IT research firm Gartner estimated that worldwide Mobile app stores revenues to reach $26 billion in 2013 compared to $18 billion in 2012 and annual downloads will reach 102 billion in 2013, up from 64 billion in 2012. 91% of total downloads are Free apps and in-app purchases (IAPs) accounts for 48% of app store revenue by 2017, up from 11%in 2012.

1. Analysis & Outlook
Global Mobile App Stores Market 2013 – Explosive growth continues till 2017
IT research firm Gartner estimated that worldwide Mobile app stores revenues to reach $26
billion in 2013 compared to $18 billion in 2012 and annual downloads will reach 102 billion in
2013, up from 64 billion in 2012. 91% of total downloads are Free apps and in-app purchases
(IAPs) accounts for 48% of app store revenue by 2017, up from 11%in 2012. There is a linear
relationship between the apps download and the sales of new mobile devices as the customers
who buy new mobile phones definitely download apps and as the mobile buying cycle slows
down so does the mobile apps downloads.The industry is expected to continue its explosive
growth in future also due to upgrading of mobile networks from 2G to 3G to 4G which will
increase the speed of internet and data downloads on the mobile phones and also the mobile
phone manufacturers launching more and more devices with powerful processors, touch screens,
increase in display screen sizes and finally developers developing more apps.
Apple iOS and Google Android app stores combined are the dominant players in this market and
are forecasted to account for 90 percent of global downloads in 2017. Key reason for their
dominance is their advanced ecosystems and active developer communities. Free apps currently
account for about 60% and 80% of the total available apps in Apple's App Store and Google
Play, respectively. Gartner Research highlights IAP is a major revenue contributor to Apple’s
App Store revenue fueled by the increasing numbers of iPhones and iPads. Other platforms
including Android and Microsoft stores have not been able to monetize their apps, but analysts
expect they will also see IAP contributions increase in the future.
2012
Free Downloads
Paid-for Downloads
Total Downloads
Free Downloads %
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
57,331
6,654
63,985
89.6
92,876
9,186
102,062
91.0
127,704
11,105
138,809
92.0
167,054
12,574
179,628
93.0
211,313
13,488
224,801
94.0
253,914
14,778
268,692
94.5
Source: Gartner (September 2013)
Email and calendaring (46%), Instant Messaging (IM) (37%), and office & personal productivity
(26%) are the three most popular uses of mobile applications today according to Gartner survey.
CRM, at 19%, and ERP, at 17%, have been predicted to grow the fastest of all enterprise
applications on the mobile over the next three years. Mobile apps are no longer a consumer
phenomenon and there has been an increase in adoption by enterprise companies and are
developing and launching mobile apps. Apps are being used to engage with both the consumers
and employees. Smartphones sales are increasing and the companies are adopting the bring-yourown-device (BYOD) will also fuel the enterprise apps growth. But challenges remain for the
App stores in terms of monetizing the applications and increasing their revenues. Customers are
not inclining to pay for apps and making them pay is the biggest challenge for the industry.