# ASO Monthly #56 December 2020: Black Friday records, 2020 App Awards, New EU legislation, and more!

- Link: https://phiture.com/asostack/aso-monthly-56-december-2020-black-friday-records-2020-app-awards-new-eu-legislation-and-more/
- Published: 2021-01-04T13:43:25+01:00
- Author: Erica Saraval

![aso monthly 56](https://phiture.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/aso-monthly-56.
png)

In this ASO Monthly series, the [Phiture](https://phiture.com/) team reflects on
the previous month and sheds light on new trends in app store optimization, algorithm
changes, insights into conversion rate optimization, and tool updates.

NB: Phiture is hiring! You’ll have the opportunity to join Phiture and help us lead
the way in mobile growth. Check [here](https://phiture-jobs.personio.de/) for current
positions.

This update was written by Senior ASO Consultant, Erica Saraval, at Phiture.

### **November 27th ****– ****Black Friday hits records in 2020, the digital year**

![Black Friday hits records in 2020](https://phiture.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/
01/Screenshot-2021-01-04-at-10.48.46.png)

_Source: AppTweak_

Digital was central to the success of Black Friday sales this year, much more so
than in previous years. COVID-related restrictions on offline stores meant that 
marketers needed to rethink their promotional and logistical strategies and, as 
a result, we saw record numbers being tracked in parallel with changes in customer’s
purchasing behavior, as observed on [AppTweak market insights](https://www.apptweak.com/en/aso-blog/impact-of-black-friday-on-shopping-apps).
Orders were not concentrated only on Black Friday day itself; sales growth was distributed
throughout the entire month of November. Still, the top apps in the shopping category
for 2020 are well-known in the US market: Amazon, Walmart, Target, and Best Buy,
which are commonly used for groceries and electronics purchases. The challenges 
of this year have pushed companies to rethink their marketing strategies to not 
only promote sales close to the holiday but to come up with sustainable growth plans
for both before and after –– and this should remain at least until offline stores
can form a stable part of the market revenue again.

![apple apps of the year](https://phiture.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/image2-
min.jpg)

_Source: Apple Newsroom_

The wishlist that all developers work hard to be part of, Apple announced the winners
of its ‘App Store Best of 2020’ on December 1st. The 15 apps and games were selected
via a rigorous process that takes into consideration each app’s market performance
and its relevance to the audience, where special attention to quality, usability,
innovation, and design is a must for whoever wishes to be on the podium. The iPhone
App of the Year category was won by ‘_Wakeout_!’,  ‘_Zoom’_ won iPad App of the 
Year, and the iPhone Game of the Year award was taken by _‘Genshin Impact’_. Curious
to see the entire list of winners? Take a look at [Apple Newsroom’s full announcement, here](https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2020/12/apple-presents-app-store-best-of-2020-winners/).

### **December 01 ****– ****Country “Unknown Region” in the Play Store keeps growing since the new console was launched**

![store listing](https://phiture.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/image1-min.png)

_Source: Play Store_

Is it a bug, a change in definitions, or redirect flow impacting the “Unknown Region”
data? The question has been shared on developers’ channels and communities and remains
open –– at least until the Play Store makes an announcement that can explain the
trend. As per the traditional definition, the “Unknown Region” refers to an inability
to associate the IP address of a reader –– but with the current trend happening 
in different countries and applications, it’s unlikely to be just a coincidence.
Are you also observing this trend on your app? Share your insights on the ASO Stack
community on Slack.

### **December 3 ****– ****App Promotion Summit Berlin (WFH) event sees growth marketing strategy discussions go fully digital**

![app promotion summit berlin](https://phiture.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/image4-
min.jpg)

_Source: App Promotion Summit_

This year, App Promotion Summit Berlin was adapted to become an entirely digital
event. With 60 speakers across 35 different sessions where marketers from all over
the world had the opportunity to participate in chats and share their views while
watching webinars and interactive panels, the quality of content on offer was just
as impressive as in previous years.  The event took place between 3rd-10th December
and featured leading experts and specialists in-app store marketing, advertising,
engagement, and growth. The winners of the App Growth Awards, which had 20 categories
this year, were announced on the first day. Missed out on some sessions? Worry not––
the videos are now available online! Just log in to the APS website and [watch the sessions by using the ‘Agenda’ tab](https://apppromotionsummit.com/berlin/agenda/).

### **December 8 ****– ****China banned more than 100 apps from its app stores, including big players such as Tripadvisor**

![message from apple](https://phiture.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/image5-min.
jpg)

_Source: 9TO5Mac_

Either for political strategy or pandemic impact, the truth is the digital world
market has faced harsh changes throughout the year. Privacy and security are trending
topics for developers, but special attention is required for any app that plans 
to be available in the Chinese market. The country’s internet regulator has been
determining very specific restrictions that must be followed by every app in the
market. Otherwise, your app may be in the next App Store clean up, along with Tripadvisor
and 104 others that have been removed this month, as shown by [the 9to5Mac article](https://9to5mac.com/2020/12/08/tripadvisor-app-pulled/),
under the justification of breaching local laws that were put in place to ban obscene,
pornographic, violent, and other illegal content. Game and VPN app developers are
advised to pay special attention to this topic. 

### **December 11 ****– Apple Pay Mexico is coming. Get ready.**

![apple pay mexico](https://phiture.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/image7-min.jpg)

_Source: Apple_

Many years have passed since Apple Pay’s first market was launched in 2014, but 
finally, Mexico’s time has come, as announced by [Apple’s service landing page](https://www.apple.com/mx/apple-pay/).
The promise of an effective payment option that frees the user from creating multiple
accounts while shopping with privacy and safety has prompted banks and brands that
already started adapting their services to offer the payment option. If you are 
a shopping app developer for this market, make sure to add this into your 2021 roadmap.

### **December 14 ****– ****App Clip Codes are ready to be used –– but is your app ready?**

![phone scan](https://phiture.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/image6-min.png)

_Source: AppleDeveloper_

Developers and product managers: since the launch of iOS 14, you already know that
it’s possible to allow Apple users to test your apps before downloading them. Now,
App Clip Codes is complementing this experience. [Apple’s update ](https://developer.apple.com/news/?id=4c7j45dp)
shows in a short and simple way all the benefits of using this option for your app––
primarily, that users will be able to quickly understand the power of your features
and how your app experience looks and feels. But when you check the extended version
of [how to create an App Clip Code](https://developer.apple.com/design/human-interface-guidelines/app-clips/overview/app-clip-codes/),
you can help your marketing team to understand how to expand campaign strategies,
exploring different App Clips depending on where the audience is seeing your App
Clip Code. Get ready to start customizing and watch customers performing the point
scan test throughout 2021.

### **Dec 15 ****– ****EU legislation adds pressure to App Store and Google pre-installed apps**

In preparation for fairer market competition and action against monopolistic tech
companies, the European Commission has been working to approve regulations that 
will implement extra limitations on the Apple and Google app stores, as covered 
by [9TO5Mac](https://9to5mac.com/2020/12/15/apple-eu-legislation-app-store-changes/).
These changes will impact how the consoles present search results, which will increase
opportunities for smaller apps to feature in the hard-to-reach higher positions 
that are commonly held by these companies’ own apps. Also, if approved, the changes
will impact pre-installed apps, allowing users to uninstall any unwanted applications.

 

#### **Upcoming events in January 2021**

27-29 January — [4th Japan Marketing Week](https://www.sp-world-spring.jp/en-gb.html?utm_source=phiture_conf_list)
offline

27-29 January — [5th Japan IT Week OSAKA](https://www.japan-it-osaka.jp/en-gb.html)
offline

21-29 January — [WomenHack](https://womenhack.com/events/) online

_Events planned as offline may suffer changes due to Covid restrictions. Check the
event website to be up to date about the latest news._

 

#### **Tool updates**

**AppFollow**

[6.1: What’s new in AppFollow](https://appfollow.io/blog/61-whats-new-in-appfollow)

**AppsFlyer**

[Upgraded Flexibility and In-app Validation Rules Introduced](https://www.appsflyer.com/blog/mobile-ad-fraud-validation-rules/)

**App Tweak**
 [Get alerts when unusual keyword movements are detected!](https://www.apptweak.com/en/aso-blog/get-alerts-when-unusual-keyword-movements-are-detected)

[Analyze your Search Ads Campaigns keywords and their metrics](https://help.apptweak.com/en/articles/4648789-analyze-your-search-ads-campaigns-keywords-and-their-metric?utm_source=mailchimp&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter)

**ASOdesk**

[ASOdesk global update and advanced tools for replying to reviews](https://asodesk.com/blog/asodesk-global-update-and-advanced-tools-for-replying-to-reviews/)

**Branch**
 [Announcing Support for Apple App Clips](https://blog.branch.io/support-for-apple-app-clips/)

**MobileAction**
 [Localization Just Became Easier with our New Translation Module!](https://www.mobileaction.co/blog/product/product-update/localization-just-became-easier-with-our-new-translation-module/?utm_source=aso_stack&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=product_update_translation_module)

 

#### **Interesting reads**

[The A/B Testing Framework: How to Level Up Your A/B Experimentation](https://phiture.com/mobilegrowthstack/the-a-b-testing-framework-how-to-level-up-your-a-b-experimentation/)
by Karan Tibdewal

[App Growth Experts Take on the Post-IDFA World](https://splitmetrics.com/blog/app-growth-experts-on-how-to-prepare-for-idfa-deprecation/)
by [Lina Danilchik](https://splitmetrics.com/blog/author/lina-danilchik/)

[Apple App Store & Google Play Store User Conversion: The Power of Creative Assets](https://www.mobileaction.co/blog/app-business/the-power-of-creative-assets-in-apple-app-store-google-play-store/)
by Mehmet Can Cavas

[PUBG Mobile Tops List of Billion-Dollar Mobile Games in 2020](https://sensortower.com/blog/pubg-mobile-tops-billion-dollar-mobile-games-2020)
by Craig Chapple

[How ASO and advertising help attract users to mobile applications](https://asodesk.com/blog/how-aso-and-advertising-help-attract-users-to-mobile-applications/)
by Anna Benkis

[Impact of Black Friday on Shopping Apps in 2020](https://www.apptweak.com/en/aso-blog/impact-of-black-friday-on-shopping-apps)
by Todd Simonson

[Personalization in CRM: How to Make Your Campaigns Stand Out](https://phiture.com/mobilegrowthstack/personalization-in-crm-how-to-make-your-campaigns-stand-out/)
by Elsa Massoudi Aguilar

[Reach Holiday Shoppers Where They’re Spending the Most Time this Season: On Mobile](https://www.appannie.com/en/insights/market-data/reach-holiday-shoppers-mobile-advertising/)
by Lexi Sydow

[Sequential A/B Testing vs Multi-Armed Bandit Testing: When to Use Each One](https://splitmetrics.com/blog/sequential-ab-testing-vs-multi-armed-bandit/)
by Lina Danilchik

[Publishers Earning Under $1 Million Generate Just 2% of App Store Games Revenue](https://sensortower.com/blog/app-store-revenue-share-analysis)
by Craig Chapple