Before we officially close 2022, what better way to wrap up a year than by looking at some cumulative reports, right? Data.ai, formerly known as ‘App Annie’, has just released its annual overview of app performance trends report, which highlights all the note-worthy developments and shifts in 2022.

The heaping 91-page report is chock-full of app insights across various sectors. You can check out the full report here (NOTE: email sign-up required). 91 pages seem like a rather long read, so we’ll gather the most important insights and tips and provide you with an overview of the most prominent social media trends observed throughout the year.

2022 Rewind

BeReal gets a clear initial mention in the report, which saw a huge increase as users sought a more authentic and simple social media experience. That aside, the overall most downloaded app remains Meta, though TikTok, as expected, wasn’t too far behind. The real challenge for BeReal now is diversifying and further building on the attention it has accrued because, while its unique, authentic offer does wonders for appeal, they’re currently not in the best position to be monetized or  used for generating engagement.

BeReal doesn’t really mind the monetization part, but it will eventually have to seek ways to generate funds. TikTok, on the other hand, is another key talking point, based on the report. Insights into how TikTok generated the most in-app revenue out of any other platform in 2022. While it might not be the best place to shop for real-world items, TikTok had the competition beat when it came to the sales of in-app ‘Coins’ (local virtual in-app currency). These coins were mainly used as donations or to purchase in-stream items from creators. It’s not the boom that TikTok is after, like what its local Chinese version was able to achieve, but it’s somewhat a step in that direction.

Heading on over to Snapchat’s Snapchat+ offer, we can see that it did reasonably well, at least when it came to in-app purchases. Likewise, Instagram’s live-stream badges, which highlight your comments in-stream, also enjoyed relative success, compared to most of its other offers. Twitter Blue is, well, Twitter Blue, but the old one, not the Musk-era one.

Data.ai also notes that the US has now passed Japan and China to become the top market for consumer spending in social apps, which does point to the potential of in-stream shopping and creator monetization. It has been found that consumers are increasingly willing to spend in-app, which can prompt the creation of better payment experiences and options.

Lastly, data.ai also notes that the total time spent using social apps rose by 17% YoY, now surpassing 2 trillion hours on Android phones in 2022 – if you translated this into dollars, you’d have enough money to spend a million each day for the next 5 and a half millennia (5.5k years).

The Wrap

The report isn’t meant to deliver shocking or jaw-dropping news but is mainly there to inform and paint a picture of what social interaction looked like in 2022, and how it’ll likely continue from there throughout this year. It’s recommended that you note the actual numbers and key trends, as they’ll be of great help when mapping out your goals and making decisions in 2023.

Sources 

https://bit.ly/3QBbY1R