Recent analytics indicate that downloads of iPhone apps have decreased compared to last year, while expenditures on these apps have surged. Nearly half of developers’ revenue now stems from subscription services.
Though overall App Store downloads have dipped slightly over the last year, total spending has seen a substantial increase, rising from $73.7 billion last year to $91.6 billion this year.
Declining app downloads, increasing expenditures
According to Appfigures, downloads across all applications fell by 2.3%, but the amount spent rose by 15.7%, largely attributed to the Apple ecosystem. As reported by TechCrunch:
In 2024, global consumer spending on mobile apps and games reached $127 billion across both the App Store and Google Play, marking a 15.7% uplift from the previous year. This growth was predominantly fueled by Apple’s App Store, while spending on Google Play saw a decline.
Subscriptions take center stage
The trend of reduced app downloads alongside higher spending can be easily rationalized.
A mere 5% of applications worldwide offered subscription services last year, yet these accounted for 48% of the total revenue generated across both app stores, as found by Appfigures.
Top downloaded app in the US: Temu
While it’s expected for social media applications to dominate global download rankings, the most downloaded application in the US was Chinese shopping platform Temu, consistent with rankings provided by Apple.
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