The worldwide app financial system continued to recuperate in 2024, after an earlier slowdown in 2022 — a minimum of by way of shopper spending. In 2024, international shopper spending in cell apps and video games reached $127 billion throughout the App Retailer and Google Play, up 15.7% from the prior 12 months. Nonetheless, these will increase have been pushed by Apple’s App Retailer as Google Play spending declined, based on new information from app intelligence agency Appfigures.
Although spending was up, there was one other worrying signal in regards to the total well being of the app ecosystem. This 12 months, international app downloads have been down by 2.3%, in contrast with 2023, reaching almost 110 billion. This downward pattern was seen throughout each app shops, the information signifies.
This isn’t the primary time we’ve seen indicators that the app ecosystem’s huge progress could also be lastly beginning to stage out. Because the app financial system matures, the more moderen focus has been on extracting income from the apps customers are already utilizing through ongoing subscriptions, quite than driving them to obtain new apps or paid apps.
Of notice, solely 5% of apps worldwide provided subscriptions final 12 months, however they accounted for 48% of the app income throughout each app shops, Appfigures discovered. As well as, the highest 10 incomes apps globally generated 13.7% of all shopper spending, up 1.2% from 12.5% in 2023.
In the meantime, a lot of the innovation going down at this time is within the subject of AI — a pattern Apple largely snubbed when selecting its total App of the 12 months over the previous couple of years, an award that when to video app Kino and mountaineering app AllTrails in 2024 and 2023, respectively.
Downloads decline globally
Declining app downloads, in the meantime, was a pattern seen throughout each app marketplaces.
Of the entire 110 billion downloads in 2024, iOS downloads accounted for 28.3 billion installs, a decline of 1.1% year-over-year. Android app downloads on Google Play have been down 2.6% to 81.4 billion. Final 12 months, app downloads have been largely flat, one other report had discovered.
Partly, the decline in downloads additionally has to do with how Apple and Google Play managed their app shops in 2024.
Google, specifically, cracked down on spam and different low-quality apps this previous 12 months, resulting in a big 60% discount within the launch of latest apps on Google Play. This was doubtless pushed by elevated necessities for builders round app testing and app evaluate.
The U.S. additionally helped push the bigger international pattern downloads, as U.S. iOS downloads declined 5.3% to six.1 billion and U.S. Google Play app downloads dropped 0.7% to 4.4 billion. In whole, U.S. app downloads declined by 3.4% within the 12 months, reaching roughly 10.6 billion.
Instagram, not TikTok, was probably the most downloaded app in 2024 with near 640 million installs. It was additionally probably the most searched-for app within the U.S. Together with Instagram, different high social apps together with Snapchat, Fb, and TikTok, have been additionally looked for greater than X in 2024.
Nonetheless, Temu was probably the most downloaded app within the U.S. with 48 million installs, Appfigures discovered. Apple lately confirmed it was the U.S.’s most-downloaded app on its App Retailer, too.
Mexico noticed the most important enhance in app downloads in 2024, with 225 million extra installs than in 2023.
App Retailer continues to earn cash
When it comes to income, the app financial system remains to be making a living for builders and app shops alike — a minimum of on the Apple App Retailer.
Of the $127 billion in whole shopper spending globally in 2024, $91.6 billion got here from the App Retailer, up 24% year-over-year. Google Play shopper spending declined by 1.5% year-over-year to achieve $35.7 billion globally.
The U.S. accounted for a big portion of that total pie, as $47.6 billion in shopper spending got here from customers within the U.S., up 11% year-over-year. (The Apple App Retailer accounted for $34.4 billion of that U.S. determine, up 18.4%, whereas Google Play’s U.S. income declined 4.7% to achieve $13.2 billion in 2024.)
By shopper spending, the highest app globally was TikTok, with an estimated $2.5 billion throughout iOS and Android, not counting app shops in China. TikTok was additionally the highest app within the U.S., drawing in almost $1.3 billion.
Brazil was the fastest-growing marketplace for shopper spending, up 73% year-over-year.
