2018 will mark the tenth anniversary of the App Store and Google Play. Mobile applications have transformed our lives, and according to App Annie's latest figures, they have a bright future ahead of them. In the third quarter of 2017, their sales amounted to $ 17 billion . As their incomes grow, so does their number. In the month of October, Google Play records 150,000 additional applications and 50,000 for the Apple Store. So play store is a new hub of digital marketing activities.
In the mobile apps industry, new trends are emerging, according to the analytics specialist for mobile apps. Here are the 10 new trends to know for 2018:
1 / More than 100 billion dollars spent on app stores
For the year 2018, App Annie expects a 30% increase in consumer spending worldwide. In total, this amount is expected to be $ 100 billion. Even if the gaming sector remains the major player in the market with the largest turnover, growth will be sought from the other categories.
2 / China, India and Brazil are driving growth
China will pull the global app market with a higher growth rate than any other country. The Middle Kingdom is also the country that records the largest consumer spending on the iOS App Store. In India and Brazil, the time spent on Android applications is exploding: 50% for the first and 30% for the second compared to last year.
3 / Curation promotes entertainment applications
By the end of October, Google Play had more than 3.5 million apps, while the App Store had 2 million apps. To allow users to discover new applications in the mass available, Google and Apple resort to curation. This method will continue in 2018. It will facilitate the discovery of entertainment applications, unlike the "first necessity" tools (meal delivery for example) that will rely on word of mouth.
4 / Augmented reality arouses the interest of developers and consumers
If Pokemon Go and Snapchat have initiated the first uses in augmented reality (AR) on mobile, App Annie is betting on the development of RA applications for the year 2018, thanks to technological progress and the launch of major initiatives to be planned from the tech giants - like Facebook, Google, Apple during their developer conferences, or Tencent, Alibaba or Baidu for Asia. There is also a resurgence of interest in these products, with a number of searches and downloads RA application rising sharply in the United States since September 2017.
5 / The video streaming market is fragmenting
The smartphone has upset our uses, among which that of video consumption. Video streaming and video on demand remain popular with users. App Annie anticipates a sharp rise in consumer spending in this sector. For example, in one year (figures as of October 31, 2017), iOS records an 85% increase in spend on this segment, while Google Play reports 70% growth. In terms of applications, users are less and less exclusive: thus, the share of users streaming in the United States (those who have at least one streaming app installed) having installed on their iPhone at least four of the apps of Most popular streaming has grown by 30% in the space of a year. Actors such as Netflix, Snap and Disney intend to increase their presence on mobile, a market whose turnover and commitment will continue to grow, pending a likely consolidation.
6 / Mobile apps stand out in the customer journey
This year, 90% of Single Day sales were made via a phone or tablet . For the year 2018, App Annie believes that mobile applications integrate more and more into the customer journey: first to learn, then as a sales channel in its own right. The study takes the example of China where consumers order on mobile and withdraw their goods in shops.
7 / The food apps are growing
In 2018, restaurant aggregators continue to develop mobile, while home delivery is targeting premium markets. App Annie anticipates that large groups (like Grubhub, Just Eat, Yogiyo) will continue to target markets where supply is scarce and will convert fast food enthusiasts to the use of apps. At the same time, delivery services, such as UberEATS or Deliveroo, will gain share in premium markets where consumers are more likely to pay more for quality experiences and access to high-end, more expensive restaurants. do not have their own delivery service. More fast food restaurants will be able to counter increasing competition by partnering with delivery service applications (McDonald's and UberEATS partnership). Like the video streaming industry, this market is expected to consolidate in the coming years.
8 / Voice assistants benefit from novelties and seasonal effects
The voice assistant sector will win new consumers with the arrival of the Google Home Mini or Alibaba and Baidu products. It is also a market sensitive to seasonal effects: for example, the downloads of Alexa (Amazon) took off in October 2016 at the time of the release of Echo Dot, with a renewed interest at the time of Prime Day and the Christmas and New Year.
9 / The new European directive will promote the emergence of new financial services on app
Finance applications could be upset by a new European directive, the PSD2. The latter will allow new players to offer secure financial offers.
10 / Peer-to-peer payment develops new services
Finally, still in the FinTech sector, payment tools between individuals could develop new features to retain their customers and compete with traditional banks. Social networks could also submit a P2P system to their users as WeChat does.
