Mobile app spending will double to $171 billion by 2024 despite COVID-19

Consumer spending in mobile apps through Apple’s App Store and Google Play will total close to $171 billion globally in 2024; double the amount spent in 2019, according to forecasting based on Sensor Tower, store Intelligence data.

The projection paints a positive picture for the year 2020, with stores generating a combined $102 billion in gross consumer spending, growing by about 20% each year despite the impact of COVID-19 on global economies.

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Consumer spending on mobile apps and games will be slightly impacted by the coronavirus outbreak due to lower purchasing power, according to the report.

The original pre-pandemic forecast for first-time installs in 2020 stood at 133.3 billion, or 7 billion less than the revised projection.

By 2024, global spending on mobile games will escalate to $97.8 billion suggests the forecast accounting for 57% of total gross revenue that year.

In addition to this, spending on non-game apps on the Apple store is like to surpass that of games for the first time in 2024, driven by growth in subscription revenue.

New app installs are projected to reach 44.5 billion in 2024 on the App Store and 139.2 billion on Google Play, reflecting growth of 45% and 65% over 2019’s totals, respectively.



There is an increase in consumer dependency on mobile as a source for commerce, communication, and entertainment post-pandemic.

The forecast projects that mobile apps will have a strong demand in the coming years proving beneficial for app developers, investors, and enterprises through 2024 and beyond.