Games may continue to dominate the apps market, but emerging categories like Sports and Productivity tools are on the rise, according to Millennial Media. The company recently released its Mobile Mix report for Q3 2013 based on app activity across its network.
- Apple remained the top manufacturer in the third quarter, accounting for 35 percent of total impressions.
- During the first week of iOS 7's release, impressions on sports and lifestyle apps increased by six times their average volumes. Impressions on communications apps were three times their average volume.
- Smartphones accounted for 73 percent of total platform impressions in the third quarter.
- Android remained the largest operating system on the platform, growing four percentage points from the same quarter the previous year to account for 56 percent of total platform impressions in the third quarter.
Source: Millennial Media Mobile Mix report.
"Retail content is a category that has been fluctuating around the 50/50 mark. Some months, data shows that consumers spend more time with retail content on desktop, and some months it shows mobile as the Retail content leader," the report said. "Overall, the emerging trend is that consumers are becoming more comfortable accessing retail content via mobile."
Following the recent Black Friday shopping sprees and with the holiday season on the approach, the Millennial report is useful not only for showing data around platform and device usage, but what categories are growing among consumers.
Sports, for example, cracked the top 10 in the Mobile Mix report, and when you get more granular, soccer-related apps dominate at 59 percent. That may mean there's even more opportunity to stand out in niches like American football, which is still somewhat under-penetrated at 13 percent. Productivity tools, meanwhile, has shot up to No. 5, meaning there are plenty of people looking for apps to add security, shield kids from inappropriate content or conserve battery life, among other things.
For more:
- to download the complete Millennial Media Mobile Mix Q3 2013 report, click here
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