Shopping Apps Grow 15% as Paid Acquisition Gains Ground in 2026
The latest report finds shopping app sessions up 15% globally, with North America and Singapore leading growth as paid acquisition takes a larger share of the media mix.
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As ecommerce competition intensifies and marketers face rising acquisition costs, shopping apps are continuing to attract consumers, with growth increasingly being driven by paid acquisition and stronger engagement across key markets.
Against this backdrop, Adjust has released its Shopping App Insights Report: 2026 Edition, examining how ecommerce app adoption, engagement, retention and acquisition are evolving across shopping, marketplace & classifieds, and deal discovery apps.
The report draws on Adjust’s data from thousands of apps between January 2024 and June 2026, providing global and regional benchmarks across APAC, Europe, LATAM, MENA and North America.
The findings point to continued momentum for ecommerce apps in the first half of 2026, but also highlight a changing acquisition landscape, with paid installs accounting for a growing share of overall app growth.
“Ecommerce apps had a strong first half of 2026, and major shopping events keep getting bigger. But acquisition is getting more expensive and paid installs are carrying more of the growth,” said Greg Wang, Regional VP, Americas, Adjust.
“The marketers who will grow most efficiently are those who can see which channels, markets, and campaigns are producing shoppers with strong LTV. Reliable measurement is what makes that possible.”
Shopping App Engagement Continues to Rise
The first half of 2026 saw sustained growth in ecommerce app activity, with global shopping app sessions increasing 15% year over year (YoY).
Shopping apps remained the dominant ecommerce app category, accounting for nearly three-quarters (72%) of all ecommerce installs globally. Deal discovery apps also recorded session growth of 10% YoY, highlighting continued consumer interest in mobile-led shopping and discount discovery.
North America emerged as the strongest-performing region, with shopping app installs increasing 46% and sessions rising 26%. LATAM followed closely on engagement, recording a 25% increase in sessions.
The growth suggests that consumers are continuing to use mobile apps not only to discover products but also to browse, compare and complete shopping journeys.
Singapore Leads Ecommerce App Install Growth
At the country level, Singapore recorded the strongest ecommerce app install growth, with installs increasing 67% YoY.
The US followed with 49% growth, while Vietnam, India and Indonesia recorded increases of 42%, 37% and 36%, respectively.
Engagement growth was particularly strong in Indonesia and Singapore, where sessions rose by 62% and 58% YoY, respectively.
The regional differences point to increasingly varied growth opportunities for ecommerce marketers, making market-level measurement important when determining where acquisition budgets can generate the strongest returns.
Paid Acquisition Takes a Larger Share of Growth
While ecommerce app adoption continues to expand, the report shows that organic discovery is accounting for a smaller share of overall growth.
The global paid-to-organic ratio reached 0.72 in H1 2026, representing a 26% increase from 2025 and a 47% increase from 2024.
Shopping apps recorded the highest paid-to-organic ratio at 0.76, suggesting that marketers are relying more heavily on paid channels to drive app acquisition.
Marketplace & classifieds apps recorded the largest two-year increase among the three subverticals, with their ratio rising 50% to 0.57.
The shift highlights a growing need for marketers to understand not simply how many users campaigns acquire, but whether those users continue engaging and generating value after installation.
Seasonal Shopping Peaks Continue to Expand
The report also shows that major shopping periods remain important drivers of ecommerce app activity.
During Q4 2025, overall ecommerce sessions increased 7% YoY, while deal discovery installs jumped 35%. Marketplace & classifieds apps recorded 7% growth in both installs and sessions.
November emerged as the strongest month, with ecommerce sessions 9% above the annual average.
The findings reinforce the importance of preparing acquisition and engagement strategies around seasonal peaks, when consumer intent and competition for attention are both elevated.
For marketers, this makes measurement across the entire customer journey increasingly important, from acquisition through engagement and retention.
India Records the Sharpest Drop in CPI
Despite broader pressure on acquisition costs, some markets are becoming significantly more cost-efficient.
India recorded the largest decline in cost per install (CPI) among the markets measured, with CPI falling 57% to $0.10.
By comparison, North America remained the most expensive region for app installs, with CPI reaching $3.12, up 14%. The global median CPI remained broadly stable at $1.08.
The contrast between markets highlights the challenge for marketers to balance scale and efficiency. Lower acquisition costs can create opportunities for expansion, but marketers still need to determine whether cheaper installs translate into engaged and retained users.
Marketplace Apps Lead on Early Retention
Acquisition growth is only one part of the ecommerce app equation, with retention continuing to determine whether new users deliver long-term value.
Marketplace & classifieds apps recorded the strongest Day 1 retention rate at 19%, leading the ecommerce subverticals tracked by Adjust.
The finding highlights the importance of looking beyond install volumes when evaluating app performance. As paid acquisition becomes a larger part of the media mix, marketers need to connect acquisition activity with downstream engagement and retention to understand the quality of users being acquired.
Measurement Becomes More Important as Acquisition Costs Rise
The growing role of paid acquisition is putting greater pressure on marketers to understand which channels, campaigns and markets are generating meaningful customer value.
With the global paid-to-organic ratio increasing sharply since 2024, simply tracking installs may no longer provide enough insight into campaign performance.
Instead, marketers increasingly need to connect acquisition data with engagement, retention and customer lifetime value to determine where additional investment can drive sustainable growth.
The report’s findings suggest that the next phase of ecommerce app growth will not be defined solely by acquiring more users, but by identifying the markets, channels and campaigns capable of turning those users into long-term customers.
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