the United States, with many games offering players an opportunity to scout out and train the next international superstar or find romance through a virtual online boyfriend. Women are also wide adopters of

25、 social apps in Japan, with 93% of women claiming a preference for using Line, Japans largest social app, compared with just 81% of men, according to 2016 numbers from Mobile Marketing Lab. More significant still, females spend more than twice as much time talking on their chat apps than males, logg

26、ing an average 960 minutes per month in 2015 compared with 450 minutes for men. Female gamers are much more engaged than men, with a 79% higher likelihood of making in-app purchases. COST & ENGAGEMENT BY GENDER Japan Mobile App Engagement Report: User Acquisition Trends & Benchmarks10 Across the fun

27、nel, iOS users in Japan outperform Android users with higher engagement rates and lower acquisition costs. At a cost-per-install of $5.13, Android users are just 7% more expensive to acquire than iOS users. However, when we look further down the in-app funnel, the gap widens. At $90.71 for a first-t

28、ime purchase, Android users cost 15% more to acquire than iOS users ($78.78). And with an install- to-first-purchase rate of 6.1%, iOS users are converting 7% more than Android users (5.7%). Engagement by Platform The engagement gap between Android and iOS users also extends to mobile app subscripti

29、ons. At a cost of $132.51 per new subscriber, Android users cost a massive 136% more to acquire than iOS subscribers ($56.21). And with an install-to-subscription rate of 3.9% on Android, iOS users (8.56%) subscribe 121% more than their Android counterparts. Overall, iOS users in Japan are simply mo

30、re engaged and more willing to spend than Android users, at lower acquisition costs. Do Android or iOS users convert at a higher rate? COST & ENGAGEMENT BY PLATFORM Japan Mobile App Engagement Report: User Acquisition Trends & Benchmarks11 Android users are, however, spending plenty of time in their

31、 apps. Although iOS users tend to be easier to acquire and faster to monetize, Android users in fact do more than iOS users with the apps that they download. On the whole, Android users log 31% more sessions in any given app than iOS users2.45 sessions for Android users vs. 1.87 sessions for iOS use

32、rs in the first 30 days of install. A session is defined by a period of time in which a user interacts with an app. Retention: First 30 Days This divergence is most striking in the Utilities app categorywith Android users logging 4.69 sessions in Utilities apps within the first 30 days, 173% more th

33、an iOS users. This finding echoes previous studies showing that Android users gravitate more towards digital Utilities apps that can increase performance, enhance security or offer additional customization options. Android users are also known to experiment with their phones, and are thus more likel

34、y to pay for these types of services over iOS users. What does the first month of app usage look like? Japan Mobile App Engagement Report: User Acquisition Trends & Benchmarks12 On the other end of the spectrum, only 16.6% of Japanese users who install an Entertainment app are still using it one day

35、 later, with 5.0% continuing to use it by Day 30. This suggests that while users are relatively quick to install and register for Entertainment apps, they are just as quick to stop using the app, showing that users have little appetite for an app that doesnt deliver immediate value. DAY 1 RETENTION

36、RANKING FROM BEST TO WORST Gaming (30.8%) Dating (23.3%) Shopping (21.5%) Finance (20.4%) Utilities (17.1%) Entertainment (16.6%) Retention by App Category Not surprisingly, Gaming apps have the highest 30 day retention rate, just over 30% on Day 1 to a healthy 9% at Day 30. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Retention Da

37、ys RETENTION RATES BY APP CATEGORY Japan Mobile App Engagement Report: User Acquisition Trends & Benchmarks13 While Shopping and Dating apps post higher retention rates than Finance apps on Day 1, at 21.5% and 23.3% respectively, Finance apps perform best across all non-gaming app categories, with a

38、n 8.0% retention rate after 30 days. DAY 30 RETENTION RANKING FROM BEST TO WORST Gaming (9.1%) Finance (8.0%) Shopping (7.4%) Dating (6.2%) Utilities (5.1%) Entertainment (5.0%) 1 2 3 4 5 6 Japanese users, while comparatively difficult to acquire, appear to be some of the most loyal in the world. Ac

39、cording to the latest benchmark numbers from Adjust, Japan sees retention rates at 3% above the US, making it the highest-performing country. Globally, Adjusts data shows that organic usersthat is, users who installed an app without being prompted by advertisingare more likely to continue using thei

40、r apps than users who were acquired via paid advertising. Thats to be expected, given that organic users install apps out of genuine curiosity or interest. The higher organic retention advantage also holds true in Japan, where we see the paid vs. organic retention rates diverging after the first fiv

41、e days. The gap then steadily increases, widening to 10.3% by the 30-day mark. Retention by Organic vs Paid App retention is exceptionally high in Japan, in comparison with user retention in other countries. Japan Mobile App Engagement Report: User Acquisition Trends & Benchmarks14 OVERALL PAID VS O

42、RGANIC 30 DAY RETENTION RATES PLATFORM: PAID VS ORGANIC 30 DAY RETENTION RATES RetentionRetention Days Days Japan Mobile App Engagement Report: User Acquisition Trends & Benchmarks15 So while iOS users tend to be more receptive to advertising, they do uninstall at higher rates than their Android pee

43、rs, with only 6.8% of users keeping their apps around after 30 days, compared with a superior 8% app retention by organic iOS users. Games enjoy the highest 30-day retention rate for paid users, at 9.4%. This rate is similar to that of organic users, 10.7% of whom keep their games after 30 days. In

44、contrast, Entertainment apps suffer from the worst paid 30-day retention rates, at 4.2%, while only 4.5% of organic iOS users hold onto their travel apps after 30 days. Interestingly, paid Android users tend to jettison their Utility apps most often after the initial 30-day period, with a record-low

45、 retention rate of 3.1%. This may suggest that Android users have a relatively low tolerance for Utility apps that dont live up to their initial promise. iOS Paid vs Organic 30 Day Retention Rates Android Paid vs Organic 30 Day Retention Rates When we examine iOS app retention, we can see a comparat

46、ively large gap between paid and organic users, with the organic 30-day retention rate coming in 18% higher than the paid 30-day retention rate. In comparison, paid and organic Android users appear to support similar retention rates, with both paid and organic apps clocking in at 8.6% retention afte

47、r the 30-day mark. While iOS users tend to be more receptive to advertising, they do uninstall at higher rates than their Android peers. Japan Mobile App Engagement Report: User Acquisition Trends & Benchmarks16 In the case of Japan, CPIs have a tendency to spike during the December holiday season a

48、nd July, the height of the summer months, when CPIs rise to $6.16. Seasonal Trends CPIs are relatively suppressed in the months following the year-end holidays, and reached a low of $3.46 in the month of August, prior to the back- to-school period in early September. Cost-per-install in Japan, simil

49、ar to that of any other country, tends to rise and fall in step with the various peak seasons throughout the year. COST-PER-INSTALL BY MONTH Japan Mobile App Engagement Report: User Acquisition Trends & Benchmarks17 Mobile app marketers hoping to get the most bang for their buck in optimizing registration volumes could do worse than launching campaigns any time from November 2017 through to the summer o