Global Apps in Feb.丨American health apps saw a revenue surge and AI was effective in ex-boyfriend business

With the aid of its App Intelligence and other modules, SocialPeta sorted out the top 20 global mobile apps (non-game) by advertising, revenue, and download in February 2023, hoping to be of assistance to more people in the mobile app industry who try to understand the changing trends of the global mobile market.

The overall performance of global mobile apps in February:

• The live video dating app [PeachLive] made it to the advertising chart with its sexually but also appropriately suggestive and revealing creatives;
• [Picsart] introduced a new feature about using AI to remove ex-boyfriends from photos, leading to many downloads;
• Half of the spots on the Android advertising chart were occupied by tool apps providing network optimization.

Top 20 by Advertising

Some interesting apps that were new on the advertising chart in February:

[PeachLive], the live video chat app released by Shenzhen Lerji Technology, reported an increase of 41% in creatives on iOS in February. The app was launched in June 2021 and, within less than 2 years, it managed to form its own advertising style which was subtly distinguished from those of its competitive apps.

• [PeachLive] was mostly distinguished by its ad creatives that were efficient because they fit the pattern of marketing involved with seductive creatives and they were also more sexually suggestive and revealing. For example, videos centering on tits or movements of breasts;
• Regions of advertising: mainly UAE, Saudi Arabia, and other Middle Eastern countries, accounting for over 26%, followed by the US, accounting for 4.4%;
• Media buying: the app's media buying only covered casual and action media, each accounting for 50%;
• Advertising channels: the app released creatives on 4 major channels including FB News Feed, Audience Network, Instagram, and Messenger, each accounting for about 25%;

[AXS Tickets] is an app providing ticket-buying service. The app is unique in two ways. First, it allows people to resell their tickets; second, its users can buy tickets at market prices through their paid accounts with AXS Tickets, so they don't have to buy those tickets at much higher prices from ticket scalpers. [AXS Tickets] had an increase of 21% in creatives in February. According to SocialPeta's Advertiser Analysis, the app's advertising in February was as the following:

• It only released creatives in the US, the UK, Canada, and Australia, with the US contributing 85% of its creatives. The percentage had been rising in the past year. Obviously the app's creatives were more effective in the American market;
• The app's media buying mostly involved health & fitness, arcade, and productivity media, in order of their shares from high to low. However, there was no big difference in their shares;
• In terms of advertising channels, the app had most of its creatives released on FB News Feed, as high as 41%, followed by Instagram accounting for 33%;

The more efficient creatives recently were clips from live shows and the advertising copies were detailed show information. One of its best ads was an official trailer of Huntsville's show in May, in which the band played with enormous passion which was a great appeal to their fans.

The file cleaning tool [File Cleanup Expert] had an increase of 71% in creatives in February, making it No.1 among all the tools apps. According to SocialPeta's Advertiser Analysis, the app's advertising in February was as the following:

• It released creatives in many countries across Southeast Asia, North America, and Middle East, with 1.4%-1.9% creatives in each country. Clearly the app wasn't sure about its target markets; 
• In terms of the app's media buying, productivity media accounted for 68%. The percentage had been increasing during the recent 1 year, meaning that productivity media had a higher conversion rate for the app;
• In terms of advertising channels, the app had most of its creatives released on FB News Feed, accounting for 37%, followed by Messenger and Instagram, each accounting for about 20%;
• The more efficient new creatives released recently were of various types but they all stood out with "free download". Some of the ads were about image matting, some about charging effects, even some about playable game ads, but none of them showed that they were leading to the downloads of a file-cleaning tool.

Meanwhile, there were some apps that were not on the chart but still worthy of note:

[Rotita], a shopping app focusing on high-end and on-trend women's wear in the US, had an increase of 21% MoM in creatives in February. From [Rotita]'s ad slogan "New Season, New Wardrobe", we can see that the app's recent creatives targeted people's demand for new clothes for the coming season. Launched in November 2021, the app mainly released creatives in the US, Australia, Canada, and the UK. Most of its creatives were on puzzle media, accounting for as high as 70%, followed by card media, accounting for 21%.

[Emmiol], another shopping app that was new on the chart, had an increase of 18% MoM in creatives in February. Unlike [Rotita], [Emmiol]'s ad creatives mainly targeted customers who were interested in Y2K trends and Gen-Z fast fashion. In addition to women's clothing, there are also men's clothing and vintage clothing. The app's advertising focused on the US, Germany, and other European countries. Its media buying mainly involved education, board, and social media.

[Lokal] is an Indian news app that only released ad creatives in India. The app had an increase of 27% MoM in creatives on Android in February, perhaps a marketing plan for the coming Ramadan.

Top 20 by Revenue

New apps with outstanding revenue growth on the App Store:

• As the best weight loss app and fitness app in the US, [MyFitnessPal] reported a steady revenue growth of 13.2% MoM in February. Its revenue growth mainly resulted from a 39-year-old male celebrity's influence who recommended [MyFitnessPal] to the public by sharing his own experience in losing weight by using the app;
• [ABEMA], a Japanese live TV streaming app, had a revenue growth of 23.5% MoM in February, ranking No.43 on the App Store global chart by revenue. Its revenue growth resulted from its broadcasting rights to the German Bundesliga which was obtained in February.

New apps with outstanding revenue growth on Google Play:

• [Globoplay] is a video streaming app owned by Grupo Globo, the Brazilian mass media conglomerate based in Brazil. The app saw a revenue growth of 4.4% MoM in February. It was the month of Carnival in Brazil, [Globoplay] celebrated it by offering many new TV series, films, and novels, which increased the number of the app's subscribers;
• [Badoo], a global online dating app, reported a revenue growth of 8.7% MoM in February, ranking No.36 on the Google Play global chart by revenue. Its revenue growth was mainly contributed by India, the UK, and Indonesia.

Top 20 by Download

New apps with outstanding downloads growth on the App Store:

• [Google Meet] is a communication app featuring one-on-one video calls and multi-user video conferences. The app's downloads increased by 18.6% MoM in February, ranking No.23 on the App Store global chart by download. 69% of its downloads were from the US;
• The location-sharing app [whoo] was released in December 2022. It recorded a growth of 56% MoM in downloads in February, ranking No.40 on the App Store global chart by download. 46% of its downloads were from Japan.

New apps with outstanding downloads growth on Google Play:

• [Picsart], an online photo editing app, recorded a growth of 4.3% MoM in downloads in February. The growth was a result of its popular marketing idea "remove your ex-boyfriend from your photos with AI". 33% of its downloads were from India;

• [PLAYit], an audio/video player and file transfer tool, recorded a growth of 49.4% MoM in downloads in February, ranking No.16 on the Google Play global chart by download. India contributed 78% of its global downloads, followed by Pakistan which contributed 12%.