SensorTower Articles

In Q1 2026, Kroger led grocery RMNs with 2.4B impressions, over 2.5x more than Albertsons. Meijer and Publix grew fastest, with Meijer up 7x since Jan 2024. Facebook dominated as the top channel. P&G's impressions surged 930% YoY to 212M, driven by a multi-brand strategy including Crest and Super Bowl campaigns.

Home and lifestyle retailers like Wayfair, Kohl's, and Macy's use different digital strategies. Wayfair leads in web traffic and app metrics, while Kohl's shows highest traffic growth. Despite similar app audience sizes, Macy's targets fashion-forward users, and Kohl's appeals to value-driven shoppers. Audience Insights reveal distinct personas, highlighting the need for tailored approaches across channels.

IPL 2026 drove significant cross-platform engagement for JioHotstar, with downloads up 25% PoP, DAU up 41%, and sessions up 60%. Tadka launch within app shows strategy to extend engagement beyond live sports. Instamart leveraged IPL with record ad impressions and 44% open rate. super.money downloads nearly doubled, with paid-channel installs rising to 25% and ad impressions surging 5.5x. Brands should invest in IPL-driven moments to capture high-intent, mobile-first audiences.

Ad monetization is a critical yet often overlooked revenue stream for mobile apps. Sensor Tower's new reports provide granular data on ad revenue, network performance, and ad formats. Key insights: 72% of top-grossing games use hybrid IAP+ad strategies, and ad revenue is growing across verticals like News, Ecommerce, and Entertainment. The reports enable benchmarking competitors' ad revenue, ARPMAU, and ads per minute, identifying effective networks, and evaluating acquisition targets using total revenue (IAP+ads). These insights help app developers optimize monetization strategies and maximize profits beyond in-app purchases.

The Q1 2026 Digital Index reveals headwinds in the US mobile market, with IAP revenue declining for two straight quarters. However, digital ad spend jumped 15% YoY to $48B, led by Gen AI brands tripling investment to $430M. Mobile web visits surpassed desktop for the first time, but desktop dominates engagement with 70% of time spent. Key opportunities lie in Western Europe's growth, Google Play's rising IAP performance, and Gen AI ad channels like Reddit and TikTok. Ad ops decision-makers should pivot to high-impression platforms and prepare for cross-device engagement strategies.

Sensor Tower's Web Insights now covers 4M websites and 12M paths across 56 countries. Three new reports help marketers track user journeys (Traffic Flow), AI platform usage (LLM Market Share), and brand visibility in LLM conversations (Gen AI Brand Mentions). With AI referrals growing, these tools enable smarter traffic acquisition, benchmarking, and content optimization. Spike Analysis automatically identifies traffic anomalies. For ad ops, these features provide actionable data on referral networks, competitive ecosystem, and AI-driven discovery.

AI assistants like ChatGPT, Gemini, and DeepSeek are reshaping web discovery, with traffic surging 86% YoY. Mobile now accounts for over half of global visits, yet desktop dominates engagement. Search and social remain dominant discovery channels, but AI users convert at higher rates (e.g., Amazon Rufus shoppers convert nearly 2x). For ad ops, optimizing for AI-driven traffic and cross-platform user behavior is critical.

In April 2026, global mobile game revenue hit $6.4B, down 4% MoM, with Honor of Kings leading. Live ops, IP collabs, and seasonal events drove top-grossing titles. Downloads grew 9% MoM to 3.6B, led by Block Blast! and hypercasual puzzles. Key insights: major updates and cross-game events boost spending; simple mechanics and regional targeting sustain downloads. Ad ops should focus on IP partnerships and seasonal campaigns to drive engagement.

The article emphasizes that in casual games, standard tournaments (avg 2.5 formats/game) and sprint tournaments (1.4 sprint-goal, 0.9 sprint-time) are now table stakes. However, benchmarking is not enough; strategy lies in layering events. Royal Match leads by stacking win-streak events, co-op challenges, and album chases on weekends to drive revenue. Competitive intelligence should focus on how events work together, not just what competitors run. The 2026 Playbook provides frameworks for puzzle, strategy, and casino genres.

