Downloads, Spending, and Breakouts: The App Economy at a Glance

According to the report, the third quarter of 2019 once again saw strong growth in downloads and consumer spending, boosted not least by the upcoming Christmas period in the fourth quarter.

However, the start of the new school year and the start of the football leagues' seasons around the world are also having a positive impact on this growth. As a result, the third quarter of 2019 was the strongest ever for mobile applications. There were over 31 billion app downloads worldwide - 10% more than in the previous year.

Consumer spending also reached new heights at over 23 billion US dollars, with growth of 20% compared to the same period in 2018. Europe was no exception: here, the number of downloads also grew by 10% to 5.3 billion, while consumers spent 20% more (3.5 billion US dollars).

Download figures: Google Play grows, iOS remains stable

In the third quarter of 2019, Google Play downloads worldwide increased by 10% year-on-year to almost 23 billion, while iOS downloads remained stable. Google Play also generated growth of 10 percent in downloads within Europe, while iOS grew by 5 percent.

Apps other than classic games accounted for over 60 percent of downloads in both stores, with the percentage on iOS (70 percent) being slightly higher than on Google Play (60 percent).

As in the previous quarter, the emerging markets of India, Brazil and Indonesia were the top three countries for absolute downloads from Google Play in the third quarter of 2019. In terms of year-on-year growth in downloads, India, Brazil and Russia contributed the most.

In terms of non-gaming apps, the growth in downloads on Google Play was primarily generated by comics, finance and cars and vehicles. Of the top 20 comic apps downloaded, 19 were gaming apps, accounting for 95 percent of downloads. However, the most important comic apps in terms of consumer spending were traditional applications such as "Line Manga", "Piccoma" and "LINE Webtoon". The same applies to the cars and vehicles category: the most frequently downloaded apps in this area were also games.

China, the US and Japan were the largest markets for iOS downloads in the third quarter of 2019, but the US, Saudi Arabia and Brazil recorded the highest absolute growth compared to the previous year. Among non-gaming apps, shopping, food and drink and health and fitness were the main categories contributing to quarter-on-quarter growth in downloads.

Applications from the food and drink sector recorded particularly strong growth: 10% compared to the previous year. This is due to the continued strong growth of apps such as "FamilyMart", "McDonalds App" and "Postmates". As the start of school also falls in the third quarter, shopping apps that offer parents and students an optimized shopping experience also recorded growth. In general, however, Chinese shopping apps were the key to the growth in download figures.

Spending: iOS extends its lead over Google Play

The first thing to say is that consumer spending in both app stores increased by 20 percent. Non-gaming apps accounted for 35 percent of consumer spending on iOS, compared to 20 percent on Google Play - an increase of nearly 10 percent from the previous quarter.

The key markets driving year-on-year growth in iOS consumer spending remained unchanged compared to the previous quarter: the US, Japan and China. Growth of over 30 percent was achieved in Japan.

Apart from gaming apps, the areas of photo and video, entertainment and music were the main contributors to the growth in consumer spending. Photo and video, music and education recorded the highest year-on-year growth in market share, i.e. the fastest growth compared to the overall market. "Duolingo" recorded particularly strong growth in consumer spending in the third quarter of 2019. In addition to the increase in these, an increase in downloads of educational applications during school hours was also previously recorded.

For Google Play, the USA, South Korea and Germany contributed significantly to the year-on-year growth in consumer spending, with Germany replacing Japan from the second quarter of 2019. In terms of market share growth compared to the previous year, the USA, Russia and Germany were the top 3 markets.

The main non-gaming categories on Google Play were social, productivity and entertainment. In productivity applications, a number of cloud storage solutions - for example "Google One", "Dropbox" - were the main reasons for the growth in consumer spending.

Breakout apps: "FaceApp", "Google One" and Netflix

"FaceApp", a photo and video editing app that first went viral in 2017, enjoyed great popularity again at the beginning of the quarter. The application attracted a lot of attention thanks to the new ageing filter. Sharing on social networks, particularly by celebrities, played a key role in the app going viral.

"Google One", a membership app for more storage space exclusively for Google Play, entered the top 10 non-gaming apps in global consumer spending. The subscription service offers 15 gigabytes of free cloud storage space for Google Drive, Gmail and Google Photos. Customers are also incentivized with subscription packages for larger amounts of storage, as well as other benefits such as premium customer support.N

Netflix, on the other hand, entered the top 10 non-gaming apps by downloads and at the same time remained in first place for consumer spending. The launch of the third season of Stranger Things probably supported the re-entry into the top 10, which has already been observed in the past following the release of new seasons.

The upcoming launches of streaming services such as Disney+ and Apple TV Plus will increase competition in the streaming market in the coming months. Strong downloads and usage are expected there as consumers try out the new services.

In this context, consumer spending is also likely to grow: when the free trial periods expire and users are satisfied with the offer and quality, they will decide to pull out their wallets.