Apps Like Pinterest, Twitter, Netflix See Surge In Downloads During Coronavirus

With few entertainment options during the coronavirus pandemic, locked-down mobile users around the globe turned to app stores.

Global Google Play downloads spiked 35% year-over-year and 18% sequentially in the second quarter, with net in-app revenue rising 18% and 5%, respectively. Downloads of Apple products saw less dramatic growth, with 23% year-over-year and 2% sequential download increases and 20% and 3% in-app revenue growth.

A breakdown of the downloads by BofA Securities reveals how cooped up mobile users are spending their time. 

BofA's Social Data

Lockdown measures made socialization digital and drove significant increases in social media downloads.

Pinterest Inc PINS popped a record 78% year-over-year, Twitter Inc TWTR 64%, Facebook, Inc. FB 5% and Instagram 33%. Snap Inc SNAP downloads fell 13%.

“Y/Y growth was impacted by tough comps vs the 2Q’19 viral filter uptick with 2Q’20 total downloads seeing 2nd highest levels since the IPO quarter in 1Q’17,” analyst Justin Post said in a Thursday note. 

On a quarter-over-quarter basis, Twitter rose 17% and Snap 2%, while Facebook was flat and Instagram fell 7%, the analyst said. 

“Social media applications in our coverage universe showed continued strength in 2Q with Snap, Pinterest, and Twitter all growing downloads from strong 1Q’20 bases.”  

NFLX & Chill Data

The coronavirus didn’t halt online dating. Tinder downloads rose 12% on an annual basis but fell 13% quarter-over-quarter, while Hinge increased 47% year-over-year.

Netflix Inc NFLX downloads increased 59% year-over-year and 6% sequentially, driven by growth in the international markets and weighed by flat U.S. downloads.

Home Office & E-Commerce Data

Remote work drove Dropbox Inc DBX downloads up 17% year-over-year, while dine-in restaurant shutdowns led to a 30% increase in GrubHub Inc GRUB downloads.

E-commerce apps also profited from store closures, with a 34% pop in RealReal Inc REAL and 92% increase in Wayfair Inc W downloads.

Photo courtesy of Pinterest.