Clubhouse dynamics and perspectives

Despite the recent popularity surge of Clubhouse app, its story began around March 2020 when it was launched on iOS by Silicon Valley entrepreneurs Paul Davidson and Rohan Seth of Alpha Exploration Co. Right after its appearance, Clubhouse attracted about 1500 users and has been valued at $100 million. Almost one year later the situation has changed drastically. According to Apptica data, the number of downloads has exceeded 11,5 million and reached a valuation of $1 billion.

So, what Clubhouse app everybody is talking about is?

This social media and audio chat app provides you a variety of the so-called “rooms”  - spaces, where speakers focused on different topics. Rooms, depending on its format, allow you to be both an active part of discussions and a silent listener. As we can see, this type of interaction has attracted vast numbers of users, while companies, brands and influencers try to surpass themselves in the pursuit of an audience and get the most of Clubhouse popularity.

Of course, there are some main noteworthy features of Clubhouse that we would like to mention.

First of all, the App is invite-only. Initial Clubhouse users have two invites, which they can send to their contacts. However, do not worry about the scarce number of friends you can ask to join - invites are renewable and the more you send, the more you get. Some may consider this aspect as  one of the most attractive for users, cause it makes them feel part of the some-kind privileged society.

Secondly, there are a number of “No’s” in Clubhouse. No private messaging, no video, no texts, no possibility to record what is going on in rooms, and no version for Android yet. For sure, these features, except for the last one, have their pros and cons, and it fully depends on the Clubhouse team, if they are going to be transformed in the future. As for the absence of the App for Android, let’s hope that developers will release it soon: obviously, users are starving while Clubhouse is losing a hot chance to broaden its audience. According to Apptica, the app on Google Play with the same name but completely different functions has enjoyed its moment in the sun and received a sharp spike in downloads and revenue in mid-February.

Thirdly, the strong presence of celebrities in Clubhouse that have become one of the key success factors of the App. There is no guarantee that influencers will keep their interest in the platform for a long time, but while they do, it is definitely beneficial for the App.

Considering the above-mentioned, it is important to note that everything is not as rosy for Clubhouse. For sure, the App today shows good performance: its value is still high and references in media continue. However, competitors are catching up with Clubhouse, trying to release other audio social apps while providing functions and possibilities Clubhouse is lacking yet. Also, the interest of the audience can’t last forever if it wouldn't be stimulated by new features and releases.

Apptica meters are already showing an explicit decline in downloads of Clubhouse.

As we can see, a new type of social media app has taken its niche on the market. A mix of certain features allowed it to get to the top. Predictably, Clubhouse has been the first, but won’t be the last of that kind of app. So, in the near future, we can witness an interesting battle in this segment of the mobile app industry.