Mobile App Inventory Dramatically Grows

September 1, 2011

flurry-mobile-app-inventory-sep-2011.JPGUS mobile app inventory is poised to absorb the equivalent of the entire US internet display advertising spend by the end of this year, according to analysis from Flurry. Mobile app inventory has grown aggressively this year, rising from less than $500 million in January to a level closer to $1 billion this month.

Flurry projects mobile app inventory will be able to absorb the entire U.S. online display ad spend of roughly $1 billion by the end of the year. By the end of 2012, Flurry predicts mobile app inventory will reach $4.5 billion, or about triple the expected $1.5 billion that will represent online display ad spending.

Flurry data shows that the average number of ads shown per application session is 4.3, while the average application session is 4.2 minutes. In comparison, the average session length of a website is just less than one minute.

MarketingCharts’ sister publication MarketingVox explains why 2012 will be a good time for companies to establish a separate mobile advertising budget.

Average Smartphone User Wealthier, Better Educated

flurry-smartphone-household-income-sep-2011.JPGThe average smartphone user is considerably wealthier and more likely to hold a college degree than the average US adult. Smartphone users have an average household income of $66,000 and 61% hold a bachelor’s degree or higher.

In contrast, the US average household income is $44,000, meaning smartphone users are on average 50% wealthier than the general population. In addition, only 28% of overall US adults hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, meaning smartphone users are slightly more than twiceas likely to have a college education.

Smartphone Users Skew Younger, Female

flurry-smartphone-age-gender-sep-2011.JPGLooking at age and gender, Flurry found that U.S. smartphone app users cluster into younger age groups and trend slightly more female. For users 24 and younger, smartphone audience share is virtually identical, with the market consisting of about 8% 13-to-17-year-olds and about 15% 18-to-24-year-olds for both genders.

However, 12% of smartphone users are females age 25-34, compared to about 10% males in this age range. The widest gender gap occurs among 35-to-44-year-olds, with females this age representing close to 15% of the market but males this age only representing a little more than 10% of the market.

Nielsen: Smartphones Surge Among 18-to-24-Yr-Olds

The percentage of US smartphone owners in the 18-24-year-old bracket grew 60% between Q3 2010 and Q2 2011, according to August 2011 data from The Nielsen Company. In Q3 2010, 10% of smartphone owners were age 18-24. This figure increased to 16% in Q2 2011. Meanwhile, the percentage of smartphone owners age 13-17 plummeted 80%, from 10% to 2%.

In addition, growth of roughly 10% occurred in smartphone ownership rates among 35-to-44-year-olds (17% to 19%) and those 55 and up (16% to 18%). Smartphone ownership stayed flat among 25-to-34-year-olds and 45-to-54-year-olds.

Due to the significant drop in smartphone ownership share among 13-to-17-year-olds, total smartphone ownership among those younger than 34 dropped 4% between Q3 2010 (46%) and Q2 2011 (44%).

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