Global consumer spending on mobile apps reached nearly $111 billion in 2020 according to data from Sensor Tower.
Consumers spending globally on in-app purchases, subscriptions, and premium apps across both marketplaces globally were up 30.2 per cent year-over-year from 2019 as per the report.
Consumer spending worldwide on Apple’s App Store amounted to $72.3 billion, up 30.3 per cent YoY while the amount that users spent on Google Play grew 30 per cent YoY to $38.6 billion. The App Store generated 87.3 per cent more in consumer spending than Google Play store, as per the report.
In terms of app categories, gaming apps generated $79.5 billion in 2020 across both app stores globally.
Aside from games, Entertainment category apps topped the charts on the App Store with spending growing 29.3 per cent YoY to $5.3 billion. Social was the highest-earning category on Google Play, generating $1.2 billion in 2020, up 71.4 per cent YoY.
TikTok, including Douyin on iOS in China, was the highest-earning non-gaming ap globally on the App Store in 2020, generating $1.2 billion on the marketplace. Google One generated the highest revenue on Google Play amounting to $444 million, up 41.9 per cent YoY in 2020.
First-time installs of mobile apps were also recorded high at 143 billion collectively on the App Store and Google Play, up 23.7 per cent from 2019.
Zoom saw the highest number of first-time installs on the App Store in 2020 at 212.5 million installs. WhatsApp recorded the highest installs on Google Play, with over 598 million installs.