Nielsen recently released some research looking at mobile app usage, finding that while app usage is up, the number of apps being used isn’t really changing.
According to the report, American adults spent 30 hours and fifteen minutes per month on apps in Q4 2013, which is up 65% from two years before that. The number of apps used remained basically flat at 26.8 apps used per month versus 26.5 apps the previous year.
Nielsen’s Global Head of advertiser solutions Randall Beard writes, “Does this trend of channel overload sound familiar? I see a clear parallel to TV, where even as the number of channels and average hours of consumption have increased over time, the average number of channels watched has stayed close to flat—17, if you’re interested. We’re seeing the same thing in app usage—more overall time spent on apps, but not many more apps being used.”
Beard adds, “Now, ask yourself a really hard question: ‘how likely, really, is it that consumers would use an app from my brand as one of the 27 apps they use each month?’ The answer depends a lot on what kind of brand you have.”
According to the research, over 80% of time spent on apps is in the search, portals, social, entertainment, and communication.
More on the research here.
Image via Nielsen