10 Mobile App Industry Facts That Will Blow You Away
Have you ever stopped for a moment to think about how insane the app industry has become in the last few years? Everyone from big name brands and independent developers to moms and social marketers are trying to make sense of it all. More importantly, everyone’s trying to figure out how to benefit from the ever expanding app phenomenon.
To really understand where the mobile industry is headed, we need to take a quick look back at the significant achievements that have been achieved so far.
First The Big Numbers
1 – Apple is currently in the lead with over 571,745 approved apps in the iTunes App Store. The Android Market is trailing close behind with 300,000 apps and Nokia is in 3rd is place with roughly 50,000 apps available in the Ovi Store.
2 – Games remain the most popular app category: 65% of smartphone owners who’ve downloaded at least one app in the last month have downloaded a game. For feature phone owners, the stat is 59%. – Source
3 – For every 1 paid app there are 12 free downloaded apps which you can use as well for generating revenue with list building and showing ads. Additionally, after the initial race to the bottom in App Store pricing, we are seeing users pay up to add features and games to their iOS devices. – Source
4 – Google’s Android Market sports the largest proportion of free applications with 57% of all programs not costing users a dime.
5 - During the first half of 2011, game revenue in the App Store shifted dramatically from premium to freemium, with 65% of all revenue generated among the top 100 games now coming freemium games. - Source
6 – Over two-thirds of all items purchased in iOS and Android freemium games are consumable, goods that users deplete. Measured another way, approximately half of all real dollars spent within all apps are for game items consumers don’t keep. - Source
7 – By 2015, International Data Corporation (IDC) predicts that 182.7 billion mobile apps will be downloaded, close to a 1600% increase from the 10.7 billion apps downloaded in 2010. – Source
8 – The average iOS user has downloaded a total of 75 apps – Source
9 – Despite there are thousands of apps on all sorts of markets, the average number of apps Chinese users use often is 3-5 – Source
10 – While smartphone and tablet owners are very willing to give applications a try, 26% of the time they will never use the same application again. Similarly 26% of people become very loyal, repeat customers and use a new app more than 10 times. – Source
Taking all these stats into consideration, it’s almost easy to forget that the app industry is no older than about 4 years old. The question is, how do you see the app industry evolve in the next 5 years? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter @Apps_Mktg
