Mobile App and Digital Ad Spending Both Record Double-Digit Growth... Strategy Genre Overtakes RPG to Become the Top Consumer Spending Category for the First Time
Global mobile app and digital ad spending continued its robust growth trajectory in Q2 2024, with double-digit increases, and the mobile gaming market saw four consecutive quarters of growth, attempting to regain its 2021 peak.
Strategy games, in particular, surpassed RPGs to become the top consumer spending category, while TikTok held the top spot in both consumer spending and download rankings, achieving over $1.3 billion in revenue.
iOS saw higher consumer spending than Google Play, but non-game apps on Google Play exhibited stronger growth, with the US market establishing itself as a major consumer spending market for both iOS and Google Play.
Sensor Tower, a global market intelligence company, has released its 'Q2 2024 Digital Market Index' report, which includes global spending, download figures, iOS and Google Play comparisons, and insights.
Global consumer spending on iOS and Google Play exceeded $36 billion in Q2 2024. This represents a slight increase from Q1 2024 and an 11.7% year-over-year (YoY) increase from Q2 2023, demonstrating consistent growth over the past year.
Apps led consumer spending growth on mobile, with a 22% YoY increase. Non-game apps accounted for 46% of consumer spending in Q2 2024, a 42% YoY increase, and are expected to soon surpass mobile game revenue. The mobile games market is expected to continue to see modest growth, with Q2 2024 marking its fourth consecutive quarter of YoY growth as it attempts to regain the peak it achieved in 2021.
iOS further solidified its dominance over Google Play, generating over $25 billion in consumer spending in Q2 2024, a 13% YoY increase. However, non-game apps showed a higher growth rate on Google Play. Consumer spending on both apps and mobile games increased on iOS. Game spending on iOS grew by 7% YoY, while it declined by 2% on Google Play.
App downloads (excluding games) saw a slight increase globally, with a 1% YoY growth. Mobile game downloads declined by 6%, reaching their lowest point since the COVID-19 pandemic.
iOS downloads saw a modest increase in Q2 2024, up 3.1% YoY. While the top 3 iOS markets (US, China, Japan) saw a combined 1% growth, the rest of the world saw over 5% growth.
Conversely, Google Play downloads declined again in Q2 2024, down 3.6% YoY. It is worth noting that Google Play experienced a much larger surge in downloads during the pandemic period and still accounts for 3 out of every 4 app store downloads.
Looking at key markets, the US remained the dominant consumer spending market for both iOS and Google Play. The US market share has risen in recent years, from 29% in Q2 2019 to 36% in Q2 2024. Several top Asian markets declined in Q2 2024, notably Japan, which experienced a significant drop. South Korea also saw a 1% YoY decline in consumer spending. China Mainland, the second-largest market, bucked this trend with 8% YoY growth on iOS only.
India's downloads fell by 5% YoY, dipping below 6 billion for the first time since Q1 2020, only to rebound in the following quarter. This included a near-20% QoQ increase in game downloads. The second and third-largest markets, the US and Brazil, also experienced download declines in Q2 2024. Smaller markets generally fared poorly. Downloads outside the top 5 markets decreased by 2% YoY, reflecting the intense competition for new apps in a saturated mobile environment.
However, some of the largest markets in Asia, including Indonesia, China Mainland, and Pakistan, saw robust download growth. Mobile games contributed to growth in Indonesia and Pakistan, while non-game categories drove growth in China Mainland.
App monetization has changed dramatically over the past decade, with subscription models rising in prominence. This has created opportunities across various apps beyond entertainment, including social networking, health & fitness, and education. Spending across productivity, photo & video, entertainment, and utility categories each increased by over 20% YoY.
Looking at mobile game genre performance, RPGs relinquished their spot as the top-grossing mobile game genre for the first time since 2017. The Strategy genre overtook RPGs, fueled by strong growth in South Korea and the US.
With RPGs facing headwinds, especially in top Asia Pacific markets, game developers in those regions may look to other genres. RPGs, though experiencing some challenges due to weakness in the South Korean and Japanese mobile game markets, still account for nearly half of all game consumer spending.
TikTok topped both consumer spending and download rankings in Q2 2024. TikTok broke its own global consumer spending record in Q2 2024 with revenue surpassing $1.3 billion. This is remarkable, as no non-game app had ever come close to $1 billion in a quarter previously. The growth was driven by a 28% YoY increase in digital ad spending on TikTok in its key US market.
The top 5 highest-grossing games in Q2 2024 remained the same as the previous quarter. MONOPOLY GO! took the top spot, with consumer spending slightly down from its record-breaking total in Q1 2024 but still the third-best quarter ever for a mobile game.
Two major game launches occurred in Q2 2024, starting with Dungeon Fighter Mobile, which was launched in China on iOS in May. This game ranked 7th by consumer spending, with China accounting for 99% of its total game spending. Meanwhile, Supercell's Squad Busters, launched globally in late May 2024, ranked 6th in downloads.
Turning to digital advertising, US mobile, desktop, and OTT digital ad spending surpassed $27 billion in Q2 2024, generating 3.3 trillion impressions. Digital ad spending in other markets also saw healthy growth, with double-digit increases across the board.
More insights into the digital economy can be found in the full Q2 2024 Digital Market Index report. The full report can be downloaded from the Sensor Tower website.
About Sensor Tower
Founded in San Francisco in 2013, Sensor Tower has become a leading data analytics firm trusted by global digital companies, including Twitter, Unity, Tencent, and HBO. Through its intelligence tools, including Store Intelligence for understanding mobile market trends and Advertising Intelligence for optimizing ad strategies, Sensor Tower delivers in-depth insights and leading customer support to mobile businesses at every stage of their journey, from startups to established enterprises and financial institutions. Sensor Tower was awarded 'Best Data/Analytics Tool' at the Pocket Gamer Mobile Games Awards 2022. Recently, Sensor Tower further cemented its position as a leader in the digital economy industry by acquiring market intelligence platform data.ai (formerly App Annie).
Q2 2024 Digital Market Index: https://sensortower.com/ko/q2-2024-digital-market-...
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