New App Flyer study highlights uninstall trends for the past year.
A new report from AppsFlyer titled “The Uninstall Threat 2020 Benchmark†found that 53% of the apps were uninstalled within 30 days of download last year. App companies, on average, also posted a much higher monthly loss – over 70% when compared to 2019.
In the competitive app marketing space, it is no wonder that apps are having a hard time retaining users. With too many competitors to count and increasingly high user expectations, an app that does not deliver on all fronts — and fast — simply will not be used. Even worse, it will be uninstalled.
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Removing an app from a device can be seen as an aggressive move, clearly indicating that something is wrong. Hence, understanding why, when, and which users uninstall apps is extremely important in the fight against churn. In a freemium-dominated space, securing ongoing usage is absolutely vital to success. Without it, monetization becomes all but impossible.
Indeed, more apps are recognizing this grim reality. AppsFlyer found that there was a 4x increase in the share of apps measuring this metric since 2016.
However, only about 1 in 4 apps are currently measuring uninstall attribution! (for marketing purposes, it is fair to assume that the rate of measurement among product managers is higher).
Uninstall Trends in 2020
Uninstalls are a fact of life for every app. But how big is the problem? According to AppsFlyer’s data, roughly 1 in every two apps installed is uninstalled within 30 days of downloading.
Clearly, user tolerance to apps that fail to meet expectations is extremely low, especially with numerous alternatives for almost every app. Uninstalls remains a significant pain point for mobile apps.
The first wave of the coronavirus pandemic led to a relatively sharp rise, similar to January. Both periods can be characterized by heightened install activity — organic and non-organic.
While January installs were primarily driven by new device activations following the holiday season, starting in March, people worldwide entered into a strict lockdown.
While home, they turned to their mobile phones, as marketers, especially in gaming, ran aggressive user acquisition campaigns. When install activity is high, and users are more inclined to try out new apps, uninstalls also rise.
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Furthermore, elevated usage during lockdown also led to faster than usual uninstall rates among apps with a limited shelf life, Hyper Casual and Casual games in particular. For example, 60% of Hyper Casual games were uninstalled within seven days of install in April.
Overall, the uninstall rate in developing countries reached 56% — 33% higher than the average in developed countries (U.S., U.K., Japan, Korea, France, and Germany).
Having said that, developed countries are by no means uninstall-proof with rates exceeding 40%.
The gap is mostly explained by the predominant operating system and the type of device.
Android Vs. Apple: How Do the Uninstalls Compare?
Uninstalls on Android are twice as common as they are on iOS. The largest gaps between platforms were seen in Indonesia, South Korea, and Germany.
The difference is mostly due to small storage on the average Android device. This is still the case in many developing markets where large parts of the population have basic smartphones with limited space. As a result, users only keep apps they really need on their devices.
The report also states that since the quality of the average iOS device is higher than the average Android device, it offers a better user experience, whether performance-related (especially app crashes), cellular network related (low speed), or overall. As a result, iOS drives better engagement and ultimately lower uninstall rates.
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As expected, uninstalls are significantly higher among non-organic installs (NOIs) than organic installs, with the gap nearing 30%. Interestingly, the gap in developed markets (U.S., U.K., Japan, Korea, France, Germany) is much higher: 40% compared to only 10% in developing markets.
Device storage is most likely the reason behind this gap. After all, organic users also have limited storage, so if an app is not used, it will be uninstalled to free up space.
Uninstalls Drain Marketing Budgets
The average monthly loss of apps with a marketing budget in 2020 was approximately $57,000 – a significant 70% increase compared to 2019.
This significant number should serve as a wake-up call to app marketers who are not measuring or optimizing this key metric in the app ecosystem.
The year-over-year leap is mostly driven by shopping apps that saw the average number of uninstalls per-app increase by 31% and the cost per install rise by 35%.
The high CPI of Shopping, Food & Drink, and Finance apps led these categories to top the list.
Social ranks third due to a 250% year-over-year surge in the average number of uninstalls per app.
Conclusion: Measuring Uninstall KPIs To Improve ROI
AppsFlyer recommends that brands understand the relationship between usage and in-app funnel progression by measuring in-app events (e.g., in gaming: tutorial completion, registration, level 5 success, level 10 success, in-app purchase. In ecommerce: category, product, add-to-cart, purchase).
It is particularly important to know at which point an active user suddenly becomes inactive so brands can encourage them to continue using your app by offering a special promotion, discount, etc. On an aggregated level, if there is a significant drop after a certain stage in a brand’s funnel, they will probably need to change something in the app itself.