E-commerce app installs drop 14% despite 2% session growth

Adjust released comprehensive data on August 6, 2025, revealing global e-commerce app installs declined 14% in the first half of 2025, even as user sessions increased by 2%. The mobile measurement company's "The Shopping App Insights Report: 2025 Edition" analyzes performance metrics across shopping app verticals, highlighting significant regional variations and technological shifts reshaping mobile commerce.

The report examined data from January 2023 through June 2025, covering e-commerce, deal discovery, marketplace, and classifieds categories across 45 countries. According to Adjust's findings, global retail e-commerce sales are projected to reach $6.42 trillion by 2025, with mobile commerce alone generating $2.5 trillion in revenue.

Regional performance showed stark contrasts in H1 2025. LATAM emerged as the strongest growth region with installs increasing 18% and sessions climbing 27%. APAC demonstrated steady gains with 13% install growth and 2% session increases. Meanwhile, Europe, MENA, and North America experienced declines across both metrics, with North America recording the steepest drops at -15% for installs and -5% for sessions.

Thailand led individual market performance with remarkable 180% install growth and 53% session increases. Brazil and Malaysia also posted strong gains, both reaching 38% session growth. Conversely, the UAE saw significant declines with -79% installs and -25% sessions, while Saudi Arabia experienced -55% and -21% respectively.

The data reveals evolving consumer behaviors as "new U.S. tariffs increased prices on thousands of consumer goods, with 68% of marketers reporting changes in their holiday strategies," according to the report. "Many shoppers responded by frontloading purchases in early summer to avoid anticipated price hikes."

Marketplace and classifieds apps dominated session volumes, accounting for 60% of global sessions while representing only 20% of installs. Shopping apps comprised 76% of installs but generated just 36% of sessions. Deal discovery maintained steady 4% shares across both metrics.

User engagement patterns showed marketplace apps leading retention with 24.8% day-1 retention rates and 1.86 sessions per user on day zero. Deal discovery apps achieved 16% day-1 retention, while shopping apps maintained 12.8% retention rates. Global session lengths decreased slightly to 9.89 minutes in H1 2025, down from 10.23 minutes in 2024.

The reattribution landscape demonstrated growing investment in win-back strategies. Global reattribution share increased to 0.18 in H1 2025, up from 0.14 in 2023. The UAE led regional performance at 0.4, followed by Turkey at 0.36 and the U.K. & Ireland at 0.36, though the latter declined from 0.4 in 2024.

Paid user acquisition expanded significantly. The global paid/organic ratio rose from 0.4 in 2023 to 0.54 in H1 2025, with shopping apps reaching 0.58. Indonesia recorded the highest ratio at 1.56, becoming the only market where paid installs exceeded organic acquisitions.

Cost dynamics reflected changing market conditions. Global cost per install reached $0.99 in Q1 2025, with marketplace apps achieving lower costs at $0.89 compared to shopping apps at $1.01. Cost per click increased 23% to $0.16, while install per mille approached 3.0, up from 2.83 in 2024.

AI integration emerged as a critical competitive factor. "AI is streamlining creative production for shopping app marketers by automating time-intensive tasks, such as ad concept generation and variant testing," the report states. Mobile advertisers are "accelerating workflows by integrating generative AI into their creative development processes."

The report highlights Adjust Growth Copilot, the company's AI-powered assistant now in open beta. The tool "provides teams with shareable charts and visualizations, surfaces anomalies more quickly than traditional methods, and can compare performance across channels and campaigns in seconds."

Deep linking technology gains prominence as user journeys become increasingly complex. "The path to purchase is now multi-touch, multi-device, and increasingly shaped by omnichannel discovery," according to Adjust. Solutions like TrueLink enable "marketers to create short, branded, all-purpose links that work across all platforms."

Voice commerce represents an emerging opportunity, with the market projected to reach $151.4 billion in 2025. Quick commerce continues rapid expansion, set to achieve $195 billion by year-end. AI-powered chatbots drive conversions, with 80% of U.S. retail and e-commerce businesses already implementing or planning AI chatbot deployment.

Revenue metrics showed mixed performance globally. Average revenue per monthly active user decreased from $8.7 in 2023 to $7.8 in 2024. However, LATAM demonstrated strong growth reaching $16.59, with notable increases in Thailand ($14.05), Vietnam ($12.7), and Mexico ($13.3). APAC markets including Malaysia ($13.54), South Korea ($12.77), and Japan ($12.94) also posted gains.

Partner diversification accelerated across e-commerce apps. The median number of advertising partners increased from 6 in 2023 to 7 in H1 2025. Deal discovery apps showed the largest expansion, jumping from 7.3 to 9 partners, while marketplace apps maintained leadership at 10 average partners.

The App Tracking Transparency landscape showed 36% average opt-in rates for e-commerce apps in H1 2025. This privacy-first environment drives adoption of "smart segmentation based on aggregated datasets, contextual targeting, and next-generation measurement and analytics solutions like incrementality, marketing mix modeling, and predictive analytics."

Seasonal shopping patterns remain critical for app growth. Black Friday generated 20% above-average sessions globally, while Cyber Monday achieved 15% increases. Deal discovery apps showed particularly strong seasonal sensitivity with 34% session increases during Black Friday and 47% install growth.

Looking ahead, Adjust emphasizes omnichannel strategy importance. "Meeting users where they are is critical to success, as toggling between platforms, tabs, and devices has become standard," the report concludes. Success depends on "building frictionless paths to conversion, from intuitive web-to-app experiences and QR code integrations to meaningful personalization."

