App Annie releases new data on the state of the mobile app industry.
New data from App Annie on the growth of mobile platforms found that users spent a whopping $143 billion across app stores in 2020. Mobile ad spends also witnessed a 26% growth and jumped to $240 billion in 2020. The data suggest that app habits are not fully formed — demand for new apps and games is still growing. Consumers migrated more of their physical needs onto mobile; it took over mindshare at 3.5 trillion hours on Android phones annually. Mobile is the only channel with this reach and depth of engagement.
The study also revealed that people spent more time on their mobile devices than watching live T.V. every day in 2020. Advertisers and marketers can leverage these behavioral changes to make more strategic decisions. These decisions include advertising spend, corporate prioritization, and resource allocation.
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App Annie found that contrary to popular perceptions, it is not just Gen Z but millennials and Baby Boomers who also spend more time on mobile. In the U.S., Gen Z, millennials, and Gen X/ Baby Boomers spent 16%, 18%, and 30% more time YoY, respectively, in their most-used apps. In the U.K., this was 18%, 17%y, and 27%, respectively. In the U.S. and U.K., Gen Z had the highest affinity for Snapchat and Twitch, respectively.
What Were the Key Mobile Gaming Trends in 2020?
The study found that casual games dominated downloads with the popularity of easy-to-use names like Among Us, ROBLOX, and My Talking Tom Friends. APAC witnessed a significant portion of spend and time spent among Core games, yet Console and PC-gone-mobile titles bridged the West into Core mobile gaming. The mobile gaming market is on track to surpass $120 billion in consumer spending in 2021 — capturing 1.5x of the market than all other gaming platforms combined.
Events, leaderboards, and customization were the top gameplay features for app store monetization in 2020 in western markets. In APAC, however, competitive multiplayer, chat (China and South Korea), daily & logins (Japan), and guilds and clans (China) were some of the top-performing features by Average Revenue Per User (ARPU).
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Did Mobile Fuel Better Financial Engagement in 2020?
Time spent in Finance apps during 2020 was up 45% worldwide outside of China in 2020 YoY. Whether leveraging wallet apps, financial services like loans, shopping for major purchases like a car or a house, or investing in the market, Finance apps were in high demand and a critical part of consumers’ decision-making process. The decline in Finance app downloads in China came after new legislation in the peer-to-peer lending space.
Amidst a tumultuous financial market upended by COVID-19, mobile apps emerged as the go-to channel for participation — illustrating a powerful shift in financial thinking. Similar shifts arose in the credit space, with peer-to-peer loan apps on the rise in Indonesia and buy now, pay later, or “reverse credit†attracting Gen Z and millennials in the U.S. and Australia.
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Key Trends in Mobile Social Platforms for 2020
App Annie found that TikTok outpaced top social apps in hours per user. The time spent in reach and depth of engagement per user increased for nearly every app in every market. TikTok ranked in the top 5 by time spent. Its average monthly time spent per user grew faster than almost every other app analyzed, including 70% in the U.S. and 80% in the U.K. — surpassing Facebook. TikTok is on track to hit 1.2 billion active users in 2021.
What Is Next for Mobile Apps in 2021?
Mobile has driven consumer and enterprise technology innovation with features like geolocation, cloud, AI, transportation, financial services, health care, and entertainment. In 2021, we could expect investment in companies with a mobile solution to mimic 2020 trends and register high growth and represent a larger share of total global funding dollars.