Interesting data out from mobile application analytics provider Flurry indicate a surge in mobile app download and usage over Thanksgiving weekend, with mobile app downloads increasing 25 percent over the four-day holiday weekend compared to the previous week.
Drilling down further, app downloads surged 54 percent on Thanksgiving Day compared to Thursday, with downloads growing 39 percent on Black Friday, sliding to a 13 percent increase on Saturday and growing just 4 percent on Sunday. The company said new devices detected on Black Friday jumped by over 57% over the previous week’s Friday.
Total new device growth for the holiday weekend, compared to the same four-day period from the prior week, was 31%. Interestingly, this surge demonstrates that consumers appear to be buying and activating smartphones early in the season for personal use. This early indicator suggests that strong spending on smartphones as gifts throughout the season should continue. Not surprisingly, the bulk of growth is driven by Apple iOS devices and a number of recent break-out Android devices, including the Samsung Galaxy S, Motorola Droid 2 and LG Optimus S. Flurry detects a new, unique device the first time an application which includes Flurry Analytics is launched on that device.
It should be interesting to see Flurry-derived data after Christmas day, once droves of new smartphones and tablet devices are given as gifts and put to use.
