The pandemic has brought forth a digital revolution, at the center of which is the app economy. People have been using apps more than ever before, and if the report by App Annie is any indication, things do not look to be changing anytime soon.
The report forecasts that consumers across the globe will spend $34 billion on games and apps in the third quarter of the year, which is a 20% year-over-year increase in expenditure. App Annie’s data is complimented by Sensor Tower’s report, which shows that the top 500 apps in the world average 91.7 million monthly active users, a growth of 8.4% year-over-year during the second quarter and an increase from 84.6 million in Q2 2020.
The report claims in-game expenditure and mobile subscriptions would be spearheading the boom in the app economy in the third quarter, which is not really surprising. Gaming apps have been the biggest source of revenue in the app market for quite some time now. App Annie says that 66% of expenditure across the app stores in Q3 has been made through gaming apps.
iOS has always had a edge over Android when it comes to spending on apps, and this was also witnessed during this quarter. iOS accounts for 65% of expenditure on app stores globally – expenditure on iOS apps grew by 15% to $22 billion while it came out to be around $12 billion on Google Play. For expenditure on non-gaming apps, iOS accounts for 76% of the total expenditure.
The report also mentions that people spent the most on iOS apps in the US and China, while Taiwan, Japan, and the US showed the most growth in spending. For, Google Play US, Japan, and South Korea were the biggest markets, and the growth was driven by Japan, Russia, and Australia.
Estimates put the number of downloads to reach a new high of 36 billion after a year-over-year increase of 10% in downloads in Q3 and this would be mostly concentrated in Brazil, Mexico, and the Philippines, as well as emerging markets such as India and the Latin American market.
With this report, it’s become clear that users are opening up to the idea of paying for in app purchases. Thus, it’s no surprise that Apple and Google have been trying to preserve their cut from any in app purchases made on their platforms. However, with the laws changing in multiple parts of the world, we might see a shift in their policies soon.
