The most popular iPhone apps hit a record 7.1m daily downloads in the US during March, according to Fiksus App Store Competitive Index, which measures the top 200 free apps on Apples store. This represents an increase of 41 per cent year-on-year.

Its worth reiterating that this figure represents only iPhone downloads. Fiksu expects Android downloads will be nearly identical, as eMarketer has predicted growth rates around the 18 per cent mark for each OS.

Meanwhile, the average cost per install for iOS apps rose 20 per cent year-on-year to $0.97. The cost per loyal user, by comparison, rose by just seven per cent to $1.45, which Fiksu says is a sign that marketers are getting smarter about leveraging ad formats, creative and targeting tools to reach the right users.

“The March Indexes tell us that while the market is only getting bigger each month, it has also grown volumes in terms of maturity,” said Fiksu CEO Micah Adler. “With the addition of programmatic and optimization technologies, marketers have the tools to market their apps better and can do so without breaking the bank. As we’ve seen with major players like Facebook, Twitter and Yahoo! getting in the game, the industry has certainly come a long way in the last year, and what was once a challenge for app marketers is now an industry standard.”