In a very short period of time, the world went from being mobile to being stationary. The majority of individuals, with the exception of front-line workers, have been sheltering at home.
Given the economic hardship facing a slew of industries, and uncertainty the continued uncertainty brought on by COVID-19, it seems reasonable to assume that the mobile app development ecosystem would also be adversely affected.
However, on the contrary, the mobile app development industry has been playing to its strengths, and reinforcing innovations to keep the industry thriving.
Though coronavirus has had an impact on app store revenue, growth remains strong.
The App intelligence firm Sensor Tower published a revised 2020–2024 market forecast , which states that worldwide consumer spending on mobile apps is projected to reach $171 billion by 2024, more than double the $85 billion from 2019.
The forecast also predicts that revenue from non-game mobile apps is expected to surpass that of mobile games for the first time by 2024.
In terms of app downloads, the forecast also predicts a lasting lift from the impact of COVID-19. By 2024, downloads will reach 183.7 billion, up 9% from the earlier forecast that came out before COVID-19, which initially accounted for 7 billion fewer installs.
As every industry grapples with the destructive path of coronavirus, it’s natural to ask if these forecasts are accurate or perhaps too good to be true. While economies are going down and businesses are trying hard to survive and stay afloat - how can one industry be projected for explosive growth?
Despite a decrease in usage for travel and hospitality apps, according to App Annie people spent 20% more time using apps in the first quarter of 2020 compared to 2019. During that time, consumers also spent over $23 billion in app stores — the largest spend per quarter recorded to date.
Consumers are looking for different ways to manage in the current situation, and in some cases, apps provide the perfect solution.
It’s evident that the obvious winners during this COVID-19 era are apps in industries like remote work/communication, education, social media, and online shopping. Although daily active users of healthcare apps in South East Asia and India are declining, there has been a 110% increase in spending on these apps during the outbreak as the daily active users and downloads exploded in North America, Europe, and the Middle East.
Given the sheer volume of people working remotely, it’s no surprise to see video chat and online conference apps are experiencing explosive growth. In North America, these apps witnessed an astronomical 627% increase in downloads and a 121% increase in daily active users, so it’s safe to say that there’s a critical need for communication apps.
While some app usage will cool after the lockdown, other industries may continue trending upward long after the pandemic. That said, there are five primary trends influencing the mobile app industry today:
These represent a handful of things we’re seeing today, but we can also be certain that the crisis will influence entirely new trends.
While the current climate has been unpredictable for consumers in many ways, the reliance on mobile apps as a means for commerce, communication, education, shopping, and entertainment will continue to increase. The pandemic has solidified the need for a system where every operation that previously required your actual presence, can be done remotely. From remote work, to opening a new bank account, going shopping, and interactions with other institutions, the need to digitize has grown immensely and in post COVID-19, we will see a lot more businesses with a mobile app than ever before.
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