What you need to know
- Apple has shared two independent studies on the App Store and its impact on small businesses and developers.
- The App Store is now supporting more than 2.2 million jobs in the United States.
- Small businesses are now said to be earning more than ever via the App Store.
Apple has shared new research that shows the App Store continued to thrive during 2021, supporting more than 2.2 million jobs across the United States. Those jobs include coders, designers, and others. The company also notes that small businesses are now earning more than ever.
In details shared via a new Newsroom post, Apple cites research by Analysis Group that concludes that smaller developers have seen their earnings increase considerably over the last two years. Smaller developers have seen their App Store revenue increase 118% since 2019.
One new analysis, "Spotlight on Small Business & App Creators on the App Store" — conducted by independent economists from Analysis Group — found that developers' earnings have increased significantly over the past two years. While earnings for all developers have grown, revenue for smaller developers active on the App Store in 2019 increased by 113 percent over the past two years — outpacing the earnings growth of large developers by more than double. In the US, those smaller developers, defined as those earning up to $1 million a year and with fewer than 1 million annual downloads, saw an above-average increase of 118 percent in earnings since 2019.
Apple also points out that the App Store has helped create jobs based on information collected by the Progressive Policy Institute. "his research examines how the iOS app economy has helped create millions of jobs — ranging from software development, to sales, to designers, and more," Apple goes on to say.
Thousands of small businesses and developers joined the App Store in 2021, according to research, with almost a full quarter coming from Europe.
In 2021, thousands of small business and new app creators joined the App Store from all around the world. Of this set of new developers, approximately 24 percent came from Europe, 23 percent from China, 14 percent from the US, 4.3 percent from Japan, and 34 percent from other regions including Korea, India, and Brazil. And over the last two years, the number of smaller and emerging developers joining the App Store has grown — for instance, in the UK, the number of small developers new to the App Store grew by almost 40 percent since 2019, and, in Germany, it grew by over 25 percent.
Apple also detailed some App Store success stories including Rootd and PocketSuite — you can read more in the full Newsroom post.
This report comes at a time when Apple continues to come under fire for its App Store management, including the cut it takes from developers' earnings. It's also facing multiple antitrust situations around the world as authorities seek to force the company to open the iPhone to third-party app stores and side-loading. Apple would argue that the App Store is one of the best iPhone features that it has to offer and many developers would agree.
