Dive Brief:
- After a meteoric rise in popularity within a week of its July launch, augmented reality app Pokemon Go is no longer dominating mobile user attention as it once did, according to Bloomberg.
- Lookin at key metrics from Sensor Tower, SurveyMonkey, and Apptopia, Axiom Capital Management Senior Analyst Victor Anthony found that the app's active daily users, downloads, engagement and time spent are all down from their peaks and are on a downward trend overall.
- Investors and executives at other popular mobiles apps, such as Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter and Tinder, were all concerned that Pokemon Go was taking up time that mobile users would otherwise spent on their apps. "The declining trends should assuage investor concerns about the impact of Pokémon Go on time spent on the above named companies," Anthony wrote in a note.
Dive Insight:
Pokemon Go was the viral craze of the summer, but apparently it didn't last long. Just a short month-and-a-half after its initial launch, the mobile augmented reality game has seen a marked decline in key metrics, showing that users' interest in the app is starting to fade.
The game sparked a frenzy among marketers as it sensationally took off: Some savvy retailers tried to attract Pokemon Go players to their locations with special offers and rare Pokemon, while others speculated about the possibility of sponsored in-game locations.
While the game's immense popularity may not last, its impact on marketing, mobile and gaming could resonate for years to come. The game offered a blueprint on how augmented reality can be used in marketing to tie the on- and offline worlds, and showed how willing people are to engage with augmented reality elements on their mobile devices. Given how ubiquitous the app became and the media attention it received for its innovative use of augmented reality, marketers may find it easier to unlock budget dollars for cutting edge augmented reality or virtual reality marketing campaigns.
