Table of Contents
Executive Summary
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- The market
- Value of mobile apps market grows by a third
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- Figure 1: Gross mobile app revenue for App Store and Google Play Store, 2014-2024
- Strong growth in consumer spend on apps and games in first half of 2019
- Netflix and Coin Master generate most revenue on App Store and Google Play Store
- App developers could see value in producing high quality games for Stadia and xCloud
- Video streaming apps set to benefit from 5G
- Companies and brands
- Google Play to refresh its ratings system
- Changes to WhatsApp and Instagram including new titles, ads and cross-messaging considerations
- Uber Technologies and Just Eat among the highest ad spenders
- The consumer
- Six in ten have Android
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- Figure 2: Operating systems running on smartphones, July 2019
- Social media and messaging still by far the most frequently used apps
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- Figure 3: Frequency of app usage, by category, July 2019
- Two in ten download apps weekly
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- Figure 4: Frequency of downloading apps, July 2019
- People are most likely to be paying for games
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- Figure 5: Paid app downloads, by app category, July 2019
- Intrusive ads are a deal-breaker for many app users
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- Figure 6: Attitudes towards intrusive ads and ad-based rewards, July 2019
- Consumers prioritise privacy with location permission
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- Figure 7: Attitudes towards location access, storage space and use of media casting, July 2019
- What we think
Issues and Insights
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- Enabling users to choose preferred type of ad is likely to improve experience on free apps
- The facts
- The implications
- Mobile app developers can work with Google and Xbox to produce higher-quality games
- The facts
- The implications
The Market – What You Need to Know
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- Strong growth in consumer spend on apps and games in first half of 2019
- Value of mobile apps market grows by a third
- Netflix and Coin Master generate most revenue on App Store and Google Play Store
- App developers could see value in producing high quality games for Stadia and xCloud
- Video streaming apps set to benefit from 5G
Market Size and Forecast
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- Strong growth in consumer spend on apps and games in first half of 2019
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- Figure 8: Consumer Spend on App Store and Google Play Store apps and games, 2014 – 2018 and H1 2019
- Figure 9: Consumer spend on App Store and Google Play Store apps and games, July 2018 and July 2019
- Value of mobile apps market grows by a third
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- Figure 10: Gross mobile app revenue for App Store and Google Play Store, 2014-2024
- Figure 11: Gross mobile app revenue for App Store and Google Play Store, 2014-2024
- Netflix generates the most revenue on the App Store
- Netflix’s dominance to be challenged by new launches
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- Figure 12: Top apps by revenue for UK iOS App Store, January – June 2019
- Coin Master is top app on Google Pay Store
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- Figure 13: Top apps by revenue for Google Play Store, January – June 2019
- Games continue to generate the most revenue
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- Figure 14: Top categories for UK iOS App Store and Google Play Store, January – June 2019
Market Drivers
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- App developers could see value in producing high quality games for Stadia and xCloud
- Video streaming apps set to benefit from 5G
Companies and Brands – What You Need to Know
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- Google Play to refresh its ratings system
- Apple announces Apple Arcade gaming app
- Changes to WhatsApp and Instagram including new titles, ads and cross-messaging considerations
- Cross messaging
- WhatsApp and Instagram name changes
- WhatsApp Status ads
- Uber Technologies and Just Eat among highest ad spenders
Launch Activity and Innovation
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- Google Play Store to refresh its ratings system
- Apple releases Apple Arcade gaming app
- Changes to WhatsApp and Instagram, including new titles, ads and cross-messaging considerations
- Cross-messaging
- WhatsApp and Instagram name changes
- WhatsApp biometric authentication for iOS
- Instagram adds in-app shopping feature
- WhatsApp Status ads
Advertising and Marketing Activity
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- Uber Technologies and Just Eat among highest ad spenders
- Banks also spending heavily to advertise finance apps
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- Figure 15: Top advertisers, by total above-the-line, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure on mobile apps, 2018
- Nielsen Ad Intel coverage
The Consumer – What You Need to Know
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- Six in ten have Android smartphone
- Social media and messaging still by far the most frequently used apps
- Generation Z and Younger Millennials driven by regular mobile media consumption
- Two in ten download apps weekly
- People are most likely to be paying for games
- Consumers prefer banner ads for free apps
- Intrusive ads are a deal-breaker for many app users
- Consumers prioritise privacy with location permission
Operating Systems on Mobile Devices
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- Six in ten have Android smartphone
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- Figure 16: Operating systems running on smartphones, July 2019
- Operating systems on tablets stays consistent
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- Figure 17: Operating systems running on tablets, July 2019
App Usage on Mobile Devices
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- Social media and messaging still by far the most frequently used apps
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- Figure 18: Frequency of app usage, by category, July 2019
- Nearly one in four use payment apps daily
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- Figure 19: Daily use of apps, by category, July 2019
- Generation Z and Younger Millennials driven by regular mobile media consumption
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- Figure 20: Daily use of apps, by category, for Generation Z and Younger Millennials, July 2019
- Consumers most likely to have used gaming apps in the past
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- Figure 21: Use of apps in the past, by category, July 2019
App Downloading and Purchasing
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- Two in ten download apps weekly
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- Figure 22: Frequency of downloading apps, July 2019
- People are most likely to be paying for games
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- Figure 23: Paid app downloads, by category, July 2019
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- Figure 24: Payments for premium content, by app category, July 2019
Mobile App Advertising
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- Consumers prefer banner ads for free apps
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- Figure 25: Preferred type of in-app adverts, July 2019
- Intrusive ads are a deal-breaker for many app users
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- Figure 26: Attitudes towards intrusive ads and ad-based rewards, July 2019
Attitudes towards Location Access, Storage Space and Media Casting
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- Consumers prioritise privacy with location permission
- Apps are usually discarded first to regain device storage space
- Millennials most likely to cast media content to TV
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- Figure 27: Attitudes towards location access, storage space and use of media casting, July 2019
Appendix – Data Sources, Abbreviations and Supporting Information
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- Abbreviations
- Consumer research methodology
Appendix – Market Size and Forecast
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- Forecast methodology
- Total market value forecast
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- Figure 28: Gross mobile app revenue for App Store and Google Play Store (best/worst case), 2019-2024
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