Third Quarter App Consumption Has Grown Storm With Corona 19

Even in the Corona 19 situation, mobile usage remains unchanged. Through Corona 19, social distancing and refraining from going out were achieved, and consumers switched to online for work, school, and social exchange. As a result, the amount of app expenditure and usage time also surged.

According to the App Annie report, consumers downloaded 33 billion new apps worldwide in the third quarter and spent $28 billion on apps. This amount is a 20% increase over the same period last year. Consumers also spent over 180 billion hours on apps from July to September 2020. This is a 25% increase over the same period last year.

App Any has previously published an analysis that Corona 19 may have a long-term impact on consumer mobile behavior. At least in the Corona 19 situation, it can be said that mobile use is showing an increase two to three years ahead. App downloads were made 33 billion times in the third quarter, of which Google Play downloads were 25 billion times, up 10% from the same period last year. iOS was 9 billion, up 20% year-on-year. 55% of app downloads on Google Play are non-game apps, and 70% on iOS.

The regions where there were many downloads were India and Brazil on Google Play, and the US and China on iOS. India, Brazil, and Mexico have increased the number of downloads on Google Play, and in iOS, India and Korea have been the growth drivers.

The increase in download count is in part directly linked to Corona 19. In Mexico, for example, as students began learning distance, the number of downloads of educational apps increased by 25%, and library and demo apps increased by 270%. U.S. consumers turned to the outdoors in pursuit of activities during business closures, travel app downloads increased by 50%, navigation apps increased by 25% and weather apps by 15%.

Overall, the categories of games, tools, and entertainment showed an increase. On iOS, games, photos and video entertainment topped the list for the fifth consecutive quarter.

Consumers poured a record high of $28 billion in the third quarter. Quarterly, it is the largest amount so far. Spending was $18 billion, up 20% year-on-year on iOS, and $10 billion, up 35% on Google Play. The proportion of non-game apps out of spending is 35% for iOS and 20% for Google Play, mainly due to subscriptions.

The markets with the highest consumer spending on both iOS and Google Play are the United States and Japan, and only Google Play has a large amount of Korean spending. Increasing consumer spending on apps is closely related to the epidemic and its impact. Games and social entertainment are the most paying categories on Google Play. In entertainment, streaming apps such as Disney+, Twitch, Globo Play, and HBO Max that consumers can enjoy even when they are at home have boosted spending.

On iOS, games, entertainment, photos and videos were the highest. In the U.S., sports app spending increased 55% from the previous quarter. Meanwhile, TikTok had the second largest consumer spend in the non-game category. However, in the non-game category, it was the cartoon app piccoma, YouTube, Tinder, and AbemaTV that contributed to the highest spending increase in the past. Among them, Tinder showed recovery in the third quarter. Despite Corona 19, Tinder took first place in consumer spending, and Disney+ rose to fourth place. But for monthly active users, Facebook still dominates. From 1st to 4th, Facebook, WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram are in order. This is followed by Amazon, Twitter, Netflix, Spotify, TikTok, and Telegram. Telegram entered the TOP 10 for the first time by raising the rankings from the second quarter.

The game sector continued to use a lot due to the influence of Corona 19. During the ban on going out, as consumers pursued entertainment, the number of weekly downloads maintained 1 billion times, 15% more than the same period last year. Consumers also spent a record high of $20 billion in games in the third quarter. By the end of the year, mobile games are expected to be 2.8 times more than desktop and 3.1 times more than consoles.

The number of game downloads in the third quarter reached 14 billion times, of which 11 billion was done on Google Play. This is a 20% increase from the same period last year. There were 2.6 billion downloads on iOS. Reflecting the number of downloads, 45% of the games with the most downloads were on Google Play and 30% on iOS.

The App Any report shows the same trend as the third quarter report of another research firm, Sensor Tower, released in early October. Sensor Tower’s app sales exceeded $29 billion in the third quarter, and app downloads were estimated at 365 billion times. Related information can be found here .