Apple iOS users in the US complete most of their shopping by Cyber Monday (the Monday after Thanksgiving) while Android shoppers prefer shopping last minute, an AppsFlyer report revealed.

iOS in-app purchase activity drops 38 per cent after Thanksgiving and continues to decline for the rest of Q4, which means app marketers need to take steps to make the majority of their sales in November, the report noted.

Meanwhile, one of the major peaks for in-app purchase events on Android phones was due to a 24 per cent spike in transactions during the week of Christmas.

“In planning for the holiday season, it is critical that app marketers understand the differences in holiday activity for iOS and Android users,” warned Ran Avrahamy, VP marketing.

The data to inform the study was pulled from 50 million app installs in the US of over 500 shopping and gaming apps.

The study found that app marketers shift into high gear in Q4, ramping up their user acquisition campaigns for iOS shopping apps from the second week of October, leading to a 175 per cent increase in the number of non-organic installs

User acquisition efforts for Android shopping apps surge during the week before Veterans Day (11 November) with the number of non-organic installs up nearly 150 per cent when compared to September. Non-organic installs occur when users are given incentives to download.

For iOS, app install campaigns slow down before Christmas and then rise again by 50 per cent during and after the holiday season.

During the week of Christmas, iOS competition intensifies again as marketers target new devices, leading to a 50 per cent rise in non-organic installs, the report noted.

Games
Gaming app marketers will see revenue spike around Q4 holidays with “easily recognisable, compelling themes” such as Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Themed apps and special holiday promotions that align with the additional free time that gamers have during the holidays can create an extra push in revenue before the year is over.

In fact, purchase activity for iOS gaming apps increases by 140 per cent at the beginning of Q4. Christmas time means iOS gaming app marketers see a 100 per cent spike in non-organic installs, a 65 per cent increase in organic installs and a 22 per cent rise in the number of in-app purchases.

The study also quoted eMarketer as recently predicting that e-commerce in the US will surge 17.2 percent in Q4 this year, with mobile being the main driver and m-commerce US will rise by 43 percent in 2016, driven by a 78 per cent spike in sales via mobile.