Applause, the mobile app analytics service that uses more than 60 million reviews to score 1 million iOS and Android apps, today announced the launch of the Applause Index. This index offers the first-ever way to measure and monitor the state of user satisfaction in the mobile apps economy. The index provides a daily look at how users feel about bellwether iOS and Android apps and assigns a weighted, cumulative index score similar to those used to measure the overall stock market. This enables journalists, analysts and company leaders to understand trends in the macro apps economy.
The Applause Index also includes a full complement of sub-indices that measure specific categories of market-representative apps across ten categories, including Gaming; Lifestyle; Entertainment, Travel and Content.
The Applause Index is calculated based upon the Applause Score of 60 iOS and 60 Android apps that meet specific selection criteria. It then applies a weighted formula to produce a daily cumulative score across the selected apps. The result is a top-down, representative look at what users think about the apps economy across categories of apps; across app stores; and over time.
“The apps economy is driven by how effectively companies connect with users. Through app store ratings and social media, those users decide which apps and companies win or lose,” said uTest Labs’ Matt Johnston. “The Applause Index fills a need we’ve heard expressed – from business leaders, from journalists, and from top-tier analysts – seeking a way to accurately track and measure overall user sentiment and satisfaction in the apps economy.”
SELECTING APPS FOR THE APPLAUSE INDEX
The selection process for the Applause Index was data-driven and rigorous. The data scientists who helped create Applause did extensive research into how financial indices were built, weighted and reported, and the Applause Index was created using the same process and premises. After extensive modeling, specific criteria were selected, including:
- Number of app versions and app reviews
- Length of time an app has been available
- Performance data across Applause Attributes
- Representative allocation across sub-index categories
- 100% overlap between the list of the top 60 iOS and top 60 Android apps
“The early adoption for Applause has exceeded our wildest expectations. It has quickly become an essential part of how brand and technical leaders measure their app success,” added Johnston. “But one of the common refrains we’ve heard from early users and those who cover the apps economy is for a way to measure the ups and downs of the overarching app market. The Applause Index solves this problem in a way that no other data source can.”
SCORING THE APPLAUSE INDEX
To come up with the overall Index scores for iOS and Android, as well as the scores of the sub-indices, the Applause team once again applied deep mathematics to ensure the result was more than just the total of the selected apps’ Applause Scores. The selected apps were subjected to a complex weighting process similar to those of popular stock market indices.
THE SUB-INDICES
Because the Apple and Google Play app stores use different category structures, the Applause Index maps similar apps and categories to create 10 sub-indices. Each of these is comprised of 15 iOS and 15 Android apps. The Applause category-specific indices are as follows:
- Business & Productivity (business, finance, utilities, tools)
- Content, News & Books (news, content, books, reference)
- Education (education tools and classes, science)
- Entertainment (TV, casual, movies, entertainment-themed)
- Games (games, sports games, arcade & action)
- Health (health, health & fitness)
- Lifestyle (shopping, social, food & drink)
- Music & Multimedia (music, video and photo tools)
- Sports (major sports leagues and sports news)
- Travel (travel, transportation, locale-specific resources)
MOVING FORWARD
The Applause Index and sub-indices will be updated daily, and the list of apps will be formally reviewed each quarter – with some apps being added or removed, depending upon market trends. Further, the company will issue free Applause Index research reports on a regular basis.
“The Applause Index marks a new day for the apps economy,” added uTest CEO Doron Reuveni. “Apps are everywhere and touch nearly every aspect of our lives. Now there is a tool, based on rigorous math and supported by a dedicated team, which enables analysis of how users perceive and impact that economy as a whole.”