The app economy suffered slower growth in 2022, with people spending less money on apps. But now, things are getting better.
A recent report from DataAI, a company that studies apps, reveals that mobile consumer spending is increasing once again in the first half of 2023.
In the first six months of 2023, people around the world spent a record-breaking $67.5 billion on in-app purchases. They also downloaded 76.8 billion apps from the Apple App Store and Google Play.
Following a decline in 2022, mobile consumer spending experienced a strong recovery. It bounced back with a robust 5.3% year-over-year growth in the first half of 2023. App downloads also increased by 3.2%, as indicated by data.ai, a prominent provider of mobile data and analytics.
In the first half of 2021, India, Brazil, and Indonesia emerged as the leading markets for Google Play app downloads. Notably, Turkey, Russia, and Indonesia experienced a significant increase in app downloads on the same platform compared to the second half of 2022.
Meanwhile, on iOS, China, the US, and Japan took the top spots as the leading markets for app downloads. Whereas Brazil, China, and the US showcased the most growth in app downloads compared to the second half of 2022.
In the first quarter of 2023, the popular Chinese short-video app TikTok achieved a remarkable milestone. It became the first app to make over $1 billion from users within a single quarter. TikTok further made history by exceeding $2 billion in consumer spending, accumulating an impressive $2.1 billion in the first half of 2023.
Other apps like Piccoma, Disney+, and YouTube also demonstrated growth compared to the second half of 2022. Piccoma grew by 34%, Disney+ by 10%, and YouTube by 6%.
It's not surprising the big social media companies maintained their dominance in both app download and monthly active user (MAU) rankings throughout the first half of 2023. TikTok and CapCut (both owned by ByteDance) and Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook (all owned by Meta) were the top five most downloaded apps. Meanwhile, Meta continued to be the leader in terms of monthly active users, as highlighted in the report.
The five most downloaded games in the first half of 2023 remained unchanged from the second half of 2022, with Subway Surfers and Free Fire being the most popular.
However, there were some new games that entered the scene, such as Block Blast Adventure Master from Hungry Studio and Attack Hole from Homa.
Another game that gained popularity in the first half of 2023 was Gardenscapes, a match-3 game developed by Playrix.
The most popular mobile games in terms of MAU in the first half of 2023 were like the second half of 2022. Roblox, Free Fire, and Candy Crush Saga were among the top ones.
Interestingly, the only new addition to the top 10 MAU rankings was FIFA Soccer. It continued to sustain its momentum following the FIFA World Cup held in late 2022, as stated in the report.
Read next: From LinkedIn, YouTube to TikTok and Threads, Which App Reached 100 Million Users the Fastest?
A recent report from DataAI, a company that studies apps, reveals that mobile consumer spending is increasing once again in the first half of 2023.
In the first six months of 2023, people around the world spent a record-breaking $67.5 billion on in-app purchases. They also downloaded 76.8 billion apps from the Apple App Store and Google Play.
Following a decline in 2022, mobile consumer spending experienced a strong recovery. It bounced back with a robust 5.3% year-over-year growth in the first half of 2023. App downloads also increased by 3.2%, as indicated by data.ai, a prominent provider of mobile data and analytics.
In the first half of 2021, India, Brazil, and Indonesia emerged as the leading markets for Google Play app downloads. Notably, Turkey, Russia, and Indonesia experienced a significant increase in app downloads on the same platform compared to the second half of 2022.
Meanwhile, on iOS, China, the US, and Japan took the top spots as the leading markets for app downloads. Whereas Brazil, China, and the US showcased the most growth in app downloads compared to the second half of 2022.
In the first quarter of 2023, the popular Chinese short-video app TikTok achieved a remarkable milestone. It became the first app to make over $1 billion from users within a single quarter. TikTok further made history by exceeding $2 billion in consumer spending, accumulating an impressive $2.1 billion in the first half of 2023.
Other apps like Piccoma, Disney+, and YouTube also demonstrated growth compared to the second half of 2022. Piccoma grew by 34%, Disney+ by 10%, and YouTube by 6%.
It's not surprising the big social media companies maintained their dominance in both app download and monthly active user (MAU) rankings throughout the first half of 2023. TikTok and CapCut (both owned by ByteDance) and Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook (all owned by Meta) were the top five most downloaded apps. Meanwhile, Meta continued to be the leader in terms of monthly active users, as highlighted in the report.
The five most downloaded games in the first half of 2023 remained unchanged from the second half of 2022, with Subway Surfers and Free Fire being the most popular.
However, there were some new games that entered the scene, such as Block Blast Adventure Master from Hungry Studio and Attack Hole from Homa.
Another game that gained popularity in the first half of 2023 was Gardenscapes, a match-3 game developed by Playrix.
The most popular mobile games in terms of MAU in the first half of 2023 were like the second half of 2022. Roblox, Free Fire, and Candy Crush Saga were among the top ones.
Interestingly, the only new addition to the top 10 MAU rankings was FIFA Soccer. It continued to sustain its momentum following the FIFA World Cup held in late 2022, as stated in the report.
Read next: From LinkedIn, YouTube to TikTok and Threads, Which App Reached 100 Million Users the Fastest?
