Consumer In-app Spending Grew 40% In Q1 2021

App Annie's survey results show that smartphone users used an average of 36 applications in the second half of 2018, while it was 46 in the second half of 2020. The impact of the epidemic on applications is evident.

According to the latest data from App Annie, in-app purchase spending on iOS and Google Play reached $32 billion in the first quarter of 2021, an increase of approximately $9 billion compared to the first quarter of 2020, that is, About 40% growth.

In addition, total downloads from both iOS and Google Play app stores reached 31 billion during the quarter, an increase of 10%. From the figure below, the number of downloads on Google Play is significantly higher than on iOS.

App usage has increased significantly amid the coronavirus pandemic. For example, overall searches for sleep apps in the UK increased by 104%, and Gen Z’s time spent on financial apps increased by 102%.

In terms of downloads, on Google Play, social, tool and financial applications performed best. On iOS, it’s games, finance and social apps.

In terms of spending, games, social and entertainment apps on Google Play are the strongest performers; on iOS, games, entertainment and video apps have the highest spend.

App Annie also released a "Breakthrough Apps" chart, showing the apps with the fastest quarter-on-quarter data growth in the first quarter of this year compared to the fourth quarter of 2020.

In terms of downloads and MAU, Signal stood out in the first quarter of 2021, followed closely by Telegram.

When it comes to popular applications, we have to mention game applications. It is understood that in the first quarter, gamers downloaded approximately 1 billion games per week, and consumer spending reached US$22 billion.

The majority of spending generated by gamers occurred through the App Store, with spending reaching $13 billion, a year-over-year increase of 30%; consumers generated $9 billion in spending on Google Play, an increase of 35%. Consumer spending on mobile games is expected to reach $120 billion in 2021.

For sellers, sellers in need can consider launching their own applications; even if they do not launch applications, with the increasing proportion of mobile devices, it is necessary to optimize the website for mobile devices.