marketingskills/skills/aso/references/benchmarks.md

# ASO Benchmarks & Conversion Data

Industry data from AppTweak, SplitMetrics, Sensor Tower, and others. Updated March 2026.

## Conversion Rate Benchmarks by Category

**Average CVR (page view to install):**

- iOS overall: **25.0%**
- Google Play overall: **27.3%**

| Category          | iOS CVR        | Google Play CVR |
| ----------------- | -------------- | --------------- |
| Navigation        | 115%\*         | --              |
| Auto & Vehicles   | --             | 70.5%           |
| Business          | 66.7%          | --              |
| Music (Games)     | --             | 45.0%           |
| Utilities & Tools | --             | 36.8%           |
| Shopping          | --             | 27.7%           |
| Health & Fitness  | --             | 23.2%           |
| Finance           | --             | 19.7%           |
| Food & Drink      | --             | 13.1%           |
| Games (Board)     | 1.2%           | 7.3%            |
| Games (overall)   | 3-5% realistic | --              |

\*Above 100% = some users install from search without visiting product page.

Source: AppTweak 2025 Benchmarks Report (H1 2024 data, US market)

## Rating Impact on Conversion

| Rating Change              | Conversion Impact                       |
| -------------------------- | --------------------------------------- |
| 3.0 to 4.0 stars           | **+89%**                                |
| 4.0 to 4.5 stars           | **+20-30%**                             |
| 4.3 to 4.6 stars           | **+22-28%** (Finance, Health)           |
| 0.4-star gap vs competitor | **~25% lost installs** from same search |
| 3-star vs 5-star app       | **50% fewer conversions** for 3-star    |

**Critical thresholds:**

- **4.0 stars** = minimum for Apple featuring, user trust, conversion viability
- **4.5+ stars** = optimal zone. Sweet spot: 4.1-4.9
- **5.0 stars** can look suspicious to users
- **Below 3.5** = sharp visibility drop on both stores
- **79% of users** check ratings before downloading
- **50% reject** apps below 3 stars

Sources: AppFollow, MobileAction, Sensor Tower, Troof.ai

## Preview Video Impact

**iOS:** +20-40% conversion lift (video autoplays on product page)
**Google Play:** Minimal lift (only ~6% of visitors tap to play)

- Autoplay introduced in iOS 11 caused **+47% conversion jump**
- Users who watch video are **2x more likely to install**
- Average watch time: **4-6.5 seconds** (first 5 seconds are critical)
- 50%+ of viewers watch to the end

**Takeaway:** Video is high-ROI on iOS, low-ROI on Google Play.

Sources: StoreMaven, SplitMetrics, Leanplum

## Screenshot Impact

- **90% of users** do not scroll past the 3rd screenshot
- Average scroll rate: only **17%**
- Users spend **6-10 seconds** scanning before deciding
- **First screenshot decides everything**
- Well-designed screenshots lift conversion **20-35%**
- A/B test winners see **10-25% improvement**
- **Optimal count:** 4-5 for utility apps, 5-6 for complex apps
- More than 6: diminishing returns, can cause decision paralysis
- Top 200 apps update screenshots **2-4 times/year**
- Top Google Play games update visuals **up to 8x/year**
- **57% of top games** A/B tested screenshots at least 2x in 2024

Sources: AppTweak, ASOMobile, Sensor Tower

## Custom Product Pages (Apple CPPs)

- Average conversion lift: **+5.9% for apps**, **+3.5% for games**
- Best cases: up to **+8.6%**
- Organic referral: **+2.5 percentage points** (156% lift vs 1.6% baseline)
- Apple Ads CPP CVR: **55.8% in 2024** (up from 42.1% in 2023)
- **Only 31% of apps** and **26% of games** use CPPs (low adoption = opportunity)
- Screenshot reordering alone produced **+16.6% installs** in one case

Sources: AppTweak, SplitMetrics, MobileAction

## Custom Store Listings (Google Play CSLs)

- Up to **50 custom versions** per app
- Case study (Lockwood/Avakin Life): **+57% CVR** over 2 months
- Can target inactive/churned users (28+ days no activity)

Source: Phiture, MobileAction

## In-App Events (Apple)

- **55% of top 200 apps** use them regularly
- +**15-20% more impressions** from editorial/browse placements
- One case: **+124% surge** in total impressions
- One case: **+50% impressions AND first-time downloads**
- Search CVR uptick: **+10.3%**
- Re-downloads increase: **+15.5%**
- **Boost is short-lived** -- KPIs drop to baseline when event ends
- Optimal: **2-4 active events per month**

Sources: Phiture, AppTweak, Appalize

## Promotional Content (Google Play)

- Apps with featuring see **2x explore acquisitions** (official Google)
- +2% 28-day active users and +4% revenue on average

Source: Google Play Console documentation

## A/B Test Impact Thresholds

| Improvement | Classification                     |
| ----------- | ---------------------------------- |
| >10%        | Strong winner -- apply immediately |
| 5-10%       | Meaningful winner                  |
| 2-5%        | Marginal winner                    |
| <2%         | Noise -- not significant           |

Source: SplitMetrics, MobileAction