Valentine’s Day trends & dating app benchmarks 2025 | Adjust

Summary

This article analyzes Valentine's Day trends in mobile apps, focusing on dating app benchmarks and broader category insights. For dating apps, installs and sessions declined 13% YoY from 2023 to 2024, but seasonal peaks remain: February 2024 saw sessions 0.5% above average despite a 5% install dip. Retention rates dropped from 26% to 24% on Day 1 and from 6% to 5% on Day 30.

However, user engagement deepened: average session length increased from 12.95 to 13.21 minutes. Ad performance improved: CTR rose from 1.7% to 2.2%, CPC fell from $0.23 to $0.18, and IPM surged from 3.73 to 6.24, despite CPI rising to $1.46 and CPM to $4.37. Non-dating apps show significant Valentine's spikes: restaurant booking app installs surged 156% and sessions 88% on Feb 14; recipe app sessions peaked +60% on Feb 12; music & audio app installs grew +35% on Feb 10; video streaming app installs +25% on Feb 3; messaging app sessions +31% on Valentine's Day.

Recommendations include personalized push notifications, gamification (e.g., Valentine's scavenger hunts), brand collaborations (e.g., meal kits with wine brands), and micro-influencer partnerships. App categories beyond dating can leverage seasonal content: entertainment apps promote playlists/watch parties, food apps launch time-sensitive promotions, and social apps offer virtual cards or friendship themes.