Do you remember the early days of making apps? It was pretty simple to earn revenue by just getting downloads of either a paid app, or a free app running mobile advertisements in it. The markets were more simple, and user engagement wasn't necessarily a factor because you could earn revenue just by fly by curious users wanting to download new apps on their devices – mainly because the apps stores and the user base were both in their infancy.
The landscape of app development has certainly changed and with it so has the way app developers earn revenue. Now days you can't just create an app and put it in the app store and expect for it to automatically turn a profit- and keep turning a profit. What's happening more and more is that users will follow a certain app development company, or branding and tend to stay loyal. App developers can perhaps earn revenue initially from a new app release but to continually earn revenue a new method is needed in the marketing side of their business.
As if the mobile app developer did not have enough on their plate with designing, coding, and general marketing, you now have to also think early on in your process what the overall lifespan of your application is going to be.
The holidays are proving to be an important time for the app developer to gain those loyal users.
Localytics recently disclosed data-driven insights they have gained in the course of instrumenting mobile apps and collecting usage data that they shared to help mobile developers prepare for the holiday season.
Daniel Ruby, Localytics' director of marketing, says mobile apps updated just prior to the holiday season produce an increased level of engagement measured by the number of sessions. This effect is especially prominent with Android apps, which experience a 129% increase in engagement. Some of the increase can be explained by the release of holiday versions of popular apps, such as the Angry Birds Holiday Edition, but updates without a holiday theme also inexplicably enjoy a spike in engagement when a pre-holiday update is released.