The findings demonstrate mobile commerce's continued evolution amid economic uncertainty and technological advancement. As Tiahn Wetzler, Director of Content & Insights at Adjust, notes: "The most successful apps create experiences that are relevant, respectful, and consistent across every touchpoint."

This comprehensive analysis provides mobile marketers with critical benchmarks for Q4 2025 planning as the industry navigates changing consumer behaviors, privacy regulations, and AI-powered optimization opportunities.

Timeline

• August 6, 2025: Adjust releases The Shopping App Insights Report: 2025 Edition revealing 14% install decline
• July 29, 2025: IAB Australia reports $63 billion online retail spending with 13% year-over-year growth
• July 23, 2025: Dailymotion launches EchoAI conversational ad format powered by AI technology
• July 9, 2025: StackAdapt launches AI assistant Ivy for programmatic advertising optimization
• June 13, 2025: Criteo partners with dentsu for global commerce media expansion
• May 21-22, 2025: Google announces comprehensive AI advertising features at Marketing Live 2025
• April 1, 2025: Kontext secures $10M to scale AI-powered advertising in GenAI apps
• March 26, 2025: IAB Europe releases updated retail media definitions for European markets
• February 17, 2024: PPC Land publishes starter guide for e-commerce PPC advertising strategies

Summary

Who: Adjust, a mobile measurement and attribution platform owned by AppLovin, released the report analyzing global e-commerce app performance data from shopping, marketplace, and deal discovery verticals.

What: The comprehensive study reveals global e-commerce app installs declined 14% in H1 2025 despite 2% session growth, with significant regional variations and AI-driven transformation of mobile commerce strategies.

When: The report was announced on August 6, 2025, analyzing data from January 2023 through June 2025, providing critical insights for Q4 2025 seasonal planning.

Where: The analysis covers global markets with specific focus on 45 countries across APAC, Europe, LATAM, MENA, and North America regions, highlighting performance variations and regional trends.

Why: The findings matter for mobile marketers as they navigate changing consumer behaviors, economic uncertainties, AI integration opportunities, and privacy-first measurement approaches while mobile commerce reaches $2.5 trillion in projected revenue for 2025.

Key Terms Explained

E-commerce Apps: Mobile applications designed for commercial transactions, product discovery, and shopping experiences. These platforms encompass traditional shopping apps, marketplace environments, deal discovery services, and classified advertising systems. According to Adjust's analysis, e-commerce apps represent a $6.42 trillion market opportunity by 2025, with distinct performance characteristics across different subcategories that require specialized marketing approaches.

Mobile Commerce: Digital commerce transactions conducted through mobile devices, projected to generate $2.5 trillion in revenue during 2025. This segment has evolved beyond simple purchasing to include complex omnichannel journeys involving voice search, social commerce, and connected TV discovery. Mobile commerce growth varies significantly by region, with LATAM showing 27% session increases while mature markets face decline pressures.

Reattribution: Marketing measurement technique that identifies when existing app users engage with advertising campaigns, enabling win-back and re-engagement strategies. The global reattribution share increased to 0.18 in H1 2025, demonstrating growing investment in user retention versus pure acquisition. This metric proves particularly valuable for shopping apps where customer lifetime value justifies re-engagement spending across multiple touchpoints.

Cost Per Install (CPI): Performance metric measuring the average expense required to acquire one new app installation through paid advertising channels. Global e-commerce app CPI reached $0.99 in Q1 2025, with significant regional variations ranging from $0.9 in APAC to $2.7 in North America. CPI fluctuations reflect changing competition dynamics, targeting precision, and market maturity levels across different geographic regions.

Artificial Intelligence (AI): Technology systems enabling automated decision-making, creative optimization, and predictive analytics within mobile marketing campaigns. AI applications in shopping apps include generative content creation, real-time bidding optimization, personalized product recommendations, and conversational commerce interfaces. The integration of AI capabilities represents a fundamental shift from manual campaign management toward autonomous optimization systems.

Session Length: User engagement metric measuring the average time spent within mobile applications during individual usage periods. Global e-commerce app session lengths decreased to 9.89 minutes in H1 2025, reflecting changing user behaviors and potentially increased paid user acquisition. Marketplace apps demonstrate the longest engagement at 10.69 minutes, while deal discovery sessions average 6.01 minutes, indicating distinct usage patterns across shopping categories.

Day-1 Retention: Critical performance indicator measuring the percentage of new app users who return for a second session within 24 hours of initial installation. Marketplace apps achieved the highest retention at 24.8%, significantly outperforming shopping apps at 12.8% and deal discovery at 16%. This metric directly correlates with long-term user value and campaign effectiveness.

Paid/Organic Ratio: Measurement comparing paid advertising installs against organic acquisition through non-paid channels like app store discovery and word-of-mouth recommendations. The global ratio increased from 0.4 in 2023 to 0.54 in H1 2025, indicating growing reliance on paid acquisition strategies. Indonesia leads with 1.56, representing the only market where paid installs exceed organic acquisitions.

Connected TV (CTV): Television content delivered through internet-connected devices, emerging as a significant discovery channel for shopping apps. CTV advertising enables QR code integration, voice commerce activation, and cross-device campaign attribution. The format supports omnichannel strategies by connecting traditional media consumption with mobile app engagement through interactive elements and deep linking technologies.

Deep Linking: Technical infrastructure enabling direct navigation to specific content within mobile applications from external sources like websites, emails, or advertisements. Adjust's TrueLink technology creates branded, universal links that function across all platforms and environments. Deep linking proves essential for reducing conversion friction in omnichannel shopping journeys where users may discover products through multiple touchpoints before completing purchases.