MobileAction is excited to present the Top 10 Retail Apps, showcasing leaders in user acquisition performance in the UK App Store. The list highlights those who excel in mobile visibility through both paid and organic channels.

Taking the lead is JD Sports, crowned as the top shopping app for user acquisition, propelled by an impressive Apple Search Ads visibility score. Following closely is Very, securing the second spot with a variety of active ad creatives and positioning them as the holder of the highest Ad Intelligence score in the list. Farfetch claims the third position, showcasing strong metrics from both organic and paid strategies. Not to be overlooked, ASOS earns its place on the list, outshining competitors with exceptional ASO scores.

Let’s take a look at the highlights of how the top apps managed to outperform others.

JD Sports

  • JD Sports has an impressive ASO score, with 61% of their organic keywords ranking in the top 30. 
retail apps
Top Advertisers List UK – Search Result Ads 
  • JD Sports actively bids on 180 keywords in their search result ads. Impressively, more than 25% of these keywords exceed a volume of 40. Their paid keywords cover their own brand, competitor brands, and generic terms, demonstrating their planned and comprehensive keyword strategy. Notably, their success in enhancing app visibility is attributed to leveraging the Search tab ads. These strategies have made them the highest Apple Search Ads score holder on the list.

 

Very

  • They have a collection of 1,432 organic keywords, and a notable 56% of these keywords have found their place comfortably within the top 30 rankings. It’s important to highlight that most of their organic downloads originate from their own brand keywords, accounting for 86% of their overall organic traffic.
retail apps
ASO Report/Report by Ranking – Very: Fashion 
  • Currently, they do not have any live ad creatives. However, throughout Q3 2023, they’ve introduced 24 unique ad creatives, generating significant impressions and leading them to achieve the highest Ad Intelligence score among retail apps in the UK market.

 

Farfetch

  • Farfetch has 776 organic keywords, and 10 of them drive most downloads. Of those top 10, just 3 are branded terms. This shows Farfetch’s strength in ranking for high-value generic and competitor keywords, attracting searchers not specifically seeking their app. Their influential presence for generic and competitive terms gives Farfetch an edge over fashion app competitors.
retail apps
Organic Download History – Farfetch
  • To boost App Store visibility, Farfetch bids on 101 keywords and utilizes 1 custom product pages that outperforms their default page. This combined paid search, and optimized product page strategy enables Farfetch to get their app in front of more motivated users and drive conversions.
retail apps
Custom product pages created by Farfetch

Boohoo

  • Boohoo has an organic presence with 1,375 keywords, over 66% of which place them in the top 30 rankings. This organic visibility includes high rankings for competitor brand keywords, enabling them to intercept searches even when users aren’t looking for their brand specifically.
retail apps
ASO Report/Report by Ranking – boohoo
  • Boohoo’s Apple Search Ads strategy stands out on two key fronts: a  collection of 167 keywords for their search result ads and leveraging to create custom product pages exclusively for competitor brand keywords. 
  • While they’re not currently running any ads, the 4 they created last quarter have delivered great impressions.

 

By Rotation

  • They have a pool of 623 organically ranked keywords, and their standout achievement is generating over 95% of their organic downloads from competitor brand keywords.
  • At the moment, they have 156 live ads, a standout achievement when you consider the category average. What sets them apart is their blend of diverse strategies in crafting this impressive creative portfolio.
retail apps
Creative Analysis of By Rotation

ASOS

  • ASOS currently has 1,571 organically ranked keywords and a solid 75% securing top 30 positions. Most of their organic downloads flow from 14 keywords, spanning generic, brand, and competitor terms, securing ASOS the highest ASO score in the market.
retail apps
ASO Report/Report by Ranking – ASOS
  • Currently, they do not have any live ads. However, throughout Q3 2023, they’ve introduced 124 unique ad creatives.

Curious about how your app compares to others in the market? MobileAction is a useful resource for in-depth competitor analysis. It helps you understand market trends and fine-tune your strategy. Book a demo with MobileAction to gain additional insights to strengthen your position.

Methodology

The ranking of top advertisers is determined by analyzing ASO Scores, Apple Search Ads Scores, and Ad Intelligence Scores obtained from MobileAction’s extensive dataset from Q4 2022.

This in-depth analysis has been made possible through MobileAction’s offerings, including Apple Search Ads campaign management and comprehensive app store marketing intelligence. Our platform actively tracks over 5 million keywords, providing invaluable insights, and boasts a library of 69+ million ad creatives from 50+ ad networks globally. These robust features empower our analyses by harnessing a wealth of data from various apps and creative strategies, ensuring a thorough and insightful examination of the retail app advertising landscape.