The global mobile application market size was accounted at US$ 127.10 billion in 2020 and is expanding over US$ 408.13 billion by 2027, poised to grow at a noteworthy CAGR of 18.6% from 2020 to 2027.
Increasing consumer base for e-commerce industry along with rising adoption of smart phones are some of the major factors that drives the growth of mobile application market. In Asia Pacific the smartphone penetration will reach 62.4% by 2021. Furthermore, rising application of virtual and augmented reality triggers the market growth significantly. At present, the smartphones are equipped with various sensors such as accelerometers, gyroscopes, and motion sensors to verify the capability of AR and VR through various mobile apps. In gaming apps such as ‘Pokemon Go’ AR and VR feature enhances the user experience. Besides entertainment business, mobile applications are also largely used for health care and medical benefits. It helps to connect to doctor from various places at a single platform. Other than this, there are several health monitoring apps where users can check their daily exercise routines and improve it accordingly.
However, lack of high-speed connectivity in under-developed and developing nations is expected to impede the market growth. Nonetheless, rising adoption as well as investment in digitization projected to flourish the market growth in the coming years.
Marketplace Insights
Apple iOS Store segment dominated the global mobile application market with around half of the revenue share in 2019. Significant demand for apple and iPhones has triggered the market growth. For instance, in February 2020, Forbes has predicted that Apple’s iPhone business projected to contribute USD 151 Bn to its 2020 revenue that contributes approximately 53% of the total revenue generated.
Meanwhile, Google Play Store seeks lucrative growth during the forecast period. The percent growth of Google Play Store is higher as compared to Apple iOS Store. As per statistics, Google Play Store encountered revenue growth of 27.3% between 2017 and 2018, however, Apple iOS Store registered 20.4% growth during the same period. This is attributed to the rising demand for android phones as they are more compatible with apps.
App Category Insights
Gaming segment led the global mobile application market with significant revenue share in 2019. Increased application of augmented and virtual reality (AR and VR) in the gaming applications and high-level graphics are accounted as the prime factors contributing to its revenue growth. Furthermore, rising investment in gaming applications expected to fuel its growth during the forecast period. For instance, in August 2019, the global mobile gaming industry has received USD 9.6 Bn of investment and has reached at USD 68.4 Bn market revenue by the end of the year 2019.
On the other hand, entertainment & music segment encountered prominent growth rate during the forecast period. The growth of the segment is mainly due to rising demand of online music and entertainment. Netflix, Pandora, Hulu, HBO NOW, YouTube, and many more entertainment apps are available in the market. Additionally, the entertainment app developers are incorporating 3D features to enhance the picture quality.
Regional Insights
Rising smartphone penetration along with high adoption rate of advanced technologies such as IoT, artificial intelligence, and augmented & virtual reality (AR & VR) have significantly triggered the Asia Pacific market with a rapid pace. The region accounted as the most lucrative region and predicted to witness the highest growth rate during the forecast period. In terms of revenue share, the Asia Pacific expected to dominate the global mobile application market during the analysis period. Among Asian countries, China encountered as the leading destination for mobile application download in 2016. However, India recorded the highest percentage of daily use of approximately 27%.
On the other hand, being technologically forward and developed economies North America and Europe held prominent position in the global mobile application market in 2019, with more than 60% revenue share collectively. Presence of magnificent players in the North America such as Apple Inc., IBM Corp., Microsoft Corp., Google LLC, Cognizant, and many others has led the region at the dominant position. In addition, early adoption of technologies in the region along with significant investment in the mobile application to transform the world into fully digitized are another prime factors that drives the market growth. According to world investment report 2017, media & entertainment industry is the most affected industry by digitization and the percentage of impact should be nearly 62%.
Key Companies & Market Share Insights
The global mobile application market is highly competitive with presence of established and big market players. In addition, several new players such as Xiaomi, and OnePlus have also established their strong footprint in the recent past. The companies are largely focused to provide user-friendly application with enhanced experience. In addition, they also incorporated advanced technologies such as augmented and virtual reality in the new application to satisfy the customer requirement and experience.
Some of the prominent players in the mobile application market include:
Report Scope of the Mobile Application Market
| Report Highlights | Details |
| Market Size in 2020 | USD 127.10 Billion |
| Growth Rate | CAGR of 18.6% from 2021 to 2027 |
| Largest Market | Asia Pacific |
| Fastest Growing Market | North America |
| Base Year | 2021 |
| Forecast Period | 2021 to 2027 |
| Segments Covered | Marketplace, App Category, Regional Outlook |
| Companies Mentioned | Apple Inc., Cognizant, CA Technologies, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, China Mobile Ltd, Google LLC, Intellectsoft, Microsoft Corporation, Verbat Technologies |
Segments Covered in the Report
This research report includes complete assessment of the market with the help of extensive qualitative and quantitative insights, and projections regarding the market. This report offers breakdown of market into prospective and niche sectors. Further, this research study calculates market revenue and its growth trend at global, regional, and country from 2016 to 2027. This report includes market segmentation and its revenue estimation by classifying it on the basis of marketplace, app category, and region:
By Marketplace
By App Category
By Regional Outlook
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