In brief
The 2016 forecast puts the global App market above US$100 billion by 2020, supported by rising demand in Asia’s emerging markets. Asia-Pacific is projected to reach US$57.5 billion, gaming App revenue US$74.6 billion, and global downloads 284.3 billion.
Data indicate that, driven by rising demand in Asia’s emerging markets, the global mobile application ((App) market will exceed US$100 billion (approximately HK$780 billion) by 2020.
According to the data, this year the global App market will reach US$50.9 billion, up 24% year on year, and will then grow at an annual rate of 20% over the four years to 2020.
Within this total, the Asia-Pacific App market will expand to US$57.5 billion by 2020, doubling this year’s estimated US$28.3 billion, driven primarily by the Chinese App market.
Sales at Apple’s App Store are expected to reach US$44.8 billion by 2020, followed by Google Play Store with sales of US$34 billion. Gaming Apps will dominate the App market by 2020 with revenue of US$74.6 billion, while music and video streaming Apps are also expected to become more popular in the future.
This year, global App downloads are expected to rise 33% year on year to 147.3 billion, before increasing further to 284.3 billion by 2020. Industry observers attribute this growth to the increasing number of people worldwide using smartphones for the first time.
http://www2.hkej.com/instantnews/international/article/1241467