According to an industry survey by App Annie, consumers spent a record $32B on apps and in-app purchases on iOS and Android in the first quarter of 2021. This is apparently the biggest quarter since record-keeping began, and is up 40% over the same time last year.
On Google Play, games, social media apps, and entertainment apps saw the strongest quarterly growth in spending, while on the App Store, the strongest growth took place in gaming, finance, and social media. The strongest quarter-over-quarter category growth took place in health and fitness on the App Store.
All-in-all, this is pretty incredible growth considering just how mature the consumer mobile app market already is. This is yet another way that we’re seeing the impact of the pandemic, as lockdowns, closures, and more time indoors have clearly made consumers look for new ways to kill time and keep themselves occupied with more free time than ever.
Of course, you might be reading this and wondering what exactly this has to do with enterprise mobility, given that companies and consumers have two entirely different sets of needs.
To that, we say “not so fast.” It wasn’t just consumer apps that have seen record growth. As we recently reported on our blog, mobile productivity apps like Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Zoom all saw incredible growth last year during the pandemic, as well.
Our basic theory is that, as people have been forced to think more creatively about how and where they work, they’ve become increasingly reliant on their mobile devices to do just about everything, whether in the office or for personal use. That’s lifted all ships, so to speak, and so we only expect consumer (and therefore employee) interest in mobile apps to continue to grow in the coming months and years.
All of this is to say that there’s nowhere to go but up for mobile apps, both for consumers and in the enterprise. As people around the globe continue to become even more reliant on their smartphones and tablets, you would be wise to ensure that your business has a strong plan in place to embrace mobile technology in and out of the office. Consumers expect it, employees want it, and those companies that can best embrace people’s desire to work–from wherever they are–will be the most poised for success moving into the future.
If you’re reading all of this and wondering what your business should be doing about it, don’t hesitate! Contact us today. We’d love to talk you through your options, and discuss how your business ought to be embracing the future of mobile work.
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Photo by Sara Kurfeß on Unsplash
