New Liftoff Report Debunks the Myth of How and When Finance Apps Are Used

PALO ALTO, CA--April 14, 2016--Liftoff, the leader in performance-driven mobile user acquisition, today released a new data report providing insight into behaviors and trends in the growing world of mobile finance. When it comes to finance apps, the report shows that mobile users experience their peak engagement in a season that you would not normally expect: the summer. In addition, the data shows differences between male and female activity when it comes to the adoption and active use of financial apps.

The study included finance apps that help you check and manage your credit score, create a budget, protect against fraud, make payments, and manage your investment portfolio. Based on the analysis of 4.6 billion impressions and over 1.9 million app-install events collected between June 2015 and February 2016 from 11 of the top finance apps in the U.S., the report from Liftoff found the following:

Finance apps are leaving money on the table if they’re not reaching consumers in the summer.

Traditionally, most marketing spend is focused around the pricey winter months going into tax season, but data from Liftoff points to mid-summer as the most cost-effective time to engage finance-minded mobile consumers. Based on the company’s findings, the data shows consumers are purchasing services in financial apps during the summer months when vacations, big-ticket purchases and back-to-school savings are top of mind. In fact, July was the highest month for purchases, accounting for 23.2 percent of all purchases within the timeframe measured. Consumers are also thirty percent more likely to purchase a mobile financial service between June and October than in the months leading up to the U.S. tax season.

Though users are more likely to make purchases in the summer, they actually begin thinking about their finances ahead of tax season. In the nine months analyzed, 25.7 percent of all finance app installs for that time period took place in the month of January. Additionally, app users were 30.7 percent more likely to install and register in February than the average. These patterns follow with the two ways consumers think about finances--money I need to spend (taxes) and money I want to spend (summer trips).

For marketers of finance apps, the summer months present an opportunity to acquire new customers more cost-effectively than at other times of year.

Females are more likely to register for finance apps, but males make more purchases.

According to the report’s findings, women were three percent more likely to register for finance apps than men, while men were 11.1 percent more likely to make a purchase in finance apps than women. This suggests that although women are increasingly more interested in using finance apps to manage finances, they are less comfortable transacting in them than men. Moreover, the average cost to acquire a male purchaser was $64.23, 23.4% less than a female purchaser. As for registrations, marketers spent 5.7% less to acquire males than females.

Finance app users are highly purpose-driven.

The report shows staggering numbers when it comes to the average time lapse between app install and registration. The data found that 75 percent of users who register do so within 10 minutes of installing the app, while a full 90 percent of registrations occur within 6 and a half hours of installing the app. This data suggests that people install finance apps with a more serious intent to use them, something marketers must keep in mind when crafting their campaigns.

To learn more about Liftoff and view the complete findings, download the full report here: http://info.liftoff.io/finance-apps-report

Methodology

This report analyzed data from 11 of the top finance apps between June 2015 and February 2016. The benchmarks were generated from a set of app install campaign data comprised of 4.6 billion ad impressions, 1.9 million app installs, more than 365,000 post-install events, and $7.3 million in total ad spend. For the purpose of this report, purchase events include in-app purchases, subscriptions, and bank account connections.

About Liftoff

Liftoff is a performance-based mobile app marketing and retargeting platform which uses post-install user data to run true cost-per-action user acquisition and retention campaigns. Powered by advanced machine learning and lookalike targeting, Liftoff campaigns are optimized to drive actions beyond the install, like booking a hotel, making a purchase, or subscribing to a service. Based in Palo Alto, CA, Liftoff works with leading app publishers and brands.

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Lauren Barlow

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