Consumer spending on mobile apps will reach $233 billion by 2026

According to Sensor Tower’s five-year forecast, global consumer spending on mobile apps across the App Store and Google Play will reach $233 billion by 2026, up 77% from the $132 billion consumer spending in 2021.

Sensor Tower forecasts that gross revenue in the App Store and Google Play will continue to climb at a CAGR of 12% each year, reaching $233 billion in 2026. App Store is predicted to see a CAGR of 13.7% and reach $161 billion annually by 2026, while consumer spending on Google Play is predicted to reach $72 billion with a CAGR of 8.9% over the next five years.

Global consumer spending on mobile apps reached $32.5 billion in the first quarter of 2022, up 0.6 percent from $32.3 billion in Q1 2021.

First-time downloads are also expected to continue to set new records over the next five years. It will increase to 181 billion in 2026 with a compound annual growth rate of 4.7 percent. App adoption growth in the App Store will experience 2.9% CAGR over the next five years, reaching 37.8 billion, while Google Play will surpass the combined CAGR by climbing 5.2% to 143.1 billion.

Sensor Tower also predicts that non-game apps will collectively outpace mobile gaming’s revenue share on the App Store by 2026, at 57%. Mobile games on Google Play will also show a downward trend over the next five years but it will retain its majority revenue share at 65% in 2026.

While North America will lead in consumer spending growth over the next five years, with revenue growing 113% in that region, Asia will see the most growth in app adoption. The region will see a 6.2% CAGR and reach 88.3 billion first-time downloads by 2026, driven primarily by Google Play. Apple’s marketplace, on the other hand, will see a CAGR of 1.7% over the next five years, reaching 14.5 billion, whereas Google Play will outpace the combined CAGR with 7.2% and reach 73.8 billion in 2026.