App-store spending to surpass US$120 billion this year

App-store spending by consumers is expected to surpass more than US$120 billion this year according to global mobile data and analytics provider App Annie. The firm’s annual The State of Mobile 2019 report found consumers downloaded 194 billion apps last year, spending $101 billion in app stores and averaging three hours per day on mobile.

Time spent in-app grew 50 per cent over the past two years, with downloads up 35 per cent over the same period. Mobile consumed 62 per cent of global digital-ad spend last year, up from 50 per cent in 2017. Sixty per cent more apps will monetise through in-app advertising this year.

The report also found that 10 minutes of every hour spent consuming media this year will be spent streaming video on mobile – and Generation Z consumers spend 20 per cent more time in apps than the rest of the population.

“Mobile is no longer an add-on channel – it is the engine fueling digital transformation,” said App Annie CEO Theodore Krantz.

The report looks at macrotrends, app rankings, and a number of industries including mobile marketing, shopping and retail, travel, gaming, social networking, media and entertainment, banking and fintech, video streaming, dating and more.

The firm’s global marketing and insights EVP Danielle Levitas said consumers spending on apps globally last year was larger than the global live and recorded music industry and double the size of the global sneaker market.

“Mobile experiences are so central to how we live, work and play and with consumers spending three hours a day on mobile, it’s clear how vital this platform is for all businesses in 2019 and beyond.”

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