What you need to know
- A new report says 2020 drove consumers to download more finance apps, Smart Home automation apps, and games.
- Sensor Tower also says that more apps turned to subscriptions models.
A new report from Sensor Tower says that 2020 drove more installations of apps for finance and trading, more Smart Home automation apps, and pushed more developers to adopt subscription models.
From the report:
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, in-app subscription revenue was on the rise. As mobile publishers found themselves shifting their strategies to retain and appeal to consumers, subscription models have become even more prevalent. Eight out of the 15 top grossing mobile games in 2020 offered in-app subscriptions, including the top two grossing games of the year.
The two top grossing apps of 2020 were PUBG Mobile and Honor Kings, mkaing more than $5 billion collectively. Finance apps grew 25% year on year:
Finance apps grew 25 percent Y/Y to reach nearly 5 billion worldwide installs in 2020, led by payment apps such as Google Pay and PayPal.Cryptocurrency apps saw a surge in adoption far outpacing the growth of other subcategories within finance. The top cryptocurrency apps saw their installs climb more than 200 percent in August when compared to the start of the year, and remained well above the other subcategories in terms of growth.
Another big winner, spurred by stay-at-home orders were Smart Home apps:
Consumers spent more time than ever at home in 2020 as living rooms became classrooms and offices. Corresponding with this shift in lifestyle, the top 10 smart home apps saw adoption climb throughout 2020, collectively reaching 151 million global downloads by the end of the year. Google Home and Amazon Alexa were the big winners in the category, accumulating 60 million and 36 million installs, respectively.
You can read the full report here.
