Turn Q5 into a competitive advantage for mobile app growth

While Q4 often takes center stage in the marketing calendar, Q5—spanning from post-Christmas to late January—has also solidified itself as a golden opportunity for mobile marketers. With lower competition, reduced advertising costs, and increased user activity, Q5 is the perfect time to build on holiday momentum and explore innovative strategies.

Device activations, gift card redemptions, and New Year’s resolutions drive app activity, creating an ideal environment to scale campaigns, boost installs, and maximize revenue. Success in Q5 depends on understanding its unique dynamics. So, let’s explore data-driven trends, actionable insights, and strategies to help make this hidden “quarter” a lucrative period for your app business.

Health and fitness apps dominated Q5 growth, with a 38% increase in installs and a 10% rise in sessions in January 2024 compared to December. This reflects users’ focus on New Year’s resolutions, such as achieving fitness goals and adopting healthier lifestyles.

The effective cost per install (eCPI) for health and fitness apps also increased from $0.75 in December 2023 to $1.16 in January 2024, highlighting heightened competition for acquiring health-conscious users during this period. Marketers can capitalize on this momentum by offering free trials, fitness challenges, and habit-tracking incentives. Crafting messaging around New Year goals and delivering engaging onboarding experiences can help sustain user engagement well beyond the initial January spike, ensuring higher acquisition costs deliver long-term value.

Gaming apps also saw notable growth during Q5, with installs increasing by 4% and sessions rising by 8%, driven by downtime and heightened time for leisure activities. The eCPI for gaming apps saw a minor decline, from $0.72 in December to $0.68 in January, reflecting steady demand and cost-effective acquisition opportunities.

The surge in sessions underscores the success of in-app events, promotions, and cross-platform campaigns in maintaining user engagement. For gaming marketers, Q5 offers a valuable window to launch seasonal events like New Year-themed challenges, exclusive rewards, or subscription offers to drive engagement and retention. Leveraging connected TV (CTV) campaigns and second-screen viewing habits can also expand reach, while retargeting users with limited-time offers or fresh content sustains interest and maximizes return on investment (ROI).

In the finance vertical, installs grew by 5%, while eCPI dropped significantly, from $1.22 in December to $0.87 in January. However, sessions declined by 4%, possibly due to reduced transactional activity following the holiday shopping season. This divergence indicates an opportunity for finance apps to strengthen onboarding flows and highlight features encouraging sustained usage, such as financial goal tracking or budgeting tools.

Lower acquisition costs during Q5 allow finance marketers to focus on building long-term user engagement strategies that align with consumers’ financial planning for the new year. By leveraging the reduced eCPI, finance apps can attract cost-conscious users while positioning themselves as essential tools for achieving financial goals.

Entertainment apps saw installs increase by 1%, with sessions up by 2%. The eCPI for this vertical declined from $0.86 in December to $0.64 in January, making Q5 a cost-effective period for acquiring new users. Social apps showed a 4% growth in installs, but sessions dipped by 1%, while eCPI fell from $2.40 to $2.15. These trends highlight an opportunity for marketers to use tailored campaigns and engaging content to convert new users into active participants, even amid reduced session activity.

Q5 is a unique time for mobile marketers to refine their strategies and make the most of heightened consumer engagement at generally lower advertising costs. Here's how you can optimize your campaigns and effectively reach your audience:

• Data-driven personalization
  Test New Year-themed creatives and messaging through A/B testing to identify the most engaging ads. Use AI-powered tools to design personalized campaigns that resonate with diverse audiences, driving relevance and engagement.
• Channel diversification
  Allocate your ad spend on mobile-specific formats like rewarded or playable ads, which engage users effectively by showcasing app features before they commit. Additionally, explore channels beyond mobile, such as CTV, to expand your reach and tap into second-screen viewing habits. Leverage Adjust Datascape to unify campaign data from these channels into a single dashboard, enabling clear, actionable insights to optimize performance across platforms.
• Timing and targeting
  Launch campaigns early to allow ad platforms, such as Meta, TikTok, or Google Ads, to gather enough data to optimize targeting and delivery. This process, often called the “learning phase,” helps ensure your campaigns perform at their best by the time Q5 begins. During Q5, broaden your targeting to reach new audiences and refine your approach using real-time analytics.
• KPIs and optimization
  Focus on monitoring key performance metrics to prioritize high-value user behaviors. Optimize campaigns to align with in-app actions that drive retention, conversions, and long-term user value. With solutions like Datascape, you can dive deep into your KPIs, identifying the campaigns and user segments delivering the most impact.
• Real-time adaptation
  Measure campaign performance daily to identify shifts in consumer behavior and make quick adjustments to strategies and placements. Adjust Automate simplifies this process by automating repetitive tasks, such as updating campaigns, allowing you to focus on creative improvements. Use insights gained during Q5 to refine strategies for sustained growth into Q1 and beyond.

Transform Q5 into an exciting, profitable season for your app and discover how Adjust can supercharge your app marketing strategy year-round. Request a demo today!