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Mobile Application Updates: User Responses and Unintended Consequences

모바일 어플리케이션 업데이트 분석: 사용자 반응과 의도하지 않은 결과를 중심으로

  • Received : 2019.02.22
  • Accepted : 2019.04.15
  • Published : 2019.05.31

Abstract

The updates in the mobile application market have been widely used as strategic marketing tools. It has been used to (i) improve the visibility of an application, (ii) enhance the value of an applicationand strengthen the loyalty of current users, and (iii) expand the market by adding additional features or functions. A number of studies and anecdotal evidence have highlighted the importance of these updates in the mobile application market. However, not all updates in the mobile application market have been successful. Snapchat, for instance, lost 3 million users in three months after it rolled out a major update in November 2017. In this study, we investigate the impact of updates on the usage patterns of users in the mobile application market using MAU (Monthly Active Users), usage frequency, and usage time that we collected from a company that provides mobile application usage statistics.

모바일 어플리케이션 시장에서 업데이트는 (i) 어플리케이션의 가시성을 높이거나, (ii) 기존 사용자들의 충성도를 높이고 가치를 제고하거나, (iii) 기능 추가를 통해 시장을 확대하는 등 다양한 목적을 위한 전략적 마케팅 도구로 활용되고 있다. 많은 연구와 사례들은 이러한 업데이트가 모바일 어플리케이션 시장에서 생존하기 위해 중요하다는 점을 강조하고 있다. 그러나, 일부 다른 사례들은 업데이트가 오히려 사용자들의 반발과 이탈을 불러오기도 한다는 것을 보여주었다. 본 연구는 모바일 어플리케이션의 실제 사용량 데이터를 통해 어플리케이션의 이용 목적과 시장경쟁 환경에 따라 업데이트가 사용자들의 어플리케이션 이용패턴에 사용자수 측면에서, 이용빈도수 측면에서, 그리고 이용시간 측면에서 어떠한 영향을 주는지를 분석하였다.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

This study is (partially) supported by Korea University Business School Research Grant.

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