The app economy has done well during the coronavirus pandemic but some categories have done better than others. According to a new report by app analytics platform Sensor Tower, one category of app that has done exceptionally well are home improvement apps.
In the United States, first-time installs of the top home improvement apps doubled year-over-year between the months of March and September. Monthly active users also grew by 35% during that time.
The report notes:
“Our analysis of the top home improvement brand apps Home Depot, Lowe’s, and Menards showed that their installs across U.S. app stores began climbing in March. First-time downloads of these apps peaked in April, collectively reaching 1.5 million installs. This figure represents 184 percent growth from January 2020 and is also a record for the most monthly installs the cohort has seen. Additionally, the doubling of installs these apps witnessed following widespread enactment of stay-at-home orders across the U.S. is substantially greater than the modest 13 percent increase they saw between the same periods in 2018 and 2019.”
The boom in interest in home improvement
While the high of April has not been matched later in the year, the overall interest in these apps is still way above what it was before the pandemic. A bit like the boom in videoconferencing apps while people are working from home, this isn’t a massive surprise. Just anecdotally, almost everyone I know wound up doing more DIY repairs while they were stuck home this year. Similarly, with travel limited, many have likely invested a bit more than usual in home improvements.
This year, both app downloads and spending have boomed. Sensor Tower’s report covers both the iOS App Store and Android’s Google Play store. It doesn’t break down app downloads based on the two platforms. But, if the home improvement category is anything like the rest of their respective app stores, it’s pretty much guaranteed that home improvement apps on iOS are the ones raking in the most money.
What have been your experiences of home improvement apps during lockdown? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: Sensor Tower
