Apple App Store is celebrating 15 years; $1.1 trillion spent by users for Apps in 2022

Apple announced that its App Store ecosystem generated $1.1 trillion in developer billings and sales in 2022. The Cupertino-based tech giant claimed that more than 90 percent of billings and sales are attributable solely to developers, with no compensation paid to Apple.

“We’ve never been more optimistic—or more inspired—by the amazing community of developers around the world. As this report shows, the App Store is a vibrant, innovative marketplace where opportunity flourishes, and we’re more committed than ever to investing in developer success and the future of the app economy. Apple CEO Tim Cook said.

According to Apple, economists at the Analysis Group estimate that App Store developers generated a total of $910 billion in billings and sales last year from sales of physical products and services, $109 billion from in-app advertising and $104 billion from digital products and services. .

The analysis group’s research takes a closer look at the key drivers of growth in the App Store ecosystem – including a recovery in demand from segments like travel and mobility, and strong growth in ad spending for apps like social media and retail apps.

The developer’s billing and sales grew by 27 percent in 2019-2020; 27 percent in 2020-2021; and 29 percent in 2021-2022. Small software developers in particular have enjoyed huge success in the App Store – outpacing the biggest developers, increasing their revenue by 71 percent between 2020 and 2022. Economists at Analysis Group believe that such growth figures are positive indicators of a thriving market full of dynamism, innovation and competition.

In 2022, 54 percent of storefront downloads took place outside the developers’ home countries. According to new data from Apple, the App Store averaged more than 650 million weekly visitors worldwide in 2022. In 2022, users downloaded apps on average more than 747 million times and again 1.5 billion times per week.

The Apple App Store was launched 15 years ago in 2008. Apple claimed that iOS developers earned more than $320 billion from the App Store between 2008 and 2022. A study by the analytics group found that iOS users downloaded more than 370 billion apps between 2008 and 2022. Today, the App Store has more than 123 times more apps to choose from—almost 1.8 million—compared to the thousands of apps available in the App Store at the end of 2008.