How Big is the Mobile App Market?

The stats you need to know about advertising your mobile app.

Ordering food? Need a ride? Doing some meditation? There’s an app for that. With an estimated seven million apps available on the Apple and Android marketplaces alone, the industry is jam-packed with competition. Today we’re taking a look at the mobile app market, how big it is, and what marketers should be paying attention to. Let’s dive in.

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The current state of the mobile app market

The global mobile app market size was valued at USD 206.85 billion in 2022 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.8% from 2023 to 2030. Though every industry has a huge mobile app offering, the mobile commerce and mobile entertainment markets are the biggest drivers behind this growth. 

In terms of app usage, recent research shows that people spend an average of 4.2 hours per day on their mobile devices, with approximately 90% of that time spent on mobile apps. The most popular app categories include social media, gaming, entertainment, and productivity apps.

One of the key trends in the mobile app market is the increasing use of in-app purchases and subscription models as a way to generate revenue. In fact, in-app purchases account for around 50% of app revenue, with subscription-based apps seeing the highest revenue growth. As in-app events are becoming an increasingly vital part of apps’ financial models, the validity of attribution for these events is more important than ever, and should be on the radar of mobile apps. 

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App usage statistics 

More of a numbers guy? Here are some key statistics all mobile app marketers should know about.

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• Mobile apps are expected to generate over $935 billion in revenue in 2023
• The Apple App Store has 1.96 million apps available for download
• There are 2.87 million apps available for download on the Google Play Store.
• 21% of Millennials open an app 50+ times per day
• 49% of people open an app 11+ times each day
• 70% of all US digital media time comes from mobile apps
• The average smartphone owner uses 10 apps per day and 30 apps each month

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What are some key mobile app marketing strategies?

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Social media advertising

Social media platforms like Meta and Twitter offer highly targeted advertising options that can help you reach your ideal audience. A recent study suggests Meta platforms are the most effective avenues for mobile app advertising. 

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Influencer marketing

Partnering with social media influencers who have a large and engaged following can help you reach a wider audience and build trust with potential users. According to a survey by Influencer Marketing Hub, 89% of marketers believe that influencer marketing ROI is comparable or better than other marketing channels. By leveraging the influencer's established relationship with their followers, apps can benefit from their credibility and trust, and increase the likelihood of user acquisition and engagement.

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App store optimisation 

Optimising your app store listing can help your app appear higher in search results and attract more downloads. You can optimise your app store listing by using high quality visuals, including keywords in your app title and description, and rolling out regular updates to your offering. 

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Universal App Campaigns (UAC)

Universal App Campaigns by Google can help apps reach a wider audience, optimise ad targeting, simplify campaign management, and achieve their marketing goals more efficiently. Using machine learning algorithms, Universal App Campaigns can automatically optimise ad targeting and placement across multiple Google properties, like YouTube and Search. The simplified interface makes it easy for app developers and marketers to manage and track campaigns. 

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Driving user acquisition and ROI in a crowded app marketplace: Ad fraud prevention

Mobile app ad fraud is the enemy of ambitious user acquisition strategies. Bots and bad guys are targeting the app industry because of its big budgets, and it’s having some serious consequences. Apps are at risk of hampered user acquisition (as fraudulent clicks will never convert), decreased ad budgets which have been drained by IVT, and misattribution when clicks and conversions are attributed to the wrong source.

That’s where TrafficGuard’s mobile app ad fraud protection comes in. With only relevant users engaging with your ads, user acquisition gets an almighty boost as well. Mobile app ad fraud is the enemy of ambitious user acquisition strategies, as fraudulent clicks which never convert reduce spend which would otherwise go towards bagging new, relevant users. Remove fraud from the equation and you’re left with a pool of prospects ready and raring to download your offering, with your MMP able to accurately determine who they are and where they came from.

By offering protection at every level, including during the click process, we verify traffic as soon as it enters the picture, leaving fraud with nowhere to hide. And with AI/ML on our side, we provide the most complete, transparent and effective verification solution on the market. 

Find out more about mobile app fraud protection here.