- Industries
BrandsLaunch and accelerate your mobile channel growth
GamingStay ahead of the latest mobile gaming trends
FinanceInform investment and strategic decisions
Publishers & Ad TechIdentify and target the best leads for your solution
- Sensor Tower
Ad IntelligenceStreamline campaigns with network and creative data
App IntelligenceBuild mobile growth with key competitive analysis
Consumer IntelligenceAnalyze granular, true-to-life mobile usage data
Store IntelligenceGenerate deep insights with accurate app store data
Usage IntelligenceMap industry-based spend across digital ad channels
Integrations & APIImprove the way your application talks
Game IntelligenceDrill down into mobile gaming strategies
- Pathmatics
PathmaticsReveal insights about your market, competition, and customers
DashboardMarketing intelligence that helps marketers make smarter decisions
ConnectDigital ad intelligence data to power your systems, tools, and models
Retail Media InsightsSee how your competitors are investing in retail media networks
- Audience Insights
Audience InsightsTarget audiences based on what they actually do.
SENSOR TOWER · SEEMA SHAH · JUNE 2024
QSR Active Users Rise Despite Elevated Prices and Competition
Sensor Tower data shows that burger chains experienced the strongest growth in MAUs over the past few years, driven by outsized investments in advertising by top players in the space. Increased promotions, higher prices and app development in the QSR space have made it far more difficult to effectively acquire and retain customers on mobile. Chick-fil-a is the most popular breakfast option on mobile, while Domino's is a top choice for dinner based on app usage per time of day.
Key Takeaways:
Per ST data, burger chains have dominated US Mobile App MAU market share, representing 48% of all mobile app MAUs in the QSR space through 2Q24 QTD, up from 38% in 2019, while pizza chains ceded share
McDonald’s has led all of its peers in the US burger chain cohort both in the sheer size of its user base and its levels of user growth (excluding Hardee’s), with its mobile app MAUs increasing an average of 19% YoY from 1Q23-2Q24 QTD
McDonalds’ strong growth may have been driven by its outsized advertising investment as it represents 40% of total US ad spend in the burger chain cohort, double that of Burger King and Wendy’s and over 4x for each of the remaining burger chains
Domino’s is the leading US pizza app, with ~8mn US MAUs, vs <2mn for its rivals, likely driven by frequent promotions and unique features such as its patented pizza tracker
Domino’s boasts best-in-class retention and stickiness, along with the lowest levels of churn relative to its pizza peers; through 2Q24 QTD, roughly 58% of Domino’s US MAUs were retained users, compared to 52% for Papa Johns and 51% for Pizza Hut, suggesting that a larger portion of Domino’s users return to the app on a regular basis
Per ST data, 21% of Chick-fil-a users typically open the app during breakfast (5AM to 10AM), compared to 12% for McDonald’s, 11% each for Taco Bell and Subway, and 3% for Domino’s during the same window, which suggests that Chick-fil-a is the most popular breakfast option in the QSR space
For more information, request the full report from reports@sensortower.com.
