Consumer app spend to reach $106.4 billion by end of 2018, says report

Worldwide consumer spend on apps is set to reach $106.4 billion USD by the end of the year, according to a new report from app market data and insights firm App Annie.

The report, called the 2017-2022 App Economy Forecast, also notes that annual consumer app spend will grow to $156.5 billion by 2022.

App Annie attributes much of the spending growth to the Asia-Pacific region, with China in particular accounting for 40 percent of worldwide app purchases. The U.S., Japan, South Korea and Germany make up the remaining top five biggest spenders, respectively.

Overall, App Annie says average worldwide consumer spending per device will grow to reach $25.65 by 2022, up from $20.94 in 2017.

In terms of types of apps, App Annie reports that while games-related purchases will remain the main source of consumer spending between 2017 and 2022, money put towards other forms of apps will increase by $75 billion. Specifically, App Annie says that subscription revenue in dating apps and music and video streaming apps will continue to demonstrate rapid growth during this period.

In 2018, App Annie predicts 87.04 billion app downloads on Android and 31.41 billion on iOS. By 2022, Google Play Store app downloads are expected to reach 116.38, while Apple’s App Store downloads are forecast to reach 34.27 billion.

However, as App Annie has noted in the past, while the number of downloads is far greater on Android devices, the amount of money that consumers are spending in their apps is much higher on iOS.

This year, App Annie says iOS spend will reach $32.16 billion, compared to $13.21 billion spent on Android. Similarly, consumers are expected to spend $43.86 billion on iOS apps, while Android apps will generate an estimated $18.7 billion.

Regardless of platform, though, the worldwide app economy looks like it will be in good shape over the next few years.

The full 2017-2022 App Economy Forecast can be viewed here.

Source: App Annie