App downloads fall 2.3% in 2024, but consumer spending will rise to $127 billion

The global software economy he continued it will be restored in 2024 after the previous one don’t slow down In 2022 — at least in terms of consumer spending. In 2024, global consumer spending on mobile apps and games will reach $127 billion in the App Store and Google Play, up 15.7% from the previous year. However, according to new data from the app intelligence firm, those increases were driven by Apple’s App Store as Google Play spending declined. Application figures.

While the spending was over, there was another troubling sign about the overall health of the app ecosystem. This year, global app downloads will decrease by 2.3% compared to 2023, reaching approximately 110 billion. The data shows that this downward trend was observed in both app stores.

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen signs that the massive growth of the app ecosystem could finally happen starting with level up. As the app economy evolves, the recent focus has been on monetizing the apps they already use through ongoing subscriptions, rather than driving consumers to download new apps or paid apps.

Notably, only 5% of apps worldwide offered subscriptions last year, but they accounted for 48% of app revenue in both app stores, Appfigures found. Additionally, the top 10 apps accounted for 13.7% of all consumer spending globally, up 1.2% from 12.5% ​​in 2023.

Meanwhile, much of the innovation happening today is in the field of artificial intelligence – a trend that Apple has largely rejected when it chooses. General program of the year it’s over last few yearsAward for Cinema and hiking app AllTrails video app in 2024 and 2023 respectively.

Downloads are dropping globally

A decline in app downloads was a trend observed in both app markets.

Out of a total of 110 billion downloads in 2024, iOS downloads accounted for 28.3 billion installs, a 1.1% year-over-year decline. Downloads of Android applications on Google Play fell by 2.6% to 81.4 billion. Last year there were software downloads mostly flatfound another report.

In part, the decline in downloads is also due to how Apple and Google Play will manage their app stores in 2024.

Google in particular has been cracking down on spam and other low-quality apps this past year, leading to a significant 60% drop in new app releases on Google Play. This is probably what caused it increasing requirements for developers around application testing and application review.

The U.S. also contributed to the larger global trend download growth, as U.S. iOS downloads fell 5.3% to 6.1 billion, while U.S. Google Play app downloads fell 0.7% to 4.4 billion. Overall, app downloads in the US fell 3.4% year-over-year to about 10.6 billion.

Instagram, not TikTok, was the most downloaded app in 2024 with nearly 640 million installs. It was also the most searched app in the U.S. Along with Instagram, other popular social apps including Snapchat, Facebook, and TikTok were also searched for more than X in 2024.

However, Temu was the most downloaded app in the US with 48 million installs, Appfigures found. Apple recently confirmed that it is The most downloaded app in the US Also on the App Store.

Mexico saw the largest increase in app downloads in 2024, with 225 million more installs than in 2023.

The App Store continues to make money

In terms of revenue, the app economy is still making money for developers and app stores — at least in the Apple App Store.

In 2024, $91.6 billion of the $127 billion in total consumer spending globally came from the App Store, up 24% year over year. Google Play consumer spending fell 1.5% year-on-year to $35.7 billion.

The US accounted for a large portion of this total pie, as $47.6 billion in consumer spending came from users in the US, up 11% year-over-year. (Apple’s App Store accounted for $34.4 billion of that US figure, up 18.4%, while Google Play’s US revenue fell 4.7% to $13.2 billion in 2024 .)

By consumer spending, the top app globally was TikTok, with roughly $2.5 billion on iOS and Android, excluding app stores in China. TikTok was the top app in the US at the same time, attracting nearly $1.3 billion.

Brazil was the fastest growing market for consumer spending with a 73% year-over-year increase.