Last year mobile phone users worldwide spent almost $205-billion on in-app purchases – the highest value in the app market’s history.
This figure is set to grow by around 12% year-over-year and hit $231-billion in 2023 as millions of people continue spending more money on apps than ever, with growth set to continue growing over the following years.
According to data presented by SafeBettingSites.com, global in-app purchase spending is forecasted to jump by 28% in the next four years and hit over $296-billion by 2027.
Although in-app advertising has always been the largest revenue stream of the app market, in-app purchase revenues have also grown immensely over the years. According to a Statista survey, global IAP revenues grew by a massive 125% between 2018 and 2022, rising from $91,5-billion to nearly $205-billion.
This year is expected to see a 12% growth, with people worldwide spending roughly $231-billion on in-app purchases. Statista expects global IAP revenues to grow by an average of $18,5-billion per year and hit $296,8-billion by 2027.
In comparison, in-app advertising – the largest revenue stream in the market – will see a much bigger growth rate in this period. Statista expects global in-app advertising revenues to jump by an impressive 47%, rising from $306-billion in 2023 to roughly $451-billion in 2027. Paid apps are expected to bring in close to $7,3-billion in revenue by 2027, up from $5,8-billion this year.
Analysed by geography, statistics show that one-third of total IAP spending comes from China. Statista data show Chinese will spend over $71-billion on in-app purchases in 2023, or $10-billion more than a year ago. This figure will grow by 35% and hit $95,9-billion by 2027.
As the second-largest market globally, the US will generate $62,3-billion in in-app purchase revenue this year and more than $78-billion by 2027.
Although global spending on in-app purchases will grow by a considerable 28% in the next four years, IAP revenue share is still projected to drop in this period. Statista data show that 42,5% of total app revenue in 2023 comes from in-app purchases. In-app advertising makes up another 56% of revenues.
By 2027, IAP revenue share is expected to drop to around 39%, while in-app advertising will see its revenue share grow to a massive 59% in the next four years