Last week, App Annie summed up the results of last year, telling about the main events of 2013.
Event 1: Google Play overtook the App Store in the number of downloads for the year
In 2013, Google Play surpassed the App Store in downloads by 15%.
But over the same period, Apple’s app store earned twice as much money as Google Play.
Event 2: Japan is the leader in earnings from mobile stores
In 2013, Japan’s revenue grew 3.3 times. There are two growth drivers: games and the growing popularity of Google Play.
Event 3: Brazil, Russia, India and China have significantly risen, new markets will make themselves felt in 2014
The combined growth rates of Brazil, Russia, India and China were impressive. The number of downloads increased 1.8 times, revenue 2.7 times. This, however, is not so much when compared even with last year’s total results of Japan, South Korea and the United States, but it is better than the combined incomes of Hong Kong, Indonesia, Mexico, Taiwan and Thailand. By the way, according to App Annie, the profit from the latter will grow significantly in 2014.
Event 4: Spending on mobile games continued to grow, their revenue significantly overtook portable consoles
Revenues from games for the App Store overtook revenues from portable consoles in the 1st quarter of 2013, revenues from games for Google Play did so in the 3rd quarter of 2013. The total revenue of the App Store and Google Play in the third quarter was three times more than the revenue from portable consoles.
Event 5: freemium has proven its worth
If in 2012 freemium applications accounted for 86% of all revenue, then in 2013 they already accounted for 93% of all money. And it’s not just about games anymore. Developers of messengers, news, music and dating applications have started using this monetization model.
Event 6: Communication Apps are turning into Media Platforms
Messengers began to earn well. This was largely due to the appearance of game showcases and stickers (paid emoticons) in them. In fact, they began to turn into full-fledged service platforms. At the moment, the number of functions they support is growing. At the same time, their level of penetration continues to increase.
Event 7: Revenue from mobile music apps jumped up
Largely due to the popularity of Pandora in the United States, the revenues of music applications on mobile platforms showed a 77% increase over the past year.
Event 8: Socially-oriented photo and video applications have gained virality
Photo and video applications have become popular social networks. Moreover, their popularity has increased so much that they have begun to compete with conventional social services (at least they are on the way to this). Growth – 55%.
Event 9: applications for banking, payment and financial transactions began to gain popularity
The market of financial applications, those with which you can check your account, transfer money or even purchase digital currency, did not lag behind the market of social photo and video applications in dynamics last year – 55%.
App Annie data and the company’s products are accepted in the industry as standards, they are used by more than 90% of iOS app publishers in the top 100 cash registers.