November 2011 marked an all-time high for app downloads, according to a report from mobile app user acquisition platform Fiksu. Compared to November 2010, download volumes were up 83 per cent, fuelled by the swell of iPhone 4S users and iOS 5 app updates.

The Fiksu App Store Competitive Index – which measures the average aggregate daily download volume of the top 200 free US iPhone apps – continued its upward trajectory, which began during October, when the iPhone 4S launched.

The Index peaked at 5.65m downloads per day in November – a 15 per cent increase over October’s previous record high of 4.91m. App download volumes in November 2010, by comparison, were 83 per cent lower.

The Fiksu Cost per Loyal User Index – measuring the cost of acquiring a loyal user for brands who proactively market their apps – remained steady in November, dropping four cents to $1.43 from October’s $1.47.

“Unlike October’s intermittent spikes in downloads and costs, November saw a steady increase in demand for app downloads without any notable fluctuations in mobile app marketing costs – even over Thanksgiving weekend,” says Fiksu CEO Micah Adler. “Signs indicate that app marketers have become savvier about planning and executing their ad spends during seasonal periods to avoid paying premium prices for acquiring users. In fact, November presented them with a somewhat unique opportunity to add more users at costs that were actually below Octobers.”

The Fiksu Indexes measure monthly fluctuations in competition for rank in the app stores, and the cost to acquire loyal users. The data for the report was sourced from more than 7.6bn mobile app actions – such as app launches, registrations and in-app purchases – and more than 156m downloads recorded by apps marketed via the Fiksu for Mobile Apps user acquisition platform.