App Downloads Survey: People Download More Apps Than They Use

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Posted Aug 25, 2014

Recent studies have shown that while app usage is still holding strong, app downloads aren’t thriving like some would think. More people are spending most of their time using just one or two apps, instead of continually downloading new ones. So just how many apps do people have on their phones? And how does that number compare with how many they actually use regularly.

app downloads

App Downloads

In Ask Your Target Market’s latest survey, 62% of respondents said that they currently own a smartphone or similar mobile device with the ability to download apps. Of those respondents, just 8% said they have not downloaded any apps in addition to the ones that came on their devices. 18% said they have fewer than 5 apps downloaded on their phone. 29% said they have between 5 and 10 apps. 22% have between 11 and 20 apps. And 22% have more than 20 downloaded apps on their phone.

App Usage

There are so many different apps available, but how many of them do people actually use? 6% of those who have downloaded apps on their phones said they don’t use any apps on a daily basis. 28% use just 1 or 2. 42% said they use about 3 to 5 apps daily. 17% use between 6 and 10 apps each day. Just 4% use between 11 and 20 apps. And 3% said they use more than 20 apps each day.The weekly numbers don’t look much different either. 3% of those who have downloaded apps on their phones said they don’t have any apps they use at least once per week. 21% said they only use 1 or 2 apps at least once per week. 35% said they use about 3 to 5 apps each week. 26% said they use between 6 and 10 apps. 11% use between 11 and 20. And just 3% use more than 20 apps each week.

Monthly Activity

But new apps are being released daily. So how many people go out of their way to try out new apps and potentially increase the number they use regularly? 17% of smartphone users said they don’t download any new apps over the course of an average month. 50% said they just download 1 or 2 new apps over the course of an average month. 21% download between 3 and 5 apps each month. 7% download between 6 and 10 new apps in a month. Just 2% said they download between 11 and 20 new apps. And 4% download more than 20 apps each month. You can view the complete survey results in the widget below and be sure to click “Open Full Report” to take advantage of all the chart and filter options.Photo Credit: Wheelmap App iPhone from FlickrWhat do you want to know? If you need some consumer insights on a particular topic, let us know in the comments below and we’ll consider it for an upcoming survey post.

Results were collected on August 23 via AYTM’s online survey panel.

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