Reports: app buyers

Despite being small in number, app buyers are the bread and butter of the current mobile app economy, accounting for the majority of global app revenue. But their behaviour is too often simply benchmarked against that of free app users. However, it is not a binary equation.

The global app economy is maturing. This transformation will bring a multitude of headline-worthy power shifts in the next five years. At the top, the share of global revenue will shift significantly between regions, as well as between platforms. Furthermore, the revenue mix will become more even between spend segments, as whales approach their full potential and free users’ monetization will experience its largest boom yet.

78% of mobile app revenue is concentrated in 26% of app buyers with the majority of that revenue driven by in-app purchases. These ‘whales’ are the beating heart of the mobile app economy but their small number means that they make precarious foundations for the market.