1、Support for this study was provided by Apple. The conclusions and opinions expressed are exclusively those of the authors. How Large Is the Apple App Store Ecosystem? A Global Perspective for 2019 Jonathan Borck, Ph.D. Juliette Caminade, Ph.D. Markus von Wartburg, Ph.D. June 15, 2020 How Large Is th

2、e Apple App Store Ecosystem? ANALYSIS GROUP | 1 When Apple opened the App Store in July 2008, it was the first of its kind. With the App Store, Apple provides developers with distribution, search, and validation services, as well as a set of tools to build and monetize apps. Originally offering appr

3、oximately 500 apps for the iPhone and iPod touch, the App Store has grown to distribute millions of apps for the full suite of Apple devices (iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Mac laptops and desktops, and Apple Watch) in 175 