Daily App downloads in India rise 16% in H1, 2016: Report

Daily app downloads in India has risen 16 per cent in the first half of 2016 (January-June), with the peak hour for an app download being 9:00 pm, according to data released by 9Apps, a part of Alibaba Mobile Business Group.

Consumption of gaming apps has increased more than that of non-gaming apps. The proportion of games in total app downloads increased to nearly 20 per cent this year versus 17 per cent in 2015, it said in a statement.

The gaming consumption patterns have become more diversified. Racing and action games, although still the most popular, now make up 43 per cent of all game downloads (versus 53 per cent in 2015). Simulation games are a new trending category, and account for 13 per cent of all game downloads.

''According to our statistics, tool, social, media and entertainment, apart from gaming, remain the most popular categories for app downloads. Tools make up about 23 per cent of all app downloads, social about 9 per cent, entertainment at 7 per cent and music is over 4 per cent of all non-gaming app downloads,'' said Ebrahim Popat, Country Manager at 9Apps.

''Interestingly, we also find that instead of rating, screenshot is the most important factor to attract potential app users. About 46 per cent respondents pick Screenshot when asked what affect their willingness to download a mobile game/app from an app store, while only 36 per cent selected Rating. Apps that are better in localised promotion perform better in India,'' added Ebrahim.