Apple’s app store ecosystem is popular among its users and that’s because the company has, for long, devised ways to lock users inside.
Since its inception in 2008, the app store is now available across 175 countries and is home to nearly 2 million apps. It is also visited by half a billion people every single week and currently boasts a rich developer ecosystem with 23 million developers onboard – mindboggling figures which show how the ecosystem has grown a decade-plus later.
A new report from independent economists at Analysis Group reveals that the ecosystem facilitated $519 billion in commerce in 2019. This includes total billings and sales globally.
The main categories contributing a larger pie include mobile commerce (m-commerce) apps, digital goods and services apps, and in-app advertising.
Physical goods and services accounted for $413billion, followed by digital goods and services — $61bn – and in-app advertising — $45bn.
Analysis Group further breaks down the numbers.
Under the physical goods and services category, m-commerce apps generated the vast majority of sales. Sales going to retail apps(e.g Target and Best Buy) being the largest at $268 billion.
Travel apps like Expedia, accounted for $57 billion while ride-hailing apps like Uber and Lyft comprised $40 billion in sales.
In the digital goods and services category, sales from gaming apps accounted for the largest pie.
“We’re committed to doing even more to support and nurture the global App Store community — from one-developer shops in nearly every country to businesses that employ thousands of workers — as it continues to foster innovation, create jobs, and propel economic growth for the future,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO.
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