$533bn spent on mobile app stores, advertising in 2023 –Report

By Chinenye Anuforo

The mobile app economy is now a half-a-trillion-dollar market, with nearly $1.5 billion in spending each day in 2023 across app store spend and mobile ad spend a report by data.ai revealed. This included $362 billion in mobile ad spend, an 8 per cent YoY increase.

Data.ai’s state of mobile 2024 report reveals that mobile made a comeback after a one-year market slowdown. In 2023, consumer spending hit a new high at $171 billion (+3 per cent YoY) following a 2 per cent YoY dip in 2022. 

The report highlighted another record-breaking year for app developers across the globe.

Revenue wasn’t the only metric that performed well in 2023 – downloads and time spent also saw strong growth to new all-time highs. Hours spent peaked at 5.1 trillion (+6 per cent YoY). Meanwhile, downloads remained flat at 257 billion (+1 per cent YoY).

The uptick in app store spend was particularly notable given the unprecedented decline in 2022, which was largely driven by mobile gaming. While the outlook for games and apps alike looks better entering 2024, consumer spend on apps will continue to drive the bulk of the growth, something that seemed impossible just 10 years ago.  Apps outpaced games, driving the rebound in consumer spend at 11 per cent YoY to $64 billion and more than six times the total from 2016. Social apps and the creator economy pioneered new pathways to monetization beyond advertising.

TikTok laid the groundwork through its content creator “tipping” mechanism, propelling it past $10 billion in lifetime spend. In 2024, direct consumer monetization in social apps through In-App purchases is set to grow 150 per cent to $1.3 billion as competition ramps up. And this consumer spend growth is not isolated to one sector – genres including entertainment, social media, health & fitness and generative AI, to name a few, all saw rapid growth this past year.

Meanwhile, mobile gaming was one of the industries hit hardest in 2022 by inflation and regulations. The 2 per cent annual decline in consumer spend looks like a continuation of the 4 per cent decline in 2022; however, a closer look reveals a more positive picture in most markets.

While mobile game spend in China declined nearly 11 per cent YoY, spend outside of China saw 4 per cent growth – a remarkable comeback from the 11 per cent YoY decline outside of China in 2022. Some notable markets with double-digit growth in 2023 included South Korea, France, Brazil and Turkey.