AI-Powered Strategies and Smarter Targeting Drive Evolution in Shopping Apps, Adjust Report Reveals

Adjust has released its 2025 Shopping App Insights Report, highlighting a pivotal shift in mobile commerce strategies as brands increasingly leverage AI-driven targeting to optimize user acquisition and engagement. Despite a 14% year-over-year decline in global e-commerce app installs during the first half of 2025, session volume rose by 2%, signaling a strategic pivot toward attracting higher-value users rather than chasing volume. This shift is further reflected in a 29% increase in reattribution share for e-commerce apps compared to 2023—indicating that brands are investing more in re-engaging existing users. The trend underscores a growing focus on retention and lifetime value over broad, one-size-fits-all acquisition campaigns. AI is at the heart of this transformation. By enabling smarter campaign testing, granular audience segmentation, and hyper-personalized experiences at scale, AI allows marketers to act faster and with greater confidence. “In today’s mobile commerce landscape, trust is key to lasting growth,” said Tiahn Wetzler, Director of Content & Insights at Adjust. “The most successful apps create experiences that are relevant, respectful, and consistent across every touchpoint. It’s not just about better targeting or speed—it’s about delivering real value with every impression, click, and session.” Regional dynamics reveal emerging market dominance. Latin America led the charge with 18% more installs and a 27% rise in sessions year-over-year. The Asia-Pacific region also showed strong momentum, with 13% growth in installs and 2% in sessions. In contrast, mature markets—including Europe, MENA, and North America—experienced stagnation, pointing to market saturation and changing consumer behaviors. Marketplace apps continue to outperform standalone e-commerce apps in engagement. While shopping apps accounted for over 75% of global e-commerce installs from 2024 to H1 2025, they generated only 36% of sessions. Meanwhile, marketplaces—despite representing just 20% of installs—drove 60% of sessions. Average session duration for e-commerce apps fell to 9.89 minutes in H1 2025, down from 10.23 minutes in 2024, while marketplace apps maintained the longest average at 10.69 minutes. Day 1 retention for marketplaces stood at 25%, compared to a 13% drop in e-commerce app retention. Costs remain a challenge, with the global cost per install (CPI) for e-commerce apps reaching $0.99 in Q1 2025—slightly higher than the $1.01 for shopping apps and $0.89 for marketplaces. However, global click-through rates held steady at 2%, suggesting consistent user engagement across channels despite rising acquisition costs. Cross-platform integration is emerging as a key driver of success. Mobile web continues to serve as a high-intent entry point, making seamless web-to-app experiences essential. Shopping apps now average 7 integration partners per app in H1 2025—up from 6 in 2023—reflecting a broader strategy of channel diversification and omnichannel optimization. For deeper insights and actionable best practices, the full report is available for download. Adjust, an AppLovin (NASDAQ: APP) company, empowers marketers worldwide to measure, optimize, and grow their apps across platforms. Its AI-powered analytics, deep linking, and engagement solutions help businesses—from startups to established brands—achieve measurable ROI in a complex digital landscape.