Looks like budget cuts have reached the e-commerce SaaS industry…
According to a new AppsFlyer report, ad spend for e-commerce apps went down by more than 50% globally compared to last year.
$6.1B spent by eCommerce app marketers on user acquisition worldwide from July 2021 to July 2022. However, this represented a significant 50% drop in spend year over year due to rising iOS media cost, post Covid relative return to normalcy, and other macro economic conditions.
Rise and fall: E-commerce app installs dropped 5% on Android and 4% on iOS worldwide. India was the only market that saw a spike in traffic.
Meanwhile, the iOS cost-per-install (CPI)—the main metric for app advertising—rose by 60% compared to last year and is now $4.20 on average. Ouch.
Android’s CPI fell during the same time by 15%.
Holding on: Despite higher CPI, iOS saw just a 5% decline in retention compared to Android’s 13%.
Why we care: Advertising e-commerce apps seems expensive these days, especially if you have a smaller budget.
Android appears to be cheaper than iOS, but that could indicate advertisers are moving away from Google Play due to less effective results.
Either way, now may be a good time to add new promotional channels… or get a bigger wallet.
Alex Lim
Alex Lim is a certified book reviewer and editor with over 10 years of experience in the publishing industry. He has reviewed hundreds of books for reputable magazines and websites, such as The New York Times, The Guardian, and Goodreads. Alex has a master’s degree in comparative literature from Harvard University and a PhD in literary criticism from Oxford University. He is also the author of several acclaimed books on literary theory and analysis, such as The Art of Reading and How to Write a Book Review. Alex lives in London, England with his wife and two children. You can contact him at [email protected] or follow him on Website | Twitter | Facebook
