Apptopia

Mobile macro – Consumer trends weaker – entertainment, QSRs, financials all negative/slowing

This was first published August 23, in our weekly newsletter Apptopia Insight. To receive insights like this weekly, sign up here.

  • Travel & entertainment – travel app downloads are down -7% YoY in July – turning back negative after improving in May & June. Travel apps look stable while entertainment apps are lagging – AMC -31% YoY, Ticketing (LYV) down sharply to -49% YoY, and PLAY slowed to +1% YoY.
  • QSRs – QSR app downloads slowed to -4% YoY in July. Underperformers include Wendy’s (WEN) slowing to -5% YoY and SBUX -28% YoY.
  • Financials – financial apps slowed to -5% YoY, with crypto/trading apps slowing, SOFI flat YoY, and payment apps weaker (PYPL -15% YoY, SQ -9% YoY). 

July mobile macro

Travel & entertainment – overall travel & entertainment downloads slowed to -7%, with entertainment apps weak and driving the negative trends. Live Nation (-49% YoY) and AMC Networks (-31% YoY) stick out on the negative side. Airlines and Hotels look mainly stable, while OTAs are mixed – ABNB up to +23%, EXPE -2% YoY, and BKNG -8% YoY.

QSRs – QSR app downloads slowed to -4% YoY in July. Wendy’s downloads have been strong in recent months but turned negative to -5% in July, while Starbucks downloads decelerated further to -28% YoY from -12% YoY in June. McDonald’s slowed slightly to -13% YoY.

Financials – Financial apps slowed to -5% YoY – SOFI trended down to +0% YoY, HOOD slowed to +17% YoY, and COIN remains positive at +93% but down from +146% YoY last month.

Round-up of additional sectors – Notable large consumer categories include real estate apps negative but flat at -15% YoY, Autos slowed to -23% YoY (KMX, CARS weaker), home improvement apps slowed (HD -28% YoY, LOW -4% YoY). Walmart stands out positively – WMT up to +2% YoY, while TGT slowed to +3% YoY.


Questions on the underlying data included in this analysis?

Author

  • Tom Grant is Vice President of Research at Apptopia. He leads Apptopia’s research efforts to uncover macro and micro trends that can inform investment decisions.

    Prior to joining Apptopia, Tom spent 15 years on the buy-side, investing in stocks across global equity markets, with unique expertise in small cap emerging markets.

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