Consumers set to spend $2 trillion on mobile apps throughout the 2021-2030 decade

data.ai’s recently released Mobile App Market Forecast 2030 report projects a staggering $2.2 trillion revenue generation within the mobile app economy from 2021 to 2030. The forecast unveils a remarkable surge in in-app spending through app stores, poised to skyrocket by 267% over the decade compared to the previous ten years, with a projected $288 billion in consumer spending in 2030 alone. 

Concurrently, app downloads are expected to witness a substantial uptick, with consumers anticipated to download nearly 2.9 trillion new apps and games between 2021 and 2030, marking a 123% increase from the preceding decade.

The forecast also paints a vivid picture of the escalating hours spent on mobile devices, expected to surpass a monumental 58 trillion over the decade, translating to an average of nearly 16 billion hours per day. 

Historically, the gaming sector has reigned supreme in terms of revenue generation within the app market, fueled by the fervent passion of gamers willing to invest in their leisure pursuits. Publishers, leveraging strategies such as in-game events, avatar customization, and leaderboards, have effectively incentivized players to spend, contributing significantly to the sector’s financial prowess.

However, propelled by the exponential growth in app downloads, non-gaming apps are poised to outpace their gaming counterparts in consumer spending. By 2030, data.ai predicts that annual spending in apps will command a substantial 50.3% share of the market, witnessing a significant surge from 37% in 2023. 

The global proliferation of mobile devices, coupled with the accessibility of data, has fueled a soaring demand for Short Video apps. The report forecasts that global spending on Entertainment category apps, including OTT and Short Videos, will comprise 18% of annual consumer spend by 2030, marking a staggering 120% growth from 2023 to 2030.

Despite the dominance of Entertainment category apps, social media behemoths such as TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram continue to reign supreme in terms of user engagement. The report anticipates that Social and Entertainment apps, encompassing these platforms, will collectively surpass 4.8 trillion hours in 2030, eclipsing the total time spent in all apps for the year 2022.

In a revelation underscoring the democratization of app usage and spending, users in developing markets emerge as key contributors to the app economy’s meteoric rise. While mature markets such as the United States, China, Japan, and Korea are projected to dominate consumer spending, burgeoning growth trajectories are forecasted for other regions. Central America, South America, and Africa are poised to register impressive compound annual growth rates of 12.0%, 10.9%, and 10.8%, respectively, over the next seven years, showcasing the widespread global impact of the mobile app revolution.