Based on data from Apple, the App Store ecosystem generated total billings and sales of US$1.1 trillion in 2022. The analysis group, with funding from Apple, determined that App Store sales have increased by 116% since 2019 when the marketplace facilitated $519 billion in sales.
Importantly, the report states, more than 90% of the $1.1 trillion in sales did not occur through the App Store directly, meaning Apple failed to collect commissions on such sales. The study found that these sales included both physical products and services acquired through apps, as well as things like newspaper subscriptions purchased on third-party websites.
The App Store Ecosystem in 2022
“We’ve never been more hopeful about — or more inspired by — the incredible community of developers around the world. As this report shows, the App Store is a vibrant, innovative marketplace where opportunity thrives, and we’re as committed as ever to investing in developers’ success and the app economy’s future,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook.
Apple estimates that last year, App Store developers generated $910 billion in total billings and sales from the sale of physical goods and services, $109 billion from in-app advertisements, and $104 billion for digital goods and services. That’s according to economists at Analysis Group.
The Analysis Group report looks more closely at the key trends that have contributed to the growth of the App Store ecosystem, such as the substantial growth in advertising spending on social media and retail applications as well as the rebounding demand for sectors like travel and ride-hailing.
Between 2019 and 2020, developer billings and sales rose by 27%; between 2020 and 2021, by 27%; and between 2021 and 2022, by 29%. Particularly small developers have great success on the App Store, outpacing larger developers by growing their revenue by 71% between 2020 and 2022. Analysis Group’s economists consider growth rates of this kind to be positive indicators of a flourishing marketplace that is full of dynamism, innovation, and competition.
54 percent of downloads in 2022 took place in countries outside of the countries of the developers. According to new information from Apple, there were more than 650 million weekly visitors to the App Store worldwide in 2022. Additionally, users downloaded and redownloaded apps an average of 747 million and 1.5 billion times each week in 2022, respectively.
It’s been 15 years since the Apple App Store launched, in 2008. According to Apple, iOS developers earned more than $320 billion on the App Store between 2008 and 2022. According to a report by Analysis Group, iOS users downloaded apps more than 370 billion times between 2008 and 2022. And today, there are nearly 1.8 million apps available on the App Store, nearly 123 times as many as there were at the end of 2008 when there were only a few thousand.
