Table of Contents
Executive Summary
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- The market
- Significant growth in mobile device ownership
- A rapidly changing mobile app market
- Fierce competition in O2O realm
- Better internet connectivity and mobile payment development drive apps market growth
- Small portion of consumers paying for apps and in-app services while low user loyalty demonstrates risks in the mobile app market
- Key players and innovation
- BAT continue to lead the mobile app market while seeking opportunities to expand their territories
- Innovation
- The consumer
- Android dominates smartphone OS, and iOS leads in tablet
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- Figure 1: Operating system used on mobile devices, July 2015
- Similar download level observed on smartphones and tablets
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- Figure 2: Number of apps downloaded in the last month, July 2015
- App store is the most important source to learn about new apps
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- Figure 3: How people learn about apps downloaded, July 2015
- Weather apps are most frequently used
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- Figure 4: Frequency of using different types of apps, July 2015
- Health and wellbeing apps saw the biggest growth in usage
- Consumers are most willing to pay for apps that can help save money
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- Figure 5: Interest in paid apps, July 2015
- Consumers are tolerant of in-app adverts, and content matters more than format when it comes to in-app advertising
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- Figure 6: Attitudes towards advertising in apps, July 2015
- 38% of respondents have paid for apps or in-app services
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- Figure 7: Experience with paid apps, July 2015
- What we think
Issues and Insights
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- Making advertising in mobile apps more effective
- The facts
- The implications
- Marketing in health and wellbeing apps
- The facts
- The implications
- How to grow paid apps and in-app purchases
- The facts
- The implications
The Market – What You Need to Know
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- A fast growing and rapidly changing mobile app market, with fierce competition in the O2O realm
- Growth is likely to be sustained under a number of market factors
- Few consumers making actual payments and lack of loyalty are key challenges
Market Overview
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- Significant growth in mobile device ownership
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- Figure 8: Smartphone and tablet ownership, December 2013/July 2015
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- Figure 9: Tablet ownership, by demographics, December 2013/July 2015
- China has become the third biggest market for iOS app
- A rapidly changing mobile app market
- Fierce competition in the O2O realm
Market Factors
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- Connectivity development has laid the foundations for app market to grow
- Mobile payment continues to penetrate, allowing consumers to use apps on more occasions
- Relatively few consumers paying for apps or in-app service may be a risk to revenue growth
- Low user loyalty may be another risk for mobile app market
Key Players – What You Need to Know
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- Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent dominate the market and continue to expand
- Consumer packaged goods brands tap into health and wellness with innovative app marketing
- State’s policies encourage innovative apps to bring experiential online shopping
Key Players
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- Tencent
- Latest development
- Alibaba
- Latest development
- Baidu
- Latest development
- Key app download platforms
Who’s Innovating?
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- Yili launched an app for bus riders to check their health on-the-go
- Consumers able to virtually try on jewellery on TIY
The Consumer – What You Need to Know
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- Android dominates smartphone OS, and iOS leads in tablet
- Similar download level observed on smartphones and tablets
- App store is the most important source to learn about new apps
- Health and wellbeing apps saw the biggest growth in usage
- Consumers are most willing to pay for apps that can help save money
- Consumers are tolerant of in-app adverts
- Content matters more than format when it comes to in-app advertising
- Mintropolitans are more active mobile app users
Operating System on Mobile Devices
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- Android continues to dominate smartphones while iOS leads tablets
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- Figure 10: Operating system used on mobile devices, July 2015
Number of Apps Downloaded
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- Similar app download level observed for smartphones and tablets
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- Figure 11: Number of apps downloaded in the last month, July 2015
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- Figure 12: Online activities on different devices, April 2015
- Profile of the heavy app downloaders
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- Figure 13: Heavy app downloaders, by demographics, July 2015
Ways to Learn about Apps
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- App store is the most important app discovery channel
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- Figure 14: How people learn about apps downloaded, July 2015
- Android users rely more on word of mouth and search engines
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- Figure 15: How people learn about apps downloaded, by users of different OS, July 2015
- Profile of consumers who are more responsive to advertising
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- Figure 16: Passive information sources to learn about apps downloaded, by demographics, July 2015
Apps Usage Frequency
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- Weather apps are most frequently used among app categories surveyed
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- Figure 17: Frequency of using different types of apps, July 2015
- Increasing usage of health and wellbeing as well as education apps
- App usage by user payment
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- Figure 18: Average times of using different types of apps per week^, by paid and non-paid app users, July 2015
Interest in Paid Apps
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- Consumers are most willing to pay for apps that can save money and add convenience
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- Figure 19: Interest in paid apps, July 2015
- 20-year-olds demonstrate the strongest spending willingness
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- Figure 20: Interest in paid apps, by age, July 2015
Attitudes towards Apps
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- 65% consumers are tolerant of in-app advertising in free apps
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- Figure 21: Attitudes towards advertising in apps, July 2015
- 38% of respondents have paid for apps or in-app service
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- Figure 22: Experience with paid apps, July 2015
- Figure 23: Experience with paid apps, by demographics, July 2015
Meet the Mintropolitans
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- Figure 24: Number of apps downloaded in the last one month, by consumer classification, July 2015
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- Figure 25: How people learn about apps downloaded, by consumer classification, July 2015
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- Figure 26: Average times of using different types of apps per week^, by consumer classification, July 2015
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- Figure 27: Experience with paid apps, by consumer classification, July 2015
- Figure 28: Interest in paid apps, by consumer classification, July 2015
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Appendix – Methodology and Abbreviations
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- Methodology
- Mintropolitans
- Why Mintropolitans?
- Who are they?
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- Figure 29: Demographic profile of Mintropolitans vs Non-Mintropolitans, by gender, age and personal income
- Figure 30: Demographic profile of Mintropolitans vs Non-Mintropolitans, by marital status, city tier and education level
- Abbreviations
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