Consumer Spending On Android Stores Will Exceed iOS Spending This Year
Combined consumer spending across Google Play and third-party Android stores is set to exceed that of the App Store this year, according to a new forecast by App Annie.
The recent App Annie report looks at the future of mobile downloads and consumer spending, outlining some predictions about smartphone usage between now and 2021.
The report reveals that while the iOS App Store is “the single most lucrative app store”, Android’s domination of the smartphone market will see it overtake iOS in terms of consumer spending this year.
The App Store is predicted to hit $40bn total gross consumer spending this year, the Google Play and third-party Android stores just pipping it with $41bn, when combined together.
By 2021, iOS spending is expected to hit $60.3bn, compared to $42bn for Google Play and $36bn for third-party stores, $78bn when taken together.
App Annie also predicts that app downloads across all stores will grow by 19% yearly to reach 352bn in 2021, and global spend is expected to rise by 18% to $139.1bn in the same year.
Consumer spend in China is expected to grow by 24% from 2016-2021 and revenue in China should reach $56.5bn by 2021, App Annie says.
Downloads are also expected to increase, the report revealing they will go up 19% yearly.
Due to the expected rise in smartphone ownership in India, App Annie predicts annual app store rates in the area will grow by 28% to almost 23bn in 2021.
As App Annie explains: “App store downloads are much more evenly distributed across countries as compared to revenue.
“In 2016, the top five countries represented 54% of worldwide downloads and this will remain roughly static through 2021 as growth in China and India balances out growth outside the top five.
“Meanwhile, the top five countries represented a hefty 75% of the global revenue pie in 2016.
“This is expected to increase to 85% in 2021, due to increased spending on games and subscriptions from existing smartphone users in mature markets, primarily urban China, but also the United States, Japan and South Korea.”
The forecast also gives a breakdown of how different markets will fare between now and 2021, looking into the impressive revenue generated by mobile games, and what to be aware of when planning growth strategies.
To read the full report please click here.