NIELSEN: APPS ON THE UP AS ENGAGEMENT SOARS

Posted by Naima Lynch On April 14, 2014 Media Releases

APPS ON THE UP AS ENGAGEMENT SOARS

  • Carsales now see one in four of their user sessions coming via mobile apps
  • Nine in ten (87%) online Australians who have ever accessed the internet via a mobile phone, have at some point downloaded a mobile app
  • Forty-five percent of mobile users say they would download an app from a company or brand if it was useful or entertaining

SYDNEY: APRIL 14, 2014 – In recent years, the distinct increase in consumers accessing content via mobile devices has been well-documented, and, progressive companies have responded accordingly by providing high quality mobile websites and applications.

New research from Nielsen’s Application Market Intelligence solution reveals how companies can quantify this effort and demonstrates that successful mobile applications can create substantial incremental engagement with consumers.

During the month of March 2014, Carsales.com.au saw 26 percent of their total online user sessions come directly from their mobile apps. In the same period, 57 percent of their total user sessions came from a mobile or tablet device – meaning only 43 percent of content was accessed via a computer.

Speaking to these initial findings, Monique Perry, Head of Nielsen’s Media Industry Group, said, “Consumers accessing digital content via mobile apps has largely been an anecdotal trend until now. Providing the tools to accurately measure and quantify mobile app traffic is increasingly important and extremely valuable to the industry. This is another initiative we have been working on with the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and are pleased to deliver.”

“This first look at the results through carsales.com.au reinforces the industry’s need for this level of insight and is the next step in providing measurement across mobile-based content, following the introduction of device reporting in Nielsen Market Intelligence last year.”

Perry added, “Carsales.com.au is a fantastic example of a progressive company capturing consumer adaptation of app usage on mobile devices. They have enabled consumers to choose how they engage with their content; as a result, they are seeing engagement levels soar.”

“Application Market Intelligence provides the first independent view on app traffic and allows publishers like Carsales to more accurately value and monetise that engagement; while also demonstrating to agencies the huge opportunity that exists to get their advertisers exposed to more consumers through useful and appealing applications.”

Nielsen also confirmed that initial results (scheduled to be revealed later this year) from the IAB-endorsed mobile audience measurement pilot will again take a further step into understanding app usage and engagement in Australia, with additional audience insights and demographics.

Nielsen research* shows that among mobile users, the preference is for ad-supported apps that are free to download, rather than paid apps that are ad-free. Further, branded apps that offer utility hold strong potential. Forty-five percent of mobile users say they would download an app from a company or brand if it was useful or entertaining while 29 percent felt they would not download a branded app because it is perceived as simply advertising.

“These findings reinforce the reach potential that in-app advertising can incrementally deliver whilst also balancing the end-user needs of relevant and engaging app content,” concluded Perry.

Nielsen Applications release APRIL2014 FINAL

*Source: Nielsen Australian Connected Consumers Report 2014.
Chart 1: Carsales.com.au – Total Sessions for the month of March 2014 by device/app

SOURCE: Nielsen
NOTE: ‘App’ is an aggregation of all app sessions across all iOS, Android and Windows devices for both ‘mobile’ and ‘tablet’. ‘Tablet’ is sessions via web browser only and ‘Mobile’ is sessions via web browser only.

About Nielsen
Nielsen Holdings N.V. (NYSE: NLSN) is a global information and measurement company with leading market positions in marketing and consumer information, television, and other media measurement, online intelligence, mobile measurement, trade shows, and related properties. Nielsen has a presence in approximately 100 countries, with headquarters in New York, USA, and Diemen, the Netherlands. For more information, visit www.nielsen.com.

Naima Lynch

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