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‘Tis The Season To Preload Your App

Oct 16, 2019
By: Marissa Camilli

It should come as no surprise that the holidays are a busy time for smartphone manufacturers. In 2018, more than 375 million new devices found their way into the hands of consumers in the final three months of the year. Many of these devices will have found their way into the hands of grateful users as much cherished gifts. As such, you can guarantee the time spent exploring the capabilities of these new devices will be considerable — and extended by those long periods of travel and downtime after hearty meals associated with the holidays.

For app developers, there is no downside. Get your app on a popular gifted device in the run-up to the holidays and you are virtually guaranteed engagement.

Further Reading: Your App: The Holiday Gift That Keeps on Giving Back.

The Elephant in the Room

OK, as any app developer will tell you, getting your app on a device and winning profitable engagement isn’t always so easy — even during the holidays.

This is especially true for app developers targeting new users via traditional routes to market like the Google Play Store and other app marketplaces. While these marketplaces will be incredibly busy and drive a terrific volume of downloads, competition for these downloads will be nothing short of aggressive. This means app developers will be throwing a serious amount of money at the app stores to ensure their app listings are optimized and visible.

This is a risky strategy because:

  • There will always be an app developer that has more money than you to invest in app store optimization.
  • The higher your marketing costs, the more difficult it is to convert a download into profitable engagement. Remember, 21% of smartphone users abandon an app after a single-use. If your profits are derived by advertising, eCommerce, or in-app purchases, you are going to need much longer engagement.
  • More than half of smartphone users don’t visit the various app marketplaces. If all of your budget goes on optimizing your app store listings, it will have zero impact on these users.

Pre-Loading – Putting Your App Front and Center During the Holidays

Pre-loading is the only way to ensure your app is discoverable to smartphone users from the moment of unboxing. In many ways, a pre-loaded app will be viewed as an integral component of a much-cherished device. This will be especially true during the holidays when many gifted smartphones find their way into the hands of first-time users (think younger users, senior users, users in emerging economies, etc.)

Further Reading: App Usage through the Ages – Targeting Older, More Lucrative Users.

Further Reading: The Indian Smartphone Market – Already Big but with Plenty of Room for Growth.

Pump-Up the Volume – Dates to Remember

So the holidays really do represent an opportunity to pump-up the volume of your app marketing strategy with a well-timed pre-loaded campaign.

But the holidays don’t wait for anyone, so timing is of the essence.

There are multiple dates you need to keep in mind when planning your pre-loading strategy. This is especially true when you are eyeing up global markets.

Download our Global Holiday Infographic here to learn what dates to keep in mind as you plan your holiday marketing strategies.

Don’t miss the opportunity to pump-up the volume this holiday season. Talk to one of our app marketing experts today.

Marissa Camilli
By Marissa Camilli
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