OREANDA-NEWS. August 28, 2015. The cost to acquire loyal users dropped in July, according to the Fiksu Indexes published today by Fiksu, Inc., the data-fueled mobile marketing technology company. The cost per loyal user (CPLU) of \\$2.98 represents a decrease of 7 percent since last month, and a 51 percent increase year-over-year. In contrast, the Cost Per Install Index (CPI) rose, reflecting the result of the narrow targeting activity from advertisers. July's results show that marketers are willing to absorb higher costs to get in front of the right audiences.

More specifically, on iOS, CPI increased to \\$1.43, a rise of 24 percent since June and an increase of 16 percent since last year. On Android, CPI rose to \\$2.73, up 29 percent since last month and a substantial 115 percent year over year. Taken together, the decrease in CPLU and increase in CPI suggest that while marketers are spending more to target the right audiences, that targeting tactic is ultimately proving more effective in acquiring valuable long-term users.

On the volume side, app downloads decreased by 10 percent over last month to 7.5 million daily downloads according to the Fiksu App Store Competitive Index, which tracks the average aggregate daily downloads of the top 200 free iOS apps. Typical summer slowdowns have decreased supply, which is another contributing factor to the rise in CPI.

"July's results reveal the most important metric that marketers should be focusing on: the cost to acquire a loyal user. This month is indicative of what it looks like when marketers spend smarter," said Micah Adler, CEO of Fiksu. "We can see month over month that marketers are still getting accustomed to this shift in audience targeting; but they are beginning to realize the power of putting the right messages in front of the right people at the right time."

Looking ahead to next month, marketers should prepare to compete given the likely influx of in-app inventory. With the iOS 9 launch and new iPhones expected in the first few weeks of September, it will be a competitive time for advertisers who want to reach users as they are installing apps on their new devices. To prepare for the transition, this month will be a good time to initiate re-engagement with existing users to ensure your app is not removed or replaced.