What you need to know
- Spending on the app stores has surpassed $100 billion in a single year for the first time.
- Christmas spending on apps also reached a new record.
Reported by Sensor Tower, spending on mobile apps and games has bassed $100 billion in a single year for the first time in 2020. On Christmas alone, consumers spent around $407 million across Apple's App Store and Google's Play Store.
2020 has been a record-setting year for worldwide spending on mobile apps and games, which passed $100 billion in a single year for the first time ever in November. This trend continued on Christmas, when consumers around the globe spent an estimated $407.6 million across Apple's App Store and Google Play, according to preliminary Sensor Tower Store Intelligence estimates. This figure represents 34.5 percent year-over-year growth from approximately $303 million in 2019, and is nearly 17 points higher than the growth experienced last year when spending grew 17.7 percent Y/Y.
Most of the spending came from mobile games which saw 27% growth on Christmas, reaching a total of $295 million spent on games alone.
Mobile spending on Christmas comprised 4.5 percent of the month's total spending so far, which reached approximately $9 billion globally from December 1 to December 27. The majority of the holiday spending was on mobile games, which climbed 27 percent from $232.4 million on Christmas 2019 to $295.6 million this year. Tencent's Honor of Kings was the category leader with approximately $10.7 million in consumer spending, up 205.7 percent Y/Y from $3.5 million on the same day in 2019.
Apple's App Store saw the bulk of spending from consumers, raking in $278 million on the holiday, a 35% increase from last year.
As in previous years, Apple's App Store captured the bulk of the spending between the two platforms. It saw 68.4 percent of the spending, or $278.6 million, up 35.2 percent Y/Y. Google Play saw $129 million in revenue, up more than 33 percent Y/Y.
Apple's App Store has continuously held the top spot when it comes to consumer spending, and this year has been no exception.
