Leading Brands in US Transportation Category: Q1 2025 Analysis

Introduction

As we delve into the US transportation category’s digital landscape for Q1 2025, several leading brands emerge with significant monthly deduplicated audiences across their websites and apps. This article examines the performance and trends of Google Maps, Ride with Uber, and Waze, highlighting their audience engagement, app usage, and advertising strategies. Sensor Tower’s comprehensive data insights offer a unique cross-referencing of web, app, and advertising data, providing critical insights into user behavior.

Google Maps

Google Maps maintains a robust digital presence with its website, maps.google.com, and the Google Maps app.

• Audience Trends: From Q4 2024 to Q1 2025, Google Maps experienced a steady increase in web visits, peaking in March with over 685K visits. The monthly deduplicated audience remained stable above 210M throughout the quarter, with the app being the primary platform for users.

• App Engagement: The app’s monthly active users hovered around 26M, showing slight fluctuations but maintaining a stable user base.

• Ad Spend & Channels: Google Maps had minimal advertising activity during this period, with a slight spend on Instagram in November, resulting in about 31K impressions.

Ride with Uber

Ride with Uber’s digital strategy encompasses its website, uber.com, and the Uber - Request a ride app.

• Audience Trends: Uber’s web presence saw consistent visits, with monthly figures reaching over 32M by March. The monthly deduplicated audience remained above 43M, with a notable balance between app and web users.

• App Engagement: The app attracted over 32M monthly active users in March, indicating a strong preference for mobile engagement.

• Ad Spend & Channels: Uber’s monthly advertising expenditure was significant, peaking at over $10M in December 2024. The platform utilized diverse channels, including OTT, TikTok, and Snapchat, achieving billions of impressions.

Waze

Waze’s digital footprint includes its website, waze.com, and the Waze Navigation & Live Traffic app.

• Audience Trends: Waze’s website visits showed variability, with a notable increase in March, reaching over 2.5M visits. The monthly deduplicated audience consistently exceeded 31M, with app users predominantly leading the engagement.

• App Engagement: The app’s monthly active user base remained steady, with numbers around 10M throughout the quarter.

• Ad Spend & Channels: Waze’s advertising activity was modest, with a peak spend in December across Facebook and Instagram, garnering millions of impressions.

Conclusion

The transportation category in the US presents a dynamic digital landscape, with Google Maps, Ride with Uber, and Waze leading in audience engagement and app usage. Sensor Tower’s unparalleled data insights provide a comprehensive view of these trends, emphasizing the importance of cross-platform analysis for understanding user behavior. As the digital landscape evolves, these insights become crucial for strategic decision-making in the transportation sector. Sensor Tower’s consolidated data offers unique advantages, empowering decision-makers with actionable intelligence.