App developers may be constantly innovating to create new and exciting applications for consumers, but if a new report from research firm comScore is any indicator, they may be fighting a losing battle.
According to the comScore study titled "The 2016 U.S. Mobile App Report," nearly half of smartphone users in the United States do not download new apps. To be specific, 49 percent Americans account for zero apps downloaded in a month.
The data from the comScore study is reflective of a three-month period that ended this June. The report also shares the statistic that of the 51 percent smartphone users in the U.S. who downloaded new apps in a month, the average number of apps downloaded by an individual stood at 3.5.
So basically, every proactive person who regularly downloads 3.5 apps in a month on an average virtually has an equivalent of one person who is content with not downloading any app on their smartphone.
In the context of the phenomenal growth smartphones have seen in the past decade, the study seems a little skewed as one would expect a wider and more extensive adoption of associated apps. However, this obviously is not the case as the report reveals that app popularity can be accredited to a handful of smartphone users — 13 percent to be precise — who account for over half of all app downloads in a month.
In 2014, a comScore report also highlighted that smartphone users in the U.S. could not care less about new apps and downloaded no new apps each month.
Interestingly, the findings from the current comScore study are a stark contrast to those from mobile-app advertising company TUNE. Earlier in July this year, TUNE also conducted a study that disclosed that nearly 75 percent smartphone owners in the country downloaded a minimum of one app every month.
"Widespread reports that the average American adult downloads zero apps per month are wrong. In fact, data from multiple sources — including hard data from 74 million U.S. smartphones and tablets owned by 48 million Americans — indicate that the actual number of app installs is much higher: at least 1.5 apps per person per month," challenged TUNE at the time.
With conflicting findings, it is best to take the reports with a pinch of salt.
Interestingly, app download records as those created by Pokémon GO make one wonder if the comScore report's data is indeed accurate or not!
