Companies Forcing Consumers to Download Apps

Eighty percent of smartphone users have downloaded apps because they were required to, not because they wanted to, and 72 percent felt at least mildly annoyed by the experience, Clutch Research reports.

As app fatigue becomes a defining force in mobile behavior, businesses must rethink how they earn a place on users’ home screens, the firm concludes.

Users Are Selective and Getting More So

The data reveals a widening gap between installed apps and those actually used. While 64 percent of users have between 10 and 50 apps on their phones, 46 percent engage with only five to 10 per day. Nearly half (45 percent) only download an app when they truly need one, and 18 percent refuse to download altogether when a browser alternative is available.

“Forced downloads don’t create loyal users. Businesses that treat the download as the finish line are missing the point entirely. The real opportunity is what happens in the first few minutes after someone opens your app for the first time,” says Hannah Hicklen, a Clutch analyst.

The First Few Minutes Are Make or Break

Clutch also found that the highest-risk moment isn’t at download; it’s immediately after. Businesses that fail to deliver value in the first five to 10 minutes of a user’s experience rarely get a second chance, it says, noting that 54 percent of users say they’ll delete an app once they’re done using it, but 77 percent will keep one that becomes part of their routines.

Despite widespread frustration, 59 percent of users still prefer mobile apps over mobile websites, signaling that the opportunity is real, but only for businesses that deliver on it, Clutch also found. Success, it says, hinges on low-friction onboarding, a clear value proposition, and a notification strategy that serves users rather than overwhelms them, noting that 63 percent of users default to allowing notifications, but 38 percent keep an app specifically because it doesn’t send too many.

More Than Half of All Ads to Be on Social Media by 2030

Social media advertising market expected to reach $640 billion, Omdia finds.

Social media’s share of total online advertising is expected to increase by 11 percentage points, from 33 percent to 44 percent, by 2030, making it one of the fastest-growing advertising segments alongside retail media, according to a new report from Omdia.

The research firm expects social media advertising revenue to rise at a compound annual growth rate of 12 percent over the next five years, reaching $640 billion by the end of 2030, it says.

Rising user engagement, advertisers’ growing preference for full-funnel solutions, and the proliferation of self-serve platforms are key factors underpinning social media platforms’ sustained performance.

Social media advertising revenue is increasingly being driven by video formats such as Reels, TikTok, Shorts, and Stories. In 2025, video accounted for 60 percent of total social media advertising revenue, according to Omdia. Platforms are not only expanding their video advertising revenue but also capturing budgets historically directed toward other digital channels, including online publisher inventory and broadcasters’ digital offerings.

Over time, increases in high-value video ad load, improved commerce capabilities, and clearer segmentation between performance-driven and premium formats will drive additional revenue growth for social platforms.

Crucially, 90 percent of global social media advertising revenue is generated by just half a dozen apps, namely Facebook, Instagram, Douyin, YouTube, TikTok, and WeChat, highlighting the segment’s highly concentrated market structure, according to Omdia. Meta effectively dominates through ownership of both Facebook and Instagram apps. Together, they accounted for 54 percent of the social media advertising revenue in 2025, rising to almost 70 percent when China is excluded.

“AI-driven targeting and recommendation algorithms are turbocharging the advantage of these big players,” says Kia Ling Teoh, principal analyst at Omdia. “These capabilities favor ‘walled garden’ platforms with deep user data and sophisticated computing infrastructure, locking out smaller players and funneling ad dollars to the top.”

However, maintaining this dominance will require a balanced approach to both monetization and user experience. Over-saturating feeds with ads can alienate users and undermine long-term engagement. Sustained growth will depend on balancing AI driven ad optimization with preserving the user experience, Omdia says.