AppsFlyer drops knowledge to prepare mobile developers for the holiday download rush

The Friday after American Thanksgiving is one of the biggest days of the year for video game sales, but on mobile, Christmas Day is far more important. But for developers looking to maximize their revenues, they need to understand the differences between consumers on iOS and Android.

That’s where AppsFlyer wants to step in and help. The mobile marketing-analytics platform has released a study that exposes the variations in behavior across smartphone operating systems. In its research, AppsFlyer pulls data from 50 million app installs that should help studios understand the $36.6 billion mobile-gaming industry.

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“In planning for the holiday season, it is critical that app marketers understand the differences in holiday activity for iOS and Android users,” AppsFlyer marketing vice president Ran Avrahamy said in a statement. “Our data will help marketers understand the holiday trends in order to take full advantage of them and drive the greatest revenue in the remainder of 2016.”

The company’s research found that competition for players increases during the late December holidays and continues through the start of the new year. That’s because people often get new smartphones and tablets as gifts, and they spend their time off tinkering with their devices and installing apps.

Christmas time leads to a 100 percent spike in non-organic installs for gaming apps. Organic installs also jump 65 percent, and in-app purchases increase 22 percent.

But before that end of the year rush, marketers can capture some attention by embracing Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas themes for their games.

The company explains it in full in its research, which you can find right here.