A new prediction from App Annie looks at what the future may be for the mobile app market, and it is certainly looking bright. Their research says that by 2021, the global app market will be $139 billion per year. This is just the money that people spend buying apps and paying for in-app purchases, it does not take into account the money that will be made through in-app advertising.
Danielle Levitas, the SVP of Research at App Annie, said, “Consumers are already spending twice as much time in apps than they did two years ago.” This is a strong indication that as more and more people become reliant on mobile devices, especially in developing nations around the world, this market will continue to expand very rapidly.
Another interesting prediction is that by 2021, purchases through the various Android app stores, especially Google Play, will surpass the Apple App Store. Apple has long been dominant when it comes to app purchases, but the sheer numbers of people using the Android platform is likely to overcome that gulf. They do say that the per-device purchase rate for Apple will likely remain higher than with android, however.
While the emerging and mid-tier markets for mobile apps are going to make a lot of the growth, the five largest markets (US, China, Japan, South Korea, and the UK) will still make up about 85% of the global spend in this area in 2021. This is a good indication that even beyond this timeframe, the growth potential for the mobile app market is incredible.
