By Mike Page, Head of Product Management, MyFirmsApp

Consumers downloaded more Apps and spent more money in the App stores than ever before

According to new market data issued by App Annie,  the leading global provider of mobile market data, Q2 2019 was the largest quarter yet for mobile in terms of downloads and consumer spend.

New App installations hit a record high of 30.3 billion in Q2, an increase of 1.9 billion over the same quarter in 2018.  Downloads from Google Play were up 10 per cent to 22.5 billion as a result of growth in emerging markets such as India, Brazil and Indonesia while App Store downloads remained consistent year-on-year at nearly 8 billion, with China, the US and Japan leading demand.

Downloads of Finance Apps is a growth area

Downloads of non-gaming Apps, and in particular Finance, Food & Drink and Education Apps, showed the greatest growth in terms of downloads on iOS in quarter 2. Google Play also saw particularly strong growth in downloads of non-gaming apps at 15% year over year with Auto & Vehicles, Comics and Entertainment Apps leading the way.

Mike Page, Head of Product Management, MyFirmsApp, developers of the leading OneApp platform for accountancy firms worldwide commented: “Mobile is  transforming every industry across the globe and has become a mainstay of consumers’ daily routines. It is not a surprise to see that downloads of Finance Apps are on the rise as accountants that have their own App say that their clients prefer to have all their software and systems in one place and to receive messages directly on their smartphones. Apps are a vital component in solving the profession’s communication challenge.”

The Top 10 Apps Worldwide Q2

1. Facebook Messenger
2. Facebook
3. WhatsApp Messenger
4. Tik Tok
5. Instagram
6. Snapchat
7. LIKE – magic music video maker
8. SHAREit
9. Spotify
10. UC Browser

Globally, Facebook Messenger was the most-downloaded app across both the iOS and Google platforms, followed by the social media company’s main app; WhatsApp, TikTok; and Instagram. Tinder topped the consumer spending list, followed by Netflix; Tencent Video; video platform iQIYI; and YouTube.

UK market shows one of the largest year-on-year growths in market share

The markets with the largest year-over-year growth in market share were the US, UK and Brazil. The top 3 markets driving year-over-year growth in overall iOS consumer spend remained stable: the US, China and Japan.

Global consumer spend across each App store grew 20% year over year in Q2 2019; however, iOS maintained its sizable lead. On iOS, apps outside of games accounted for nearly 35% of consumer spend compared to 15% on Google Play.

Breakout Apps of Q2 2019

• Snapchat saw a surge in downloads with the release of new augmented reality filters and its new, faster Android mobile app
• YouTube broke into the top 5 by consumer spend as more consumers turn to mobile to stream their favourite content and users subscribe to unlock YouTube’s paid features including ad-free, offline play, background play and access to exclusive content
• TikTok ranked highly by both global downloads in Q2 2019 and average smartphone monthly active users, with particularly strong growth in the latter. Their growing user base is fuelled by demand for creating and streaming short form content and the power of the network effect. China is a large contributor to growth in active users.