Mobile Users Spent Nearly $200 Million on Apps on Christmas Day

As recently reported by Sensor Tower, mobile users have spent a staggering $196 million on apps (counting also the money paid for in-app purchases and subscriptions) across Google Play and Apple’s App Store during this year’s Christmas Day alone. It should be noted though that the latest holiday figures from Sensor Tower does not bring into account earnings generated from Android powered mobile apps in China. Still, the $196 million is a huge 12.3 percent improvement over the previous year’s $174 million Christmas Day app spending.

It goes without saying that as more and more people own mobile devices for the first time in their lives, the market for apps and mobile games is bound to keep on growing. But recent years have seen creators of apps find other ways to boost revenue numbers, namely through in-app purchases and subscriptions. Take pixel art coloring book apps sold on the App Store, for instance -- sales were mostly driven by increasing subscriptions, unlike in past years wherein users were only charged a one-time fee in order to be able to gain access to premium content.

Intriguingly, Sensor Tower’s newest report also shows that non-game titles are registering a better growth rate than game apps. Non-game apps posted a whopping 66 percent growth year over year, compared to a somewhat tamer 5.2 percent growth rate for game apps. Nevertheless, mobile games are still widely considered the top money earners, generating $158 million in revenues this year, improving upon the $150 million earned in 2016. Meanwhile, despite the jaw dropping increased in growth rate, non-game app revenues reached $38 million in 2017, compared to the $24 million recorded a year ago. 

The non-game app category has plenty to thank streaming apps for. As we approach an era where mobile users are consuming digital media more than ever, the popularity of apps such as HBO Now, Netflix, Spotify, and Pandora will likely continue to spur increasing revenues. Here is more proof -- Sensor Tower’s numbers show that people spent a mind blowing 98 percent more money on Entertainment apps this year compared to 2016. Last year, consumers had spent $4.8 million on Entertainment apps. This year, that figure has ballooned to $9.5 million.

Sensor Tower’s recent report is pretty much consistent in spirit to the report released by App Annie more than three weeks ago. App Annie’s numbers indicated that worldwide app revenues ($17 billion) and downloads (26 billion) had reached record levels during the third quarter of this year. It is projected that by 2021, those numbers will grow to $100 billion and 240 billion, respectively.