Lokesh Choudhary · · 2 min readMobile app spending reverses slowdown in 2023: report
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Spending on mobile apps climbed back to an upward trend in 2023 after a slowdown brought on by the economic downturn, according to Data.ai’s recently released “State of Mobile” report.
Consumer spending grew 3% to US$171 billion, while hours spent peaked at 5.1 trillion, a 6% year-on-year increase. The report also highlights the growth of Asian apps gaining ground globally.
In 2023, TikTok also became the first non-game app to surpass US$10 billion in all-time consumer spending. The short-video app now consistently exceeds US$1 billion in consumer spending every quarter.
The app’s monetization strategy revolves around in-app purchases, particularly coins used to tip creators during livestreams. In the US, TikTok’s earnings have soared to over US$1 per user, a significant increase from 67 cents per user in 2022.
In December 2023, TikTok announced that it was acquiring a 75% stake in Tokopedia to revive its online shopping business after the Indonesian government banned TikTok Shop. ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, recently recorded over US$110 billion in sales in 2023.
Meanwhile, Temu and Threads – Instagram’s version of X – were the top performers in mobile app downloads last year, with Temu gaining traction through aggressive advertising and low prices.
Temu’s global launch also helped boost downloads of shopping apps made by China-based companies. China’s market share in this segment rose by 3.4 percentage points from 2020. The report also mentioned Singapore-headquartered Shein, which has “a strong presence in recent years across top retail markets.”
Moreover, in key mobile-centric markets, individuals dedicated more than five hours daily to their mobile devices in 2023, marking a 6% uptick from 2022. Indonesia took the lead worldwide, with over six hours per day, followed closely by Thailand, Argentina, Saudi Arabia, and Brazil – all surpassing the five-hour mark each day.
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Editing by Miguel Cordon and Dhania Putri Sarahtika
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