Indonesia in three charts: Installs, sessions, and retention rates

Indonesia is a thriving mobile-first nation and one of the world's fastest-growing app markets, raking in US$1.7 billion in revenue in 2022. The country's burgeoning smartphone user base, combined with the availability of low-priced mobile data, has fueled this growth. And with its tech-savvy millennials and Gen Z, who are highly active on social media, frequently shop on mobile, and are eager to adopt mobile payments, it's easy to see why.

In 2022, a staggering 80% of Indonesia's population owned a smartphone, and over 212 million users accessed the internet from their mobile phones. With more than 7.7 billion downloads and a collective 179 billion hours on mobile in 2022, Indonesia is the fifth-largest mobile market in the world. Remarkably, Indonesian users spent the most time on mobile daily, surpassing 5.7 hours per day.

Adjust data shows that despite global trends, app installs and sessions in 2022 increased by 2% and 7%, respectively. Although the overall growth of apps in Indonesia has slowed slightly in 2023, verticals such as fintech, gaming, and utilities have grown. In this article, we analyze the top app verticals with the most installs and highest user engagement.

According to Apptopia, mobile games were Indonesia's most popular app category in 2022, with over three billion downloads across all platforms. Utility apps ranked second with over 500 million downloads, followed by entertainment, fintech, and photography. The top app categories for Android were video players and editors, followed by entertainment and fintech.

Entertainment apps are all the rage in Indonesia, with streaming apps leading the charge. In 2022, entertainment apps saw an impressive 25% year-over-year (YoY) boost. App installs also skyrocketed by 33% from 2021 to 2022. A recent survey revealed that watching movies or series’ and listening to music were among the top leisure activities in Indonesia. The adoption rate for video and music-on-demand in 2022 was 60% each. Thanks to the country’s continuously improving infrastructure, such as the 5G mobile technology rollout, users can now stream their favorite videos even faster on their smartphones. But it's not just video streaming that's booming in Indonesia. The music streaming industry in Indonesia has been flourishing in recent years, with its user base showing an impressive upward trajectory. In 2022, the industry reported revenue of approximately $124 million, up from $114 million in 2021. On average, Indonesians spend 1.4 hours per day listening to music through streaming services.

In 2022, fintech apps also experienced significant growth, with a 21% increase in sessions YoY. Despite a decline in installs the previous year, there is a renewed promise for fintech apps in 2023, with a remarkable 63% increase in sessions during Q1 compared to the Q4 2022 average.

Indonesia’s fintech sector is also rapidly evolving due to government support, with the central bank issuing regulations to facilitate digital financial services. The number of fintech players in Indonesia has skyrocketed from just 51 in 2011 to 334 in 2022. Two of the most popular fintech apps in Indonesia are GoPay and OVO. GoPay, owned by ride-hailing giant Gojek, offers users the convenience of paying for various services, including transportation, food delivery, and online shopping. Meanwhile, OVO, owned by the Lippo Group, offers mobile payments, bill payments, and cashback rewards. Interestingly, non-cash payment transaction volumes in Indonesia have grown by 30% from 2016 to 2021, and this growth is expected to increase by over five times by 2031.

Looking at Q4 2022, mobile games had the highest retention, boasting a Day 1 rate of 28%. Entertainment apps came in second with an albeit significantly lower retention rate of 17%. While fintech apps had a slightly lower rate of 16%, utility apps were further behind again, coming in with a retention rate of 15%.

It is evident that the Indonesian population is searching for apps that can provide entertainment and simplify their daily tasks, but to keep users engaged, mobile marketers in the region should focus on delivering personalized and seamless experiences. This means understanding their users' needs and preferences and providing content that resonates with them.