Kenshoo has released its latest Mobile App Advertising Trends Report, benchmarking key metrics for mobile app marketers. The report finds that total spend on app marketing across the Kenshoo Gaming and Kenshoo Social platforms increased 155 per cent year-on-year (YoY), while mobile app installs increased 196 per cent, equating to an overall decrease in the cost per install of 14 per cent. Impressions increased 187 per cent; clicks by 280 per cent and clickthrough rates by 32 per cent. Meanwhile, CPM deceased 11 per cent and cost-per-click by 33 per cent.

Advertisers’ share of both clicks and app installs obtained through Instagram since the introduction of its advertising API in Q3 2015 exceeded the share of total ad spend, and all three metrics showed considerable improvement over the last two quarters. In fact, app install ads on Instagram delivered more than 20 per cent of all app install ad clicks in Q4.

Instagram provides an opportunity for app advertisers to acquire new customers at a lower cost than other social ads, Kenshoo believes, because Instagram ads have been consistently lower in price than other Facebook ad placements, while delivering almost identical clickthrough rates.

App install ads for gaming apps were priced higher for CPM and CPC than for other apps ($6.18 and $0.67 vs. $3.15 and $0.28, respectively) but once consumers click on a gaming app ad, they are much more likely to install (39 per cent vs. 11 per cent) resulting in a drastically reduced cost-per-install ($1.73 vs. $2.70).

“Marketers have embraced the influx of new ad types, publishers and tools to tailor their mobile app campaigns for success, but the evolution of the ecosystem is just beginning,” said Chris Costello, director of marketing research for Kenshoo. “Incorporating additional elements of the app experience like in-app engagement and lifetime value are the next steps for marketers in optimizing app campaigns to their specific goals and maximizing the app marketing opportunity.”

According to Business Insider, US mobile app install ad revenue will hit $5.4bn (£3.8bn) in 2016; as consumers rely more on mobile apps and devices for everyday activities.

The report includes five quarters of data from October 2014 through December 2015, and reflects spending and performance specifically on the Mobile App Install ad type from advertisers across the Kenshoo Gaming (formerly Adquant) and Kenshoo Social platforms. The resulting data set comprises over $85 million in advertiser spend, and over 45m app installs, targeted across over 100 countries worldwide.

You can download the full report here.