Fiksu: App Store downloads for December up 44 per cent

The App Store had its third consecutive record-breaking month in terms of download volume in December, according to new data from the mobile marketing company Fiksu.

The average daily download volume among the top 200 free iOS apps was 9.2 million in December - up from November's 8.1 million and October's 7.8 million. Track back a year and the growth is more impressive still, with daily downloads rising 44 per cent over December 2013.

Fiksu CEO Micah Adler called the pace of growth, "an indicator of what we call the 'the new reality of apps.'"

"Consumer demand across iOS and Android is rising, which draws significant attention from major brands who are putting cost pressure on the games and other mobile-first apps," he said in the company's latest report.

"We expect these factors will not only elevate costs for marketers, but also drive an evolution of marketing strategies. In 2015, just buying mobile ads won't be enough to drive usage - app marketers will need robust strategies based on customer data and precision targeting to find the right users for their apps."

However, December's figures indicated a break between the Cost Per Install Index (CPI) for games relative to apps. With iOS and Android apps, CPI increased by 42 per cent and 47 per cent respectively. However, CPI for iOS and Android games actually declined by 15 per cent and 6 per cent.

"This division points to increased competition among top-tier brands during the holiday period, as well as suggesting that some game publishers opted to limit their investment in the holiday battleground this year."