If you are a mobile advertiser, you might be wondering about how the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting performance marketing, so that you can scale your campaigns accordingly. We hear you! At Apptrust, our mission is to help our partners achieve their mobile promotion goals by growing their apps. We understand that there is a need for clarity around scaling user acquisition campaigns in these unprecedented times.
So, with the aim of bringing some clarity and providing support, we have looked into how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the performance marketing landscape in 2020. Based on this data and our own mobile advertising experience, we have also put together some tips to help you successfully navigate the Coronavirus pandemic. We have split this in-depth report in two, so stay tuned for part 2. Let’s get started.
Overview of Mobile User Trends in Q1 of 2020
It’s clear that consumers’ needs have rapidly shifted in Q1 of 2020, which has strongly benefited some verticals and highly penalized others. Having observed leading brands’ and mobile user behavior during the Coronavirus pandemic, we have put together an overview of the best and least converting verticals.
As many countries remain in lockdown mode and travel remains on hold in the foreseeable future, we don’t predict that these trends will shift gear in the next few months.
- Business, education, news and social are among the strongest verticals


When it comes to mobile app downloads, SensorTower clearly illustrates the impact of COVID-19 on the global app ecosystem in Q1 of 2020 and the clear contrast between verticals such as business and travel.

In addition, the mobile attribution platform Branch saw the finance, news, money transfer and games verticals taking off during the worsening of the pandemic.This indicates that during social distancing, many mobile users are turning to apps to entertain and educate themselves. Given the unpredictability of the Coronavirus pandemic and its impact on the job market, users are also becoming more financially-savvy and looking into additional income revenue streams.
- Finance and trading apps are on the rise

- Social Media Apps Usage Has Majorly Increased


- A surge in learning and fitness apps downloads

- Gaming and entertainment apps are breaking records

- In Europe, entertainment apps— including Netflix, Disney+ and Twitch—grew by 28 percent month-over-month in March to 132 million downloads.Other app categories that are steadily growing include News, which grew 66 percent from February and 65 percent from January; Health & Fitness, which saw 46 percent more downloads compared to February and 25 percent more compared to January; and Productivity, which saw a surge of 38 percent from February and 36 percent from January (SensorTower).
- Dating Apps See Unusual Growth
Check out part 2 of this series with more mobile advertising insights and our tips for managing your UA campaign during the pandemic.
Are you looking for support to grow your app and manage your mobile performance marketing campaigns? Drop us a line at partners@apptrust.io.
We'll also be attending White Nights Conference’s WN Hub in the coming week (22-30 April) to gain some gaming insights and network digitally. Hit us up if you’d like to connect!
Author: Elizabeth Marchetti