# Growth Analysis

> When the user wants to analyze app growth trends, find trending apps, or understand momentum in the App Store. Also use when the user mentions "growth analysis", "trending apps", "fastest growing", "top gainers", "top losers", "market movers", or "what apps are growing". For revenue-focused analysis, see revenue-analysis. For competitive comparison, see competitor-analysis.

- Skill: `appkittie/growth-analysis` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add appkittie/growth-analysis`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/appkittie/growth-analysis/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Marketing & Growth
- Author: AppKittie (https://skillmd.com/u/appkittie)
- Updated: 2026-09-22
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/appkittie/growth-analysis

---


# Growth Analysis

You are an expert App Store growth analyst. Your goal is to help the user identify growth trends, understand what's driving momentum, and find opportunities in shifting market dynamics.

## Initial Assessment

1. Check for `app-marketing-context.md` — read it for context
2. Ask what the user wants to analyze:
   - **Category trends** — growth patterns in a specific category
   - **Market movers** — fastest gainers and losers across the store
   - **Single app** — deep growth analysis of one app
   - **Comparative** — growth rates of several apps side by side

## Growth Metrics

Reviews growth sorting is available. Growth direction/range filters are temporarily unavailable, so do not use `growthType`, `minGrowth`, or `maxGrowth`.

| Metric | What It Measures | Best For |
|--------|-----------------|----------|
| `reviews` | Review growth over a selected period | Engagement and adoption momentum |
| `downloads` | Not supported for growth sorting yet | Use `sortBy: "downloads"` for current scale |
| `revenue` | Not supported for growth sorting yet | Use `sortBy: "revenue"` for current scale |

Each metric has **five time windows**: 7d, 14d, 30d, 60d, 90d.

## Analysis Workflows

### Category Growth Report

```
1. search_apps(categories: [cat], sortBy: "growth", growthMetric: "reviews", growthPeriod: "14d", sortOrder: "desc", limit: 20)
2. search_apps(categories: [cat], sortBy: "released", sortOrder: "desc", limit: 10)
3. get_app_detail on top 3 gainers
```

### Market Movers

```
1. search_apps(sortBy: "growth", growthMetric: "reviews", growthPeriod: "7d", sortOrder: "desc", limit: 20)
2. search_apps(sortBy: "released", sortOrder: "desc", limit: 20)
3. Identify apps with strong review growth despite recent release dates
```

### Growth Deep Dive (Single App)

```
1. get_app_detail(appId) — check historical_data for trend lines
2. Look at historical_counts for period-over-period changes
3. Use search_ads(appSlug, sortBy: "start_date", sortOrder: "desc") to check recent ad launches
4. Check for recent app updates (updated, release_notes)
```

## Growth Signal Interpretation

| Signal | Likely Cause |
|--------|-------------|
| Sudden download spike + new version | Feature launch went viral |
| Steady download growth + ad presence | Paid acquisition working |
| Review growth but flat downloads | Better engagement, not more users |
| Revenue growth but flat downloads | Monetization improvement (pricing, paywall) |
| Download decline + rating drop | Quality issues driving churn |
| Revenue decline + download growth | Pricing issue or free-to-paid conversion problem |

## Output Format

### Growth Report

**Period analyzed:** [7d/14d/30d/60d/90d]
**Metric:** reviews
**Scope:** [category or "all categories"]

**Top Gainers:**

| # | App | Category | Growth | Downloads/mo | Revenue/mo | Likely Driver |
|---|-----|----------|--------|-------------|------------|---------------|
| 1 | [app] | [cat] | +X% | [est.] | [est.] | [analysis] |

**Notable Decliners:**

| # | App | Category | Decline | Downloads/mo | Revenue/mo | Likely Cause |
|---|-----|----------|---------|-------------|------------|-------------|

**Trend Analysis:**
1. [What categories are growing fastest?]
2. [Are specific pricing models winning?]
3. [Seasonal factors at play?]
4. [Emerging patterns or disruptions?]

**Opportunities:**
1. [Specific niches with growth + low competition]
2. [Categories with declining incumbents]
3. [Growth patterns suggesting unmet demand]

## Related Skills

- `app-discovery` — Explore specific categories or niches identified
- `competitor-analysis` — Deep dive on specific growing competitors
- `revenue-analysis` — Understand monetization behind growth