Global App Spending Passed $100B in 2020 – Over $25B More Than 2019

Despite the hardships that the year 2020 posed for many industries, there were some important milestones that were reached when it comes to global app spending on mobile devices. According to data presented by Trading Platforms, consumers spent close to $111B globally on apps from both Apple’s App Store and Google Play – a 30% increase from 2019.

30% YoY Increase in Downloads From 2019

With the pandemic ravaging the globe for the most part of 2020, consumers had to adapt to a “new normal” as lockdowns forced most people to stay home. As a result, mobile devices, which have grown tremendously in influence for the last two decades, became even more significant in people’s lives.

Mobile devices became many people’s connection to the outside world and became peoples primary tool for education, employment, and entertainment among many others. As a result, total global app spending from both the Apple App Store and Google Play reached a combined $111B in 2020, a 30% increase from 2019’s global app spending.

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App Store Generated 87.3% More Spending Than Google Play

While both the App Store and Google Play recorded almost identical YoY growth at 30%, data shows that the App store generated 87.3% more spending than Google Play. The App store recorded $72.3B in consumer spending compared to $56B in 2019. Google Play on the other hand generated $39B in 2020 compared to $30B in 2019.

First-time Downloads in 2020 Sets New Record – Total of 143 Billion Downloads

There was also a record number of first-time downloads for the year of 2020 with Apple and Google recording a combined 143 billion downloads – a 23.7% increase from 2019. Notably, Google Play generated a higher YoY growth of 27.9% compared to a 12.1% YoY growth for the App Store.

Google Play Records an Almost 40% YoY Growth in Mobile Game Downloads

Google Play recorded 46.1B mobile game downloads compared to the App Store’s 10.1B downloads in 2020. More significantly, Google Play’s almost 40% YoY growth rate quadrupled the App Store’s 10% YoY growth rate. Spearheading this growth is Garena Free Fire which ranks as the most downloaded Google Play Game of 2020, while the breakout game Among Us leads in App store downloads for 2020.