Tuesday 12 July 2011

80% of branded mobile apps have been downloaded less than 1,000 times

"A new report from Deloitte has confirmed what many app developers know already: the majority of mobile apps commissioned by brands are failing to take smartphones by storm.
The report was based on analysis of apps published on iPhone, Android and BlackBerry by big healthcare and consumer brands. Deloitte says that less than 1% of these apps have been downloaded more than one million times, and that only 20% had been downloaded enough to be considered for its survey.
Or, to put that latter stat another way: 80% of branded apps analysed by Deloitte had been downloaded less than 1,000 times. This, despite the fact that every month, the three stores in the study generate 1.6bn downloads – 1bn for Apple's App Store, 500m for Google's Android Market and 90m for Research In Motion's BlackBerry App World.
"Brands view apps as a golden opportunity to communicate directly with consumers and in a more meaningful, long term manner," says Howard Davies, media partner at Deloitte. "When brands get it right, the returns can be huge." The problem appears to be that most are getting it wrong.
It is easy to forget that one of the first big hits on the App Store – fuelled by word of mouth – was a branded app: Carling's iPint, which racked up several million downloads in the first few months after Apple's store launched. There have been other brand-app success stories too, like the Barclaycard-branded Waterslide Extreme iPhone game, which had been downloaded more than 12.5 million times at the last count."
Source:  Data from Deloitte, reported in The Guardian, 11th July 2011

No comments: