Snapchat might seem like it’s having trouble keeping up with Instagram – especially due to the latter’s new features – but a new comScore report finds that it is actually more popular than Instagram among younger millennials in the U.S.
We have often read about Snap’s inability to shake off Instagram’s Instagram Stories Already Count More Users Than Snapchat – especially in Stories, its main and most characteristic feature. We have also often read often about Snap’s stock struggling because of the competition with Facebook and its other owned platforms. These – and other facts – paint a picture of Snapchat as a platform that will soon be consigned to the waste bin. Sure, it’s finding it hard to grow. Sure, it’s finding it hard to make money. But in one key area, Snapchat is still dominant.
A new comScore report released last week, and covered by Recode’s Kurt Wagner, shows that Snapchat is still ahead of Instagram in terms of its popularity among the younger 18-24 age group in the United States. In fact, it is “two spots ahead of Instagram” as Wagner points out. Facebook and YouTube come in at first and second places. And despite Instagram still being significantly bigger and more engaging to users, Snapchat can still brag that it’s more popular among younger users.
In his analysis, Wagner explains that these numbers come “just a few days after an eMarketer report predicted Snapchat will be bigger than Facebook and Instagram in the U.S. by the end of 2017 among 12- to 17-year-olds and 18- to 24-year-olds.” The comScore report can back up this claim, yet Snapchat is not growing as fast as it would like.
Also, Facebook and the other apps it owns are still dominating overall. Facebook in particular is still the most popular app in the U.S. for 18+ users. It is also currently used by 81% of mobile app users in the country. Messenger comes in third after YouTube (71%), at 68% penetration. Instagram and Snapchat share a space at 50% each.
Yet, Snapchat’s popularity among the commercially important younger demographics may offer a glimpse of hope for the platform. What do you think?
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