Beyond Installs: How Europe and Global App Markets Are Redefining Growth in 2025

From volume to value: the new growth paradigm

The mobile app economy in 2025 has entered a new phase; one defined not by sheer install numbers, but by user value, retention, and engagement quality.
According to Adjust’s Mobile App Growth Report 2025, global app installs grew 11% year-over-year, while user sessions increased 10%, signaling steady expansion across regions. Yet the real story lies beneath the surface: growth is shifting from scale to sustainability.

For years, the race for installs defined success in the mobile world. But today, marketers face a different challenge; how to balance acquisition efficiency with long-term engagement. The updated Adjust Growth Score now integrates not just installs, but also cost efficiency, retention, and session depth; a clear move toward measuring true user value.

Europe: Mature, stable, and value-driven

Europe’s app ecosystem exemplifies this shift.
While APAC leads the world in raw growth, Europe’s focus has turned toward quality over quantity.
Countries like Finland, Denmark, and Norway are now benchmarks for engagement and retention, showing that a mature market can sustain meaningful growth even in a slower acquisition environment.

In contrast to emerging regions, where acquisition costs are low and install volumes high, Europe’s competitive edge lies in user lifetime value (LTV), monetization optimization, and consistent engagement.
In short, Europe isn’t chasing installs. It’s optimizing value.

Regional momentum: different paths to success

Each global region tells a different growth story in 2025:

• INSEA (India, Indonesia, Southeast Asia) leads in scale and cost efficiency, combining low CPIs with immense user volume.

• Japan and Europe’s Nordics highlight long-term retention and engagement, setting benchmarks for user quality.

• LATAM benefits from expanding connectivity and cost-efficient acquisition, becoming one of the fastest-growing mobile regions.

• MENAT (Middle East, North Africa, Türkiye) reflects growth driven by policy innovation and investment, especially in gaming and fintech.

• North America, though saturated, focuses on ARPU optimization and lifecycle engagement, proving that mature markets can still grow by deepening user value.

These findings reinforce a clear global truth: the future of mobile growth is about user depth, not breadth.

The data advantage: acting fast in a complex landscape

With rising privacy regulations and fragmented user journeys, marketers must now distinguish signal from noise.
The ability to act on the right data; to measure real engagement and iterate quickly, separates good performance from great performance.

Adjust’s approach, powered by AI analytics and its new Growth Copilot, aligns with this shift: giving marketers contextual intelligence to make faster, smarter, privacy-compliant decisions.

At Axelwin, we see this evolution as part of a wider transformation across digital commerce, from Shopify and marketplaces to AI-driven marketing ecosystems. Brands that adapt early, measure what matters, and act with agility will shape the next wave of growth.

Looking ahead: sustainable growth through smarter measurement

The global mobile ecosystem is stabilizing, but innovation is accelerating.
Whether in Europe’s retention-led markets or Asia’s scale-driven economies, success now depends on how effectively brands convert data into direction.

The winners of 2025 will be those who:
✅ Invest in retention and engagement alongside acquisition.
✅ Use AI tools to optimize decisions in real time.
✅ Treat data not as a report, but as a growth engine.

(Source: Adjust, The Mobile App Growth Report 2025)

⚡ Insights by Axelwin | Berlin-based eCommerce Growth & Digital Marketing Agency