March 2026 saw global mobile game spending reach $6.7 billion (+2% MoM), led by Last War:Survival Game with seasonal events. Whiteout Survival and Gossip Harbor also gained via live ops. USA drove 31% of revenue. On downloads, Block Blast! and Free Fire led, while Subway Surfers City and Fortnite grew post-relaunch. Ad ops decision-makers should leverage cultural and seasonal events to boost engagement and monetization.

ChatGPT's DoD partnership caused a 295% daily spike in US uninstalls and a 13% DAU drop, while Claude gained from its refusal, hitting #1 on the App Store. Downloads and ratings for ChatGPT plummeted, with 1-star reviews surging 775%. Advertisers should reassess AI app inventory, noting Claude's growing but smaller audience, and monitor sentiment shifts for campaign placement.

February 2026 mobile game revenue hit $6.55B, down 8% MoM. Last War:Survival Game led globally via Valentine's Day event. Game for Peace entered top 5 after Lunar New Year + Ferrari collab. Whiteout Survival rose on festive mini-games. Pokémon GO saw revenue growth from Tour events. Wuthering Waves benefited from Version 3.1. Downloads reached 3.5B, down 16% MoM. Block Blast! led downloads; Rainbow Six Mobile and Subway Surfers City showed strong growth. Driving-themed games gained in emerging markets.

In 2025, non-game apps surpassed games in revenue, with total in-app spending hitting $167B. APAC publishers drove a $2.58B increase in gaming revenue. Short Drama and AI Assistant categories saw explosive growth, while Blinkit, Shopee, and DeepSeek led their sectors. For ad ops, this signals shifting user attention toward lifestyle, commerce, and AI tools, creating new inventory opportunities beyond gaming.

In January 2026, total ad spend reached $12 billion, matching 2025 levels, but category rankings shifted. Financial Services overtook CPG for third place, while Gaming replaced Food & Dining in the top six, with a 42% YoY spend increase. Health & Wellness maintained its January boost at 12% of spend. Gaming saw revenue per download rise 8% to $3.14, and Health & Fitness RPD grew 6% to $3.39. Ad ops decision-makers should note the rise of Financial Services and Gaming, and the decline of CPG and Food & Dining, signaling where to allocate budgets for higher ROI.

AI dominates Q4 2025 app economy with GenAI downloads up 89% YoY and IAP revenue up 212%. Gaming market plateaus, non-gaming apps drive growth. YouTube surpasses Google in web visits globally. AI referral traffic grows over 124% YoY.

Mobile gaming shifts from user acquisition to retention and monetization, with IAP revenue growing despite download declines. PC/console sees Steam records and intense shooter competition. YouTube ad spend moves to mobile, while strategy games dominate mobile revenue. Indie co-op hits like R.E.P.O. thrive via content creator clips. Ad ops should prioritize high-value user targeting and retention over volume.

Generative AI drove Retail Media growth with 165% YoY impression increase. Microsoft Copilot led with 392M impressions. Video channels like OTT showcased AI use cases.

The 2025 mobile market hit record highs across downloads, IAP revenue ($167B, +10.6% YoY), and time spent (5.3T hours). Non-game IAP surpassed games for the first time (+21% YoY). Generative AI apps surged, with downloads doubling to 3.8B and IAP tripling to $5B. Key ad ops insights: attention competition intensifies, UA shifts to lifetime value, and AI expands monetization opportunities across categories.

Top iOS dating apps in Peru saw revenue growth in Q4 2025, with Tinder leading at $17K weekly. Downloads surged for yope and Couple Joy, while active users increased across all apps.

In late 2025, TikTok led South Africa's social apps in revenue and users, while Facebook and Instagram saw declines. Poppo Live and Grindr showed stable growth. Overall, trends indicated shifting user engagement and monetization patterns.