Mobile advertising placements on a major network jumped 70% during the pandemic led by interstitial ads and in spite of ad budget reductions.
The increase was driven by consumers spending on average 20% more time on their mobile devices during April 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic kept them locked up indoors.
According to the latest report from mobile analytics expert App Annie, consumers spent 1.6 trillion hours on their mobile devices during H1 2020.
Downloads of mobile apps and games topped 64 billion on iOS and Google Play during the same time.
Spending rose to $50 billion which marks the most successful quarter for Apple and Google to date.
Video streaming apps benefitted from lockdowns as consumers were streaming 25% more of their time compared to Q4 2019.
Netflix cross-app usage with TikTok rose from 15% to 45% during the second quarter which shows that social and traditional video channels may be edging closer together.
For publishers, the findings means that they can enrich their news and educational offerings through video streaming offers.
Among the top business apps outside of China, Zoom ranked at the top followed by Microsoft Teams, Google Meet and Cisco Webex.
App Annie expects the boom in business apps to continue and companies should adapt accordingly.
“COVID-19 propelled mobile usage forward — achieving growth that would have otherwise taken 2 to 3 years. As we head into the holiday season and 2021, businesses who prioritize mobile will outpace competitors, as mobile represents a significant driver of revenue growth for businesses,” said Lexi Sydow, Market Insights Manager at App Annie.
Mobile commerce is also booming as retailers and payment app providers jumped on the opportunity to make it easier for consumers to order online.
PayPal, for example, jumped 86% during Q2 2020 because of the rise in mobile commerce purchases.
