AdjustMobile app usage patterns over the 2024 holiday season | Adjust
Summary
The 2024 holiday season brought distinct mobile engagement patterns, offering actionable insights for ad ops decision-makers. Finance apps saw early December peaks (sessions +27% on Dec 6) for gift budgeting, followed by a late-December surge (+29% on Dec 20) for year-end payments, with payment apps climbing 13% on Dec 30. Shopping apps hit early highs: deal discovery installs soared 42% on Dec 1, and marketplace sessions rose 15% on Dec 2.
Mid-month, deal discovery installs jumped 26% on Dec 15, while post-Christmas sessions spiked on Dec 27 and 29 for end-of-season sales. Restaurant apps peaked on Dec 7 (installs +111%) and Dec 14 (installs +122%), with New Year’s Eve seeing a 152% install surge and sessions up 66%. Health & fitness apps dipped on Christmas but rebounded sharply: installs climbed 11% on Dec 26, 27% on Dec 30, and 46% on Jan 1, aligning with resolutions.
Gaming sessions peaked on New Year’s Day: racing games up 124%, hyper casual up 57%, and educational games up 106% late December. Actionable takeaways: launch early December campaigns for finance and shopping; target cart abandoners mid-month; promote post-Christmas deals and resolution-focused health/fitness content; offer holiday-themed gaming challenges to boost engagement. These data points enable precise campaign timing to maximize ROI.
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