Thursday, January 31, 2013

Marketplaces Matter and I’ve got the analytics to prove it

Background

As I've covered many times in earlier posts, I've used PreEmptive Analytics to instrument a family of mobile yoga apps from TheMobileYogi. These apps are deployed across iOS, Android and Windows. The yoga apps are packaged in a variety of ways. Two apps – Yoga-pedia (free) and A Pose for That (premium) – are direct-to-consumer using a “freemium” model that includes embedded ads inside yoga-pedia. There are also a white-labeled app platform that can quickly generate a “re-skinned” app personalized for yoga studios, retailers and other “wellness-centered” businesses. And with all of these combined, I’m happy to report that we've passed the 110K download mark and still growing by the thousands each week.

The Issue at Hand

One adoption/monetization “variable” that is rarely measured in a clean way is the impact/influence that an app’s marketplace can have on the success of the app itself. This is in large part a practical issue – it’s not easy to compare, for example, Apple’s App Store with Google Play because the apps themselves are often quite distinct from one another – and so isolating the marketplace influence from the apps themselves can be tricky. However, with Android, we publish identical apps through two very different marketplaces; Amazon’s Android App Store and Google’s Google Play marketplace. By focusing on apps that are identical in every way BUT the API calls to the respective marketplaces, we can start to drill into the direct and indirect consequences of marketplace selection. 

Android makes up roughly 51% of TheMobileYogi downloads.

Android downloads combine both Amazon and Google Play adoption.


Android Downloads of Yoga-pedia

As of January 29, 2012, the total downloads of Yoga-pedia were:
  • 21,109 Amazon (36% of the total) 
  • 36,981 Google Play (64% of the total) or said another way, 
Google Play downloads were 75% greater than from Amazon.

…But downloads only tell a very small part of the story. What are users doing AFTER they download the app? How often do they use the app, for how long, and what exactly are they doing when they are inside?

Yoga-pedia Sessions

Using PreEmptive Analytics Runtime Intelligence, we see that there are in fact striking differences between the Google Play user population and the Amazon user population.

One glaring difference is the total number of users in each community.

The total unique users of from Google Play is 208% higher than that of Amazon.

If we were to stop here, I think our conclusion would be obvious – Google play delivers more downloads and more unique users than Amazon – and that has to make it a clear winner right? (Note, there has been no difference in marketing, advertising, etc. between the two marketplaces – specifically, we have done none).

…but if we were to stop here, we would be making a very big mistake!

How much time is spent inside the app? 

Another glaring difference that our analytics reveal is the difference between the average session length of our users – Amazon users tend to stay inside the app almost 3 times longer!

So – if we multiply the total number of sessions by the average session length, we can calculate how many hours were spent inside Yoga-pedia.
  • Amazon: (41,937 sessions) X (13.88 minutes per session) = 9,701 hours 
  • Google Play: (75,346 sessions) X (5.5 minutes per session) = 6,907 hours 
Total time spent inside the app distributed through the Amazon marketplace is 40% higher than from Google Play. 

If I am trying to maximize ad impressions, establish a brand or hold my user’s attention toward some other objective, Amazon now looks significantly more attractive to me than Google Play.

User behavior

Since Amazon users spend so much more time inside Yoga-pedia – how is their behavior different and how does that translate into measurable value? 

Returning users















Returning users (in red) form the majority of the Amazon session activity – Google Play users are less likely to use the app multiple times – they are “tire kickers’ for the most part. Returning users are roughly equivalent across the two marketplaces even though there are many more Google Play users overall.

Returning users are loyal and a lasting “relationship” can be established – whether you’re selling something, hoping to influence their behavior, or tap their expertise – recurring users are always “premium.” 

Ad Click Through Rate (CTR)


Moving to a more concrete metric – we can compare total impressions, Ad Click through Rates (CTR) as well as Ad Server Errors – for this analysis, we’re just looking at 30 days. Note: in both cases, the apps use AdMob.

Google Play
Amazon
Ad Impressions
53,462
36,625
Ad Delivery Failure
1,853
425
Ad Failure Rate
3.47%
1.16%
Click Through Count
325
603
CTR
0.63%
1.67%

Amazon CTR is 164% higher than the Google Play CTR 

Google Play Ad Delivery Failure rate is (ADFR) 199% higher than the Amazon ADFR 

Now, it’s not really possible to isolate WHY these differences exist – but we can make some educated guesses. For CTR percentages – are Amazon users simply more conditioned or likely to buy stuff as compared to the typical Google Play user?

For ADFR percentages, we’re using the same ad service API, so the ad service itself is not to blame. Are the devices being used by Google Play users (as a total population) of lower quality or are they connecting through networks that are not as reliable?

Regardless, that kind of conversion delta is nothing to ignore.


Upgrades 


As I've already mentioned, in addition to pushing ads, Yoga-pedia is one half of a freemium model where we hope to get these users to upgrade to our commercial version, A Pose for That.

With PreEmptive Analytics, I’ve instrumented the app to track the feature that takes a user back to their respective marketplace (positioned on the app upgrade page). The ratio of unique users (not sessions) to upgrade clicks tells another important story; how likely is an Amazon user versus a Google Play user to upgrade to our paid app?

Google Play
Amazon
Upgrade Marketplace
3,253
1,620
Unique Users
35,312
11,447
Conversion Rate
9.21%
14.15%

Amazon user conversion rate is 54% higher than the Google Play conversion rate. 


User behavior within my app


Yoga-pedia offers its users two locations where a user can click to upgrade; in a “tell me more” about the premium app page and at the end of an “Intro” to the current Yoga-pedia app.

By looking at the split of where users are more likely to “convert,” we can learn something important about the app’s design in general AND the differences between user patterns across marketplaces in particular. As a proportion, Amazon users are more likely to convert from the Intro page than their Google Play counterparts. The Intro page is “deeper” in the app (harder to find) and so this difference in usage pattern may imply a more thorough reading of embedded pages by Amazon users (and this would be supported by the much longer session times).















Exceptions 

Exceptions not only interrupt a user’s experience (with all of the bad things that flow from that), they are also a material expense (support, development, etc.). Given that we are talking about two virtually identical apps – would we expect one version to be more unstable (and therefore expensive) than the other?

Amazon
Google Play
Sessions
41,937
75,346
Errors
1,523
3,150
Errors per session
3.63%
4.18%


Whether or not we expected it, the Google Play version of Yoga-pedia has an error rate per session that is 15% higher than its Amazon equivalent. 

Again – the analytics at this level can’t tell us why – but we can still make an educated guess regarding the differences in phone type and network stability of the two populations. 

Detail 


Of course, if you want to drill down into the specific exceptions (and examine stack traces, device types, carriers, etc – all of that is available through analytics as well.

Here are exception details for the error rates described above. Anyone want to help me debug these?


















Do marketplaces matter? Of course they do. 

Of course, different apps will yield different results – but I don’t think that there can be any question that each marketplace comes with its own unique bundle of user experience, service level, and general appeal – and that, taken together, these attract their own distinct constituencies (communities) with their own behaviors, likes, dislikes and demographics.

App developers who chose to ignore the market, commerce and security characteristics that come with each marketplace will do so at their peril – the differences are real, they should influence your design and marketing requirements, and they will undoubtedly impact your bottom line and your chances of delivering a truly successful app.

Sunday, January 20, 2013

TheMobileYogi users speak!

Here are 25 app reviews of the various mobile apps we've produced at TheMobileYogi across iOS, Android and Windows phone – across studio, paid and free versions and across the Eastern and Western hemispheres. We are so grateful for our users’ support and feedback. – TMY

Fantastic yoga fun

Excellent app for on the go yogis. It's simple and fast, no nonsense approach fits my style. Here's the pose, here's some pointers, now do it. I can make it as hard as I like.

It would be nice to see it optimized for the pad, and maybe get more rotation friendly, too. Keep up the good work!

· by Wild Beth United States

Enjoyed the free version...

So I figured it's time to buy! The poses are really clear and I like the sequences. Always room for improvement so I'm looking forward to the upgrades. Thanks.

by Wild Beth United States

Thanks for upgrading and the kind words “Wild Beth” – TMY

   ticks

finaly a good app ye s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s as s s

by Lourdes Rousseau United States

Awesome Yoga App
I really enjoy "Find a Pose" and "Pose of the Day"! It's so easy to get to Chagrin Yoga's class schedule.
· by dpoes United States

Great app
Awesome for finding a yoga class that fits into your schedule. Great studio and teachers as well.
· by Kelly Lynn United States

We agree - a terrific studio with fantastic teachers! - TMY

  Awesome app!
Love the "pose of the day" along with the detailed description of the proper alignment/techniques! Thanks for this very useful app!
by mcp888 United States

   Chagrin Yoga
Superb app!! Everything I need is here. 5 for sure!!
by Yogageek United States


   Daily dose of Dawn
Sweet motivation for maintaining a daily practice.
by Madrid36 United States


  Chagrin Yoga fan!!
The IPhone app is superb! I love "Is there a pose for that?" and the instructions for "pose of the day"! I also love how the class schedule is available! Fantastic!!:)
· by MoniBoop23 United States


  your portable yoga class
this is way better than 2 yoga apps i paid for...    the price of "free" apps is often pretty high as many intrude your privacy or flood you with adds. not this one. a free cell phone app can probably not substitut a real class if you have no idea of yoga. yoga is a philosophy...people who are looking for a pilates workout kit might consider a different application (; I like it and i think the explanations are easy to follow. Clean simple app that does what it says better than some of the paid yoga apps.
· by wolke.s United States

Thank you for noticing the work we put into our content - TMY


  Peace

I pray a lot about what i should do to keep my body in shape.yoga-pedi has work the best for me and now I can take it with me .
by Linda Barnett United States

  Perfect travel companion
A Pose for That is a great tool when traveling or on the run. It even comes in handy on the subway. Definitely an excellent way to learn more about yoga.
by Nina Adriana United States


 Excellent
This is by far the best yoga app. Whether you are new to yoga or an instructor, you are sure to gain much from it. I am thrilled to have found it!
· by mads1063 United States

 A pose for that
Amazing and surprisingly addicting
· by Obfusc8 United States

 Great for yoga lovers
It's app is great for people who are new to yoga or long time practitioners that wish to refine their skills. This app provides clear pictures, descriptions, and instructions of yoga poses ranging from beginner to advanced. I would highly recommend this app to anyone interested in yoga.
· by Oursisthefury United States

  It's cool application
Kindly and polite instruction, I could begin in comfort. Thx
· by Chappi-n Japan

Arigato Gozaimasu – TMY

  Simply amazing!!
It is the application every yogi should have handy all the time, everywhere.
· by Free Flow Yoga United States

 Yoga in my Pocket
What a wonderful resource! Love both the written and audio directions for pose of the day!
· by hannahbeth00 United States

 Terrific reference app with daily audio lesson streamed to phone
This app offers a long list of poses with supporting images, instruction and an audio lesson streamed daily to the phone - a terrific free resource!
· by Davey128 United States

  Life changing!
This just became apart of my daily routine. I'm finding peace in my iPhone.
· by Nina United States

  nice!
easy to use and follow along... videos really help
love the english and sanskrit options as well
intuitive interface, easily access anywhere
reccomend!
· by Michael L. United States

 Yo
this is so relaxing especially for moms who just want to heel away from their kids for a little bit
· by dhdhrie United States

  Fun but challenging
if your just starting yoga and you arn't that strong I recommend not doing anything past some intermediate. But this is calming. the only con would be it doesn't tell you when 2 stop. but other wise its a really good app
· by bubblyrawr lovr United States

  It's like a smartphone encyclopedia
This app offers dozens and dozens of poses including photos, instruction, recommended flows and even some sample videos. Great reference app - i use it all the time.
· by "Agog for Yoga" United States