A study of 30 million app downloads by developer blog Pinch Media has found that most people who download Apple’s iPhone applications from the App Store don’t use them the next day.
The findings, which appear as a slide show on Pinch Media’s blog, reveals that most people who download apps are looking for value, and the app market is temperamental when it comes to pricing.
For example, the average price increase drops demand for an app by 25pc, while the average price decrease boosts demand by 130pc.
The study found that 20pc of people who download a free application were using it the next day.
In terms of paid-for applications, 30pc of people were still using the application the next day.
The App Store analytics revealed that if a new application has any hope of survival, it has to be immediately compelling. After 90 days, the amount of people still using the app hovers around 1pc.
In terms of the potential for mobile advertising via applications, Pinch Media said that currently less than 5pc of applications on the App Store are suitable for advertising, in terms of generating a return.
Pinch urged app developers to only release an ad-supported application if the analytics provide data that strongly suggests success.
Pinch’s analysis also found that out of all applications, games are used for longer periods.
By John Kennedy
