Seema Shah · August 2024
Audio Apps Keep the Groove Going in 2024
Despite an uncertain economic environment, audio apps are seeing US downloads and MAUs grow, potentially indicating their strength against larger industry headwinds. Sensor Tower data shows the importance of holiday gifting across the audio marketing cohort, as digital marketing spend and app usage spikes during the fourth quarter of the year.
Key Takeaways:
The importance of holiday gifting buying is noticeable in the audio marketing cohort’s US ad spend, as 4Q saw the highest percentage of spend throughout the year including 37%, 31%, and 39% in 2023, 2022, and 2021, respectively
US ad spend across the audio marketing cohort increased by 31% HoH in 2H23, driven by Marshall and Harman International, up 400% and ~300% HoH, respectively, to capture holiday shoppers
MAUs across the audio app cohort are seeing steady growth over the past year, up an average of 27% YoY as more users are leveraging apps to connect and manage their audio devices. JBL’s Headphone App has seen the strongest growth over the past year, up an average of 90% YoY, potential indicating the success of JBL’s recent campaigns; including the JBL concert series as well as its JBL land in Roblox
According to ST’s Audience Insights, JBL Headphones has one of the highest concentrations of young users, as approximately 34% of JBL Headphones app users are between 18-24 years old, potentially indicating that JBL’s campaigns are focused on attracting a younger audience
MAUs for the audio app cohort have grown by 30%, 19%, 18%, and 9% QoQ, respectively, in the fourth quarter over the last four years, as the end of the year continues to see the highest jump in usage as consumers set up their new devices. Sonos is one of the only public brands within the audience cohort and there is a strong correlation between its reported YoY global revenue and ST’s US MAUs, indicating that growth in MAUs may be connected to new sales
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