With over 1 B installs, and $400 M in-app revenue, India has a booming app economy

According to AppsFlyer's State of App Marketing in India report, India has emerged as the global leader in mobile apps with an average download of 40 apps per month. India has surpassed the US for the highest number of non-organic app downloads.

In January 2018, there was a three-fold increase in the average number of installs per app, as compared with January last year, the report said. It added Indian consumers spend nearly 170 mins per day on apps. As per the survey findings, India has seen over one billion app installs, four billion app opens, 950 apps, $400 million in-app revenue, 40 million retargeting conversions in the last one year. The survey was carried out between January 2017 and January 2018.

It highlights that around this time last year, the US was ahead of India by 26 percent in the overall non-organic app install count. The report attributes the jump to the lower price of media - about 30 cents for an install - and an increase in the share of non-Indian apps running campaigns in India. The top industries with high growth in mobile marketing activity were found to be shopping, entertainment, and travel.

It adds that there has been an accelerated growth of the ‘consumption class’ in India, which indicates a higher number of people can afford to buy expensive smartphones. Ten years ago, the consumption class stood at 7 percent, whereas today it is 27 percent of Indian households (approximately 66 million). Also, the number of smartphones shipped in India during Q3-2017 was 39 million, a 40 percent increase from Q2-2017.

“Overall, the share of Indian apps in the pie is shrinking. The share of Chinese apps is up 7 percent, and the share of other non-Indian apps has increased by almost 30 percent,” added Appflyer’s report.

While the share of Indian apps has risen year-over-year in the entertainment category, the survey highlights that Indian-owned e-commerce apps face more competition from outside the country. The report stated that India consumers have non-Indian apps on top of their mind, especially Chinese ones.

Overall, the share of non-Indian apps is rapidly growing in this category, with an over 84 percent jump in shopping and a 45+ percent rise in travel.

The survey brought to fore that the average Indian app user makes in-app purchases valued at $5.5 over three months. The share of buying users is relatively high in India with 7 percent of installers making in-app purchases within 30 days.

However, the report highlighted that due of limited storage space in the Android-dominated market, the country suffers from a high uninstall rate: about 32 percent of installed apps are deleted within 30 days and retention is also a challenge with only about 5 percent of users active 30 days after installing an app. The survey states that low engagement rate and high uninstall rate are driving marketers to invest 70 percent more in retargeting campaigns.

In terms of mobile app fraud, the report highlighted that App Install Fraud is on the rise in India, up 85 percent since January 2017, which is still lower than the global average because of low payout in the country. However, with scale and the desire to match advertiser expectations, more fraudsters are polluting data in this region.

The report was released by global mobile analytics firm Appflyer during the Mobile Attribution and Marketing Analytics (MAMA) Conference in New Delhi on March 7, 2018. The event brought together industry players and thought leaders to discuss the latest opportunities, challenges, and trends shaping the future of marketing in India’s mobile-first business ecosystem. The conference was centered on three concepts to help marketers excel at their jobs – education, localisation, and networking.