It has long been the dream of iOS app developers everywhere to land a coveted spot on one of the App Store’s featured lists. But it’s not just bragging rights that these developers may be winning — it could also be a major spike in download numbers. As per a new report from Sensor Tower, apps that are featured in the App Store — particularly as the “App of the Day” or “Game of the Day,” can see their download numbers increase by as much as 800 percent.
The data certainly seems to support Apple’s claim that its new App Store in iOS 11, which made its debut in September, would increase exposure for developers and also help customers discover new and exciting apps. In conducting its recent study, Sensor Tower looked at data from September 2017 to present day; “Game of the Day” apps saw an increase of 802 percent in downloads when compared to the previous week (before being featured). “App of the Day” apps, on the other hand, enjoyed a 685 percent boost.
And while these two spots offered the greatest leg up, even being featured in one of the new App Store Stories or in an App List resulted in greater downloads by 222 percent and 240 percent, respectively. It appears that Apple has made good on its promise to help both creators and consumers alike with its app store redesign.
The iOS 11 App Store offers a heavily curated view of apps; not only does it show potential customers what the most popular apps are in terms of downloads, it also shows off what Apple itself thinks of as the best or must-have apps. The App Store now offers app roundups, themed collections, as well as articles about certain apps and interviews with their developers.
However, it would appear that the apps that Apple is choosing to feature are still those that likely would have ended up with big download numbers anyway. In fact, Sensor Tower found that 13 of the top 15 featured developers already had at least one million U.S. iPhone downloads since the new App Store launched. That said, it is not the case that only the well-established developers are getting the limelight. Sensor Tower notes that about 29 percent of the apps the App Store featured had fewer than 10,000 downloads since the new App Store’s launch.
“While it’s clearly the case that big publishers are more likely to receive the largest number of features, small publishers still very much have their chance to benefit from a feature on the App Store,” said Jonathan Briskman, Sensor Tower’s Mobile Insights Analyst.
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