Travel Industry Continues to Rebound in 2022 With 32% Growth on Start.io Platform

Start.io Year in Review

2022 saw an increase of 250 million smartphone users, bringing the total number to nearly 6.6 billion smartphone subscribers worldwide. More people than ever are using their smartphones for almost all of their interactions and transactions. In 2022, two-thirds of mobile users said they couldn't make it through the day without their devices.

An analysis of Start.io mobile data in 2022 supports this phenomenon. People are not just using their phones for the typically popular categories of chat, gaming and social media. Indeed, mobile is where people engage in everyday lifestyle commodities, such as food deliveries, financial services and more.

Here's a roundup of the notable mobile user behavior trends over the past year that may influence the advertising strategies of mobile marketers as 2023 starts. 

• Travel: The travel industry continues to rebound. Consumers showed increased interest in travel, reflected in 32% growth on the Start.io mobile platform, making it one of the fast-growing categories in 2022.
• Transport Services: Transport service apps were strong in 2022, also showing 32% growth. Existing transport services were keen to expand this past year, and alternative transport modes, such as bicycle rental and ride-sharing, are also growing in popularity.
• Food: The Food category continues to be a strong performer, one of the most rapidly commoditized industries on mobile. Increased competition for shorter delivery times makes it a tight game for food delivery services and restaurants. In 2022, the Food apps category increased by 29%, with continued growth expected in 2023.
• Fitness: Consumers appear to be keeping up with the health and fitness habits developed during the pandemic. In 2022, there was 29% growth in the Fitness category, a considerable increase compared to 2021.
• Finance: Economic uncertainty has driven more interest in personal finance, reflected in 22% growth in the Finance apps category in 2022. Consumers are using their smartphones for banking, money transfers, financial planning and tracking.
• Sports: The Sports category is always popular, and in 2022, significant growth can be attributed to the World Cup. Mobile usage for sports entertainment and sports news grew 17% in the past year.
• News: 2022 was a busy year for news, including the Ukraine War, the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, the U.S. midterm elections and more. Year-on-year growth for the News category on the Start.io platform stood at 14%, while 51% of mobile users showed interest in News in 2022.

According to the Deloitte Insights 2022 Connectivity and Mobile Trends report, "Smartphones are the 'universal remote' of our digital lives." 

This is borne out by mobile data from the Start.io platform, garnered from 500K active integrated apps and 2.4 billion monthly active users. An analysis of 2022 data shows that mobile phones are becoming ever more essential to consumers, in every aspect of living. 

Explore more audience data from the Start.io platform, across 500+ niches and locations, at the Consumer Insights and Audiences Hub.