Total app installs grew by 10 percent in 2022 despite a post-COVID digital cooldown and economic downturn, while ad spend went down 5 percent YoY, a new study reviewing 2022 trends by AppsFlyer stated.

As made exceedingly clear in 2022, relying on old playbooks or hiding behind the “that’s the way we’ve always done it” just won’t cut it, the report, titled ‘Driving ROI through a storm: 2023 app trends & C-level predictions’, pointed out.

“With tightening budgets, if your team isn’t focusing on careful planning and spending strategies, investing in retention just as much as user acquisition (UA), creative ways to drive ROI (return on investment), and diversifying channel mix to expand reach in more effective ways then it’s time to get them going in the right direction,” the AppsFlyer report highlighted.

Efficiency and improving both internal and external interfaces is another piece of the success in the bear market puzzle, it added.

Some key takeaways included the following:

# Apps spending stood at $80 billion on UA in 2022 (which is a slight YoY drop).

# ID matching rates going up 10 percent to reach 26 percent of iOS NOIs.

# Non-gaming apps enjoying a 20 percent jump in IAP (in-app purchase) revenue, while games are dealing with a 16 percent drop.

# 2022 has been a year of adjustments and reckoning, and starting in 2023 we’ll see more and more marketing leaders driven into creative problem-solving that might take them out of their comfort zone. But out of necessity stems innovation.

# Macroeconomic challenges will continue to affect the gaming industry in 2023. Platform privacy changes, globally rising inflation, economic slowdown, and return to real-life experiences are all due to reshape how games are marketed next year.

# Creating a new measurement framework that combines top down and bottom up methods, while ensuring there is a single source of truth that can connect multiple data realities, should be a key goal for your team in early 2023.

# Offering exceptional customer experience or CX is becoming a top priority for brands that are after fortifying their existing user base and mitigating churn. This is the time to obsess about driving efficiency, prioritize client and employee retention, and provide strong customer value.

# Lifecycle efforts that span across email, SMS, and push notifications, will grow in importance. Making sure your teams are fully leveraging personalized messages, combined with audience segmentation, will help them drive stronger engagement, loyalty, and ultimately, more value for your customers.