Millennial Media’s 2015 State of the Apps report takes a deep dive into the app economy. Through a survey of app developers and publishers, this report features insights into monetization and year-over-year trends.
One of the major themes that emerged from our findings was that developers and publishers are looking to take their apps further in 2015. By designing for multiple operating systems and devices, to making their inventory available on programmatic channels, developers and publishers are looking to use all resources available to them to grow their user bases.
Key findings:
- 85% of developers and publishers monetize their apps and sites in some way, up 12 percentage points from the previous year. Of this, 82% use advertising, compared to 73% last year.
- 69% of developers and publishers make their inventory available programmatically, with the majority seeing an increase in revenue as a result.
- 33% of developers and publishers allow video ads to run in their apps, an increase of five percentage points from the previous year.
- 16% allow native ads.
Similar to last year’s trend, developers and publishers expect to grow the number of apps they have in 2015. Currently, 39% of developers have 5 or more apps, and this is expected to grow to 56% in 2015. In fact, 91% expect to have two or more apps in an app store next year. The number of developers and publishers with 10 or more apps is expected to nearly double in 2015.
While nearly all apps continue to support banner ads, the number of apps supporting rich media and video ads increased 6 percentage points from last year. These ad types can provide higher user engagement and deliver higher eCPMs for developers and publishers. Native ads are gaining in popularity, already supported by 16% of developers and publishers.
With the increasing adoption of programmatic buying by advertisers, 69% of developers make their inventory available programmatically, with the majority seeing an increase in revenue as a result.
Download the full report Millennial Media’s State of the Apps Industry Snapshot 2015
