‘AppStore Secrets’
(What We’ve Learned From 30,000,000 Downloads)
Greg Yardley
Co‐Founder & CEO
greg@pinchmedia.com
646‐330‐8540

30,000,000 Downloads?!
(Actually, it’s a fair bit more than that by now.)
• Since AppStore launch, Pinch Media has provided
developers with an analyUcs library to monitor app usage
– unique users, sessions, usage Ume, etc.
• Since AppStore launch we’ve also been collecUng every
bit of detail possible from the AppStore – rankings, price
changes, you name it – and tying it back to our analyUcs.
• Our stuff’s in a few hundred applicaUons right now – it’s
been in the #1 free and paid applicaUon several Umes
each, and has been in at least ten of the top 100 free
applicaUons for a while now.
• With all of this data, you learn a few things.

ApplicaUon Rankings
(How does the AppStore work, anyway?)
For every ranked list on the AppStore, here’s a good
rule of thumb:
24‐hour
rolling window
of units downloaded
(So bunch up your publicity.)

What do you get by appearing on a list?
• Appearing on a top 100 list increases daily
new users by an average of 2.3x.
• Greater gains result from appearing in the top
25 and top 10 lists – more variable, but oaen
an order of magnitude.
• However, it’s not permanent. Apple’s
AppStore is structured for maximum turnover.

Case Study A: Well‐Timed Price Cut

Case Study B: Not‐So‐Well Timed

Case Study C: CounterproducUve?

In general…
• Don’t mess with a posiUve download trend.
• Decreasing price is oaen worthwhile.
• Aaer you’ve been broadly exposed,
experiments have less effect.
The average price cut increased demand by 130%.
The average price increase drops demand to 25%.

What do I need to get on a list?
For free applicaUons:
Top 25 Top 100
six months ago 10,000 1,000
three months ago 11,000 1,500
today 20,000 5,000
(Apple had a big Christmas!)

Case Study D: Happy Holidays

Do I have a community?
(aka ‘How much is my app used?’)
• So you’ve got a million downloads – congrats!
But what percentage use your applicaUon the
next day? The day aaer?
• The biggest applicaUons in our system have
+3MM downloads – but what kind of acUve
user base does a download translate into?

Free ApplicaHons ‐ Usage Over Time
25.00%
Users Returning (% of Day 0)
20.00%
15.00%
10.00%
5.00%
0.00%
1 11 21 31 41 51 61 71 81 91
Days Since First Used

Paid ApplicaHons ‐ Usage Over Time
35.0%
Users Returning (% of Day 0)
30.0%
25.0%
20.0%
15.0%
10.0%
5.0%
0.0%
1 11 21 31 41 51 61 71 81 91
Age Since First Used

ApplicaHons By Category ‐ Usage Over Time
30.0%
Entertainment
Users Returning (% of Day 0)
Games
25.0%
Sports
Lifestyle
20.0%
UUliUes
15.0%
10.0%
5.0%
0.0%
1
4
7
19
25
28
31
37
49
55
58
61
67
79
85
88
91
97
100
10
13
16
22
34
40
43
46
52
64
70
73
76
82
94
Days Since First Use

In other words…
• Users stop using the average applicaUons
prely quickly. Long‐term audiences are
generally 1% of total downloads.
• Paid applicaUons generally retain their users
longer than free applicaUons, although the
drop‐off is sUll prely steep.
• Sports seems beler at retaining users over
the short term; entertainment at retaining
users over the long term.

How long are they using it?
• For certain applicaUons, the length of Ume
users use the applicaUon is important.
• Branded applicaUons care deeply about
engagement.
• ApplicaUons showing ads periodically also care
about session length, for obvious reasons.
• In general, every second the app’s open is a
second it can be seen by or recommended to
others.

So should I give it away or not?
• Anyone browsing the top free applicaUons
knows that adverUsing is an opUon.
• The biggest player is AdMob, but Pinch Media
has some partnerships with ad networks that
supply some of these ads.
• However… I used to be much more
enthusiasUc about adverUsing than I am today.
Here’s why:

Total ApplicaHon Runs Since First Use
12
10
Total ApplicaHon Runs
8
6
4
2
0
1 11 21 31 41 51 61 71 81
Days Since First Use

Average ‘free vs. paid’ raUos:
• for total unique users:
7.5 to 1
• for total number of Umes used:
6.6 to 1
• for total Ume spent using the applicaUon:
3.9 to 1

ExtrapolaUng…
• Assume free applicaUons are run, at most, a
dozen Umes per user.
• We see free applicaUons run, on average, 6.6
Umes as oaen as paid applicaUons.
• A paid applicaUon returns at least $0.70 / user.
• Doing the math – 12 x 6.6 = 80 sessions.
• Can the average applica/on make more than
$0.70 off adver/sing in 80 sessions?

Answer: Hell no.
Earning $0.70 in 80 sessions requires revenue of
$8.75 per thousand runs.
If you can show one ad per session, that’s an
$8.75 CPM.
Right now, with the ad market how it is,
adverUsing rates of $0.50‐$2.00 CPM are
much more typical.
The typical applicaUon would have to bombard
its users with ads to beat the money it’d make
from paid sales.

But adverUsing isn’t always a bad idea.
• Some applicaUons benefit from network
effects, and get far more than 6.6x the users
they’d get if they charged.
• Some applicaUons are excepUonally ‘sUcky’ –
users use the app far more than average.
• Some applicaUons – generally, ones catering
to people with money – can command beler
adverUsing rates than usual.

CumulaHve ApplicaHon Runs Since First Use, By Decile
45
40
35
30
ApplicaHon Runs
25
20
15
10
5
0
1 6 11 16 21 26 31 36 41 46 51 56 61 66 71 76 81 86 91 96
Days Since First Used

CumulaHve ApplicaHon Runs Since First Use, By Decile CPM
45
< $2.00
40
35
30
ApplicaHon Runs
25
20
15
~ $7.00
10
~ $15.00
5
~ $35.00
0
1 6 11 16 21 26 31 36 41 46 51 56 61 66 71 76 81 86 91 96
Days Since First Used

To sum up…
• Only a few (<5%) high‐performing applicaUons
are suitable for adverUsing right now, and you
don’t know if you’ve got one unUl aaer launch.
• In other words ‐ unless there’s something
inherent about the app that screams free, sell it.
• Install analyUcs in your applicaUon and watch
your sessions per user over Ume. Within a few
weeks, you’ll know if you’ve got a sUcky
applicaUon.
• Only release an ad‐supported version when you
have data strongly indicaUng success.

Again, summing up ‐
• Usage Ume declines by almost a third in the
first month aaer use, stabilizing at just under
five minutes.
• Paid applicaUons see slightly more use soon
aaer installaUon, and are used for slightly
longer periods.
• The biggest usage differenUator is category –
games are used for longer periods than any
other type of applicaUon.

This was actually a sneak preview
• AppStore‐wide reports are being generated
daily and will be incorporated into Pinch
Media’s reporUng site in the near future.
• Any applicaUon using our analyUcs library and
acUvely sending in data gets access to all
ecosystem‐wide reporUng for free.
• Pinch Media wants to know what else you
want baked into this reporUng.

QuesUons?
You can always reach me at:
greg@pinchmedia.com
646‐330‐8540
If you’ve got a technical quesUon,
support@pinchmedia.com goes to the
enUre company.
You can see a demo at demo.pinchmedia.com, or
just get started at developer.pinchmedia.com.