GetJar claims mobile apps reach larger audience thanks to viral spread

GetJar, the world’s largest independent app store, today reveals that 65% of consumers downloading applications from its site belong to the prized 18-34 year old male demographic and that one-in-three GetJar users are downloading mobile apps every day. GetJar commissioned a poll of 13,518 GetJar users worldwide in August 2009 to gauge the impact of mobile applications globally as part of an advertising or marketing campaign.

Whilst brands are already creating campaigns for mobile as a channel, the findings indicate that users are not only receptive to promotions via mobile apps, but also actively embrace them. Eight-out-of-ten have recommended a mobile app to a friend and a further eight-out of-ten continue to consciously download apps that contain advertising, highlighting the power of peer-to-peer advocacy among mobile app users. In the UK, as Ofcom’s 2009 Communications Market report suggests that TV continues to be the media of choice, mobile internet penetration will also triple by 2014, according to Forrester Research.

Forrester’s report was further reinforced by GetJar’s research showing that 72% of consumers claimed that they are now using mobile Internet more than PC-based Internet.  GetJar’s poll also found that 73 per cent think that brands that use mobile apps to promote products are viewed favourably and 74 per cent would actively download an app that was sponsored or developed by a well-known brand.

The apps downloaded on GetJar are available across some 1,600 handsets, not just high-end smartphones, highlighting a very real interest from a much wider pool of mobile phone users across a variety of demographic backgrounds.

So who is currently using mobile apps?
·       65 per cent of GeJar’s respondents were in the 18-34 year old category
·       81 per cent of respondents were male
·       61 per cent of consumers we’re downloading content at least 3-4 times a week

Other key findings include:
·       Mobile apps users are more likely to access the internet from their mobile handsets than from their computers, with 72 per cent of respondents saying that this is the case. Across established and developing markets, this figure remains high (62 per cent in the UK and 69 per cent in the US)
·       In terms of the types of content downloaded, 57 per cent of users downloaded mobile applications/software, above mobile games (22 per cent), music (10 per cent), wallpapers (8 per cent) and ringtones (3 per cent)
·       67 per cent would be willing to pay for a mobile app, showing not only the popularity of brand sponsored apps but also the revenue generating potential

Ilja Laurs, CEO, GetJar says: “Advertising revenue is already widely predicted to surge over the next four years (source: Gartner) but this poll suggests that mobile apps will also become increasingly integral to digital marketing campaigns. In terms of behaviour, the impact of peer to peer advocacy is clear, with a high proportion of users recommending apps to friends and many users downloading new apps as often as daily. As consumers move from the Web to the Mobile Web, brands cannot ignore the effectiveness of apps in building user engagement or raising brand awareness.  After all, what would marketers rather tell senior management: “We generated 1 million page impressions or our app now resides on 1 million mobiles phones?”