2024-09-13-SensorTower-2024年日本移动应用报告_53页_6mb

Mobile App Trends 2024: Japan Edition Summary

Core Content Overview

This report explores the current state and future direction of the Japanese mobile app market, with a focus on key verticals: Gaming, Finance, E-commerce, and Connected TV (CTV). It highlights performance benchmarks, user behavior insights, and the importance of data-driven marketing strategies in a competitive and evolving market landscape.

Main Points

Market Growth and Engagement

• Smartphone penetration: Over 73% of the Japanese population used smartphones in 2023.
• Mobile internet penetration: Reached 93% in 2023.
• App downloads: Exceeded 2.5 billion in 2023.
• Consumer spending: Reached $17.9 billion in 2023, placing Japan third globally.
• App installs: Declined by 1% YoY in 2023 but showed a 3% increase in Q1 2024 compared to Q4 2023.
• App sessions: Increased by 1% YoY in 2023, with a 2% increase in Q1 2024.

App Performance Trends

Gaming

• Install and session growth: 18% increase in installs and 1% increase in sessions in Q1 2024 compared to Q4 2023.

• Top gaming apps by downloads:

  1. Fat Goose Gym (Casual)
  2. Legend of Mushroom (RPG)
  3. Locked Rings (Casual)
  4. Last War: Survival Game (Strategy)
  5. Royal Match (Puzzle)
  6. Block Blast! (Puzzle)
  7. Wood Nuts & Bolts Puzzle (Puzzle)
  8. Daily Merge: Match Puzzle Game (Strategy, Puzzle)
  9. Dragon Ball Z Dokkan Battle (Action)
  10. Puzzle & Dragons (RPG)

• Top gaming apps by consumer spend:

  1. Monster Strike (RPG)
  2. Uma Musume Pretty Derby (Adventure, Simulation)
  3. Fate/Grand Order (RPG)
  4. Professional Baseball Spirits A (Sports, Action)
  5. Dragon Quest Walk (RPG)
  6. Houkai:Star Rail (Adventure)
  7. Genshin Impact (Adventure)
  8. eFootball™ 2024 (Sports)

• Gaming subverticals:

  • Arcade games: 38% growth in both installs and sessions.
  • Card games: 40% install growth, 16% session growth.
  • Simulation games: 36% install growth, 22% session growth.
  • Racing games: 16% install growth, 0.3% session growth.

• Platform distribution:

  • Installs: 55% on iOS, 45% on Android.
  • Sessions: 66% on iOS, with Adventure and Strategy leading on iOS.

• Session length: Increased from 26.37 minutes in 2022 to 27.37 minutes in Q1 2024.

• Simulation games had the highest session length increase (from 26.63 to 40.56 minutes).

• Action games saw a notable increase in session length (from 22.97 to 25.5 minutes).

• Paid/organic ratio: Increased from 1.82 in 2023 to 2.31 in Q1 2024.

• Hyper casual games led in the ratio, rising from 5.26 to 5.69.

• Strategy games more than doubled their paid/organic ratio, indicating significant investment in paid campaigns.

• Retention rates:

  • Day 1: 27%
  • Day 7: 13%
  • Day 14: 12%
  • Day 30: 9%

• Hyper casual games had the lowest retention rates, with a 25% day 1 rate dropping to 5% by day 30.

• Average Revenue Per Monthly Active User (ARPMAU):

  • Overall: decreased from $1.04 to $0.99.
  • RPGs: dropped from $6.17 to $5.09.
  • Adventure games: dropped from $5.06 to $4.7.
  • Puzzle games: dropped from $0.86 to $0.84.
  • Hyper casual games: increased slightly from $0.43 to $0.45.

• Effective Cost Per Install (eCPI):

  • Overall: increased from $1.36 to $1.43.
  • Action games: increased from $2.07 to $3.03.
  • Simulation games: decreased from $3.11 to $2.44.
  • Hyper casual games: increased slightly from $0.75 to $0.77.

• Lifetime Value (LTV):

  • RPGs: $2.32 by month 0.
  • Adventure games: $1.9 by month 0.
  • E-commerce apps: LTV reached $2.96 on day 0 and $9.67 by month 0, surpassing global and U.S. medians.

Key Findings

• Gaming:

  • Showed strong growth in Q1 2024 with a 7% increase in installs and 6% in sessions compared to 2023.
  • Puzzle games had the highest session share (23%), while RPGs had the highest ARPMAU (up to $5.09).
  • Action games experienced the highest QoQ growth in consumer spending (21.6%).

• Finance:

  • Sessions increased by 22% YoY in 2023 and 11% in Q1 2024.
  • Consumer spending grew by 39% YoY in 2023 and 53% in Q1 2024.
  • Top finance apps by consumer spend:
    • R Rakuten Pay
    • PayPay
    • LINE マンガ

• E-commerce:

  • Sessions increased by 4% from 2022 to 2023 and an additional 2% in Q1 2024.
  • Retention rates improved in Q1 2024 (13% on day 7, 12% on day 14, 9% on day 30).
  • E-commerce apps had the highest LTV in Japan.

• Connected TV (CTV):

  • Became a booming growth channel, with rising interest and engagement.
  • Experts suggest that CTV advertising will continue to grow in 2024, offering new opportunities for marketers.

ATT Opt-In Rates

• Overall: Increased from 23% to 24% YoY.
• Gaming: Highest at 30%, with no change YoY.
• Food & Drink: Increased significantly from 16% to 24%.
• Entertainment: Increased from 20% to 23%.
• Health & Fitness, Lifestyle, Utilities: All increased by 1%.
• E-commerce: Declined from 23% to 21%.
• Travel, Finance: Maintained the same opt-in rates.

User Demographics

• Gender distribution:
  • Male: 63.6%
  • Female: 36.4%
• Age group:
  • 25-34: Largest group (35.5%).
  • Sports: Favored by younger audiences (18-24, 30.3%).
  • Simulation: Attracted more mature users (35-44, 35.7%).
  • Puzzle: Appeal to older users (45-54, 24.9%; 55+, 22.3%).

Strategic Recommendations

• Adapt to changing data privacy frameworks.
• Utilize next-gen measurement and analytics for campaign optimization and budget allocation.
• Leverage first-party data for more accurate insights and better user targeting.
• Focus on retention and engagement through personalized experiences.
• Expand to PC and console to tap into new revenue streams and user spending habits.
• Invest in AI and machine learning to enhance app experiences and user acquisition.

Conclusion

The Japanese app market continues to evolve, driven by technological advancements and shifting consumer behaviors. Gaming remains a dominant sector, showing strong growth and engagement, while finance and e-commerce also demonstrate healthy trends. The rise of CTV and the importance of data-driven strategies highlight the need for marketers to stay ahead of the curve. With a focus on user retention, platform diversification, and the use of advanced analytics, the future of app marketing in Japan looks promising and innovative.