This week's indication that the unlockdown is happening comes from the Mobile Download Index. In the last year, one category grew more than all others in the U.S. App Store — Travel.
The Mobile Download Index looks at downloads of the top apps over time and compares them to a date in the past to show how the category is behaving over time. And over time, the Travel category has behaved very well.
Travel apps took a massive hit during lockdowns because they, for the most part, weren't necessary. Now that things are opening up, airports and roads are busy, and cruise ships are making their way to port, it makes sense that demand will return.
Looking at some of the top apps in the travel category, we can see that popular apps like Uber and Lyft have nearly doubled when compared to a year ago. New variants, slower vaccination rate, and a growing infection rate still mean we're not out of the woods just yet, which means that when we are, I expect downloads of apps in this category to grow even higher than before. Which means more apps will compete for those downloads.
Check out the Mobile Download Index
The same seven apps held the same seven download spots. Revenue told a different story, and a short-drama app from Singapore crashed the top 10.
MLB app downloads jumped 43% this February while revenue climbed to $3.5M, signaling a stronger season ahead for baseball on mobile.