Exponential increases in app installs & session lengths across verticals during holiday season

Mobile is the most popular channel for Indian consumers to learn, explore, and buy from, particularly during this festive season.

According to a report by measurement and analytics company Adjust and mobile intelligence platform data.ai, during the holiday season in India, there is exponential increases in app installs and session lengths across all verticals compared to the previous year. For example, shopping app installs and sessions during Diwali week (Oct. 22 – 26) were 47% and 14% higher than the 2022 average. Additionally, food & drink app revenue events were 38% above the yearly average during Diwali week.

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Recent data reveals that mobile apps have become the preferred choice for Indian consumers, with 46% utilizing them for learning, 79% for exploration, and a substantial 78% for making purchases, particularly during this festive period.

The Indian mobile app market is on an upward trajectory, and we recommend marketers localize and personalize their messaging to best reach their target audiences during this festive time

April Tayson, Regional Vice President of APAC, Adjust

“The Indian mobile app market is on an upward trajectory, and we recommend marketers localize and personalize their messaging to best reach their target audiences during this festive time,” said April Tayson, Regional Vice President of APAC, Adjust.

India’s rise as a powerhouse in the global mobile app arena is extremely impressive. With a flourishing smartphone user base and booming internet connectivity, the nation generated a staggering US$1.6 billion in revenue in 2022.

Holiday periods like Diwali can represent powerful times to reach and engage consumers on the device they always have with them: their phones. But it’s a highly competitive time, and brands need to know the lay of the land in order to benchmark and plan effectively for the Diwali 2023 holiday period

Lexi Sydow, Corporate Marketing Director, data.ai

“Demand for mobile apps and games is on the rise in India. In 2022 alone, we saw nearly 29 billion downloads, up 8% year over year. Holiday periods like Diwali can represent powerful times to reach and engage consumers on the device they always have with them: their phones. But it’s a highly competitive time, and brands need to know the lay of the land in order to benchmark and plan effectively for the Diwali 2023 holiday period,” said Lexi Sydow, Corporate Marketing Director, data.ai.

The report also found that revenue events of fintech users were lower during Diwali 2022, but were 35% higher than the yearly average two weeks after.Lakshmi is the Goddess of wealth and represents money, so many Indian Hindus want to preserve it and keep it in the house symbolically on this particular day. This is likely why fintech app installs were down during the festive period.

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In fact, on Lakshmi Puja, there was a significant drop in installs of 28% in comparison to the rest of the other time periods analyzed (Sep 18-Nov 26).  Revenue events for fintech apps were below the yearly average four weeks before and during Diwali, but gradually increased two weeks after Diwali. Revenue events from Nov 6-12 were 35% higher than the 2022 average.

Travel app sessions spiked in the weeks before Diwali, with sessions one week before 16% above the 2022 average.The majority of travel app installs and sessions occurred in the four weeks before Diwali, with weekdays accounting for 36% and 32% of the total installs and sessions during the time period analyzed, respectively. Marketers should take this opportunity to invest in deal-saving campaigns in the month before Diwali and ensure campaign messaging and assets are festive-themed to capture the seasonal mood and engage users.