• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, February 20, 2024

As the investment in generative artificial intelligence (GAI) continues to grow, mobile marketing systems and strategy development could be the biggest beneficiary. Yet some 55% of C-level executives worldwide are still trying to determine how best to use the technology.

Measurement and analytics company Adjust on Tuesday released its annual Mobile App Trends Report, along with global app data and tips from AppLovin.

The trends and patterns analyzed -- such as personalization powered by AI -- will significantly drive changes in the industry, the companies said.

The report finds that despite the downward trend throughout 2022, app installs grew 4% globally in 2023, demonstrating the ability of mobile to bounce back and deliver significant returns.

Mobile commerce grew 56% in the category of shopping app installs, while overall global ecommerce app installs jumped 43% in 2023. North America saw the largest growth in ecommerce app installs, at 98%. The companies say GAI is helping to fuel that growth.

All regions examined saw growth in mobile ecommerce across both installs and sessions. The highest year-over-year (YoY) rates of growth for installs were seen in North America at 98% and EMEA at 60%, and the biggest increases in sessions were charted in LATAM at 26% and EMEA at 20%.

The companies say the key is prioritizing technology that provides the necessary personalization to increase conversion rates and basket sizes.

Globally, the average session length for ecommerce apps dropped in 2023, down from 11.2 minutes per session to 10.1. The only region to see an increase was LATAM -- up from 8.4 to 8.6.

EMEA sessions maintained a steady 11.2 minutes, which is also the longest average length recorded in 2023. By comparison, North America dropped marginally from 10.1 to 10 minutes. The increase in sessions coupled with this downward trend in length suggests an overall improvement in the path to conversion or in models requiring shorter sessions, the companies say.

Privacy still matters. Apple iOS App Tracking Transparency (ATT) opt-in rates continue to climb as communication and transparency around the value of data sharing has improved.

App user consent rates rose from 29% in 2022 to 32% in 2023. Gaming had the highest rate globally at 39%, while fintech and ecommerce had the biggest rate increases -- up 7 percentage points each, according to mobile analytics platform Adjust.

Mobile payments drove fintech app adoption rates, with payment apps comprising approximately one-third of overall fintech app sessions in 2023. In-app revenue for fintech apps jumped 118% year-over-year, and app installs and sessions grew 42% and 24%, respectively. 

Gaming app installs bounced back in Q4 2023, up 7% globally. The largest shares of gaming app installs were action at 18%, hyper-casual at 14%, and puzzles at 14%.

The gaming hybrid casual genre has demonstrated that incorporating personalization into a game's user interface can boost retention rates and revenue. Mobile games advertising spend is estimated to reach $103 billion in 2024, and $131 billion in 2025. 

“Advancements in AI technology -- particularly the algorithms that power user acquisition platforms" will enable advertisers "to achieve their desired campaign goals with greater accuracy and scalability,” says Hussein Zayan, senior director of business development at AppLovin, adding that AI will eventually eliminate the need to manually optimize campaigns.

Embracing the full potential of GAI will become key for mobile marketing systems and strategy development in 2024. Many marketers have already experimented with the technology for services and solutions related to campaign setup, analysis, and optimization.

Forrester Research believes one of the greatest impacts of generative AI (GAI) for customer service in ecommerce will be an improvement in brands' knowledge and memory of their customers.

Some retailers and brands, such as Colgate-Palmolive, have been experimenting with GAI to create product descriptions, and optimizing its brand-product description pages to ensure accuracy.