Facebook, Twitter Investors Can Breathe A Sigh Of Relief As Data Shows Pokémon Go Usage May Have Peaked

Given the surge in usage of Nintendo Co., Ltd’s NTDOY Pokémon Go app since its launch in July, there has been investor concern around the app “detracting from time spent on other mobile focused apps,” such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat and Tinder, Axiom Capital’s Victor Anthony said in a report.

Anthony maintained a Buy rating on Facebook Inc FB, with a price target of $160. Twitter Inc TWTR has a Hold rating, while Match Group Inc MTCH, which owns Tinder, has a Buy rating.

Pokémon Go Usage Peaked

According to figures released by Sensor Tower in the first week of August, users spent 26 minutes per day on the Pokémon Go app, representing a marginal decline from the estimate of 33 minutes reported on July 12.

Related Link: Will Pokémon Go Be An 'Enduring' Success?

Last week SurveyMonkey reported that Pokémon Go had lost more than 20 percent of its US user base. Anthony added that data from app tracking firm Apptopia, reported on August 17, supported the finding of SurveyMonkey. He noted a few observations from the Apptopia data:

1. Daily active users declined 35 percent from the peak
2. Daily downloads of the app were down more than 70 percent from the peak
3. Engagement had declined to the 40 to 50 percent range, from the 80 percent range

The analyst pointed out that Google Trends data also highlighted trends of declining interest.

“The declining trends should assuage investor concerns about the impact of Pokémon Go on time spent on the above named companies. Further, while Pokémon Go is not 100% augmented reality (AR), the rapid rise and subsequent sharp decline in daily usage, if that decline is sustained, could call into question whether AR can gain lasting traction with users,” Anthony commented.

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