The iPhone 5 Caused App Downloads to Drop

Demand for the iPhone 5 prompted a decrease in app downloads during August, according to Fiksu.

In the month leading up to the release of the new iPhone, and iOS 6, Fiksu's saw a drop of 7.3 per cent in its App Store Competitive Index, which measures the average aggregate daily download volume of the top 200 free US iPhone apps. The total number of downloads fell to 4.1m in August, down from 4.4m in July.

“August was like the calm before the storm for app marketers,” said Fiksu CEO Micah Adler. “Similar to the period preceding the iPhone 4S launch in 2011, we saw users once again holding off on downloading apps in the weeks before the much-anticipated iPhone 5 launch. App marketers also took the gas off their advertising spending during August, awaiting the availability of iOS 6 in September and the chance to promote updated apps. The combined effect made for a slow month overall ahead of what we expect to be a busy Q4.”

The Cost per Loyal User Index, meanwhile, also dropped – down by 20 cents to $1.34 (£0.82). That's a drop of almost 13 per cent drop from July, when the cost per loyal user was placed at $1.54.