By 2026, global consumer spending on premium apps, in-app purchases and subscriptions on Apple’s App Store and Google Play will reach $233 billion. This is 77 percent more than the $132 billion consumers spent in 2021. Also Read – Pokémon Go Crosses $6 Billion in Lifetime Player Spending: View Details
While consumer spending habits have returned to normal since the initial spike during the pandemic, gross revenue on both App Stores will continue to climb with a 12 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) every year, reaching $233 billion in 2026. , Sensor Tower reports. Also Read – Amazon will no longer offer in-app Kindle purchases on Android apps, but there’s a catch
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According to the report, the App Store will reach $161 billion annually by 2026 at a CAGR of 13.7 percent. On Google’s platform, consumer spending is projected to grow at a CAGR of 8.9 percent, reaching $72 billion over the next five years.
The United States will trail the global trend across the board, with consumer spending projected to reach $86 billion in 2026 at a CAGR of 16.5 percent. Apple’s App Store is projected to experience a CAGR of 18.8 percent, reaching $59.5 billion, while Google Play will grow to $27.4 billion at a 12.3 percent CAGR.
Despite the slow pace since the 2020 boom, first-time downloads will continue to set new records over the next five years, growing at a CAGR of 4.7 percent to 181 billion in 2026. App Store will experience growth in app adoption by 2.9. Percentage CAGR will reach 37.8 billion within the next five years, while Google Play will see a combined CAGR of 5.2 percent climb to 143.1 billion.
For the first time, the pace of download growth in the US lags behind global trends, with combined installs on the App Store and Google Play expected to climb at a 0.5 percent CAGR in 2026 to 13.4 billion. Most of the growth is driven by the App Store, which will experience a CAGR of 1.4 percent to reach 8.2 billion; Google Play in contrast will see a decline of 1.2 percent CAGR to 5.2 billion downloads in 2026.
Although mobile games will continue to reign as the highest-grossing category, non-game apps will collectively increase their revenue share at least through 2026 on Apple’s App Store. By 2026, mobile games will represent a 43 percent revenue share on that marketplace, down 23 points from 2020. On Google Play, mobile games will also see a declining trend over the next five years; However, it will retain its majority revenue share at 65 per cent in 2026, down 18 points from 2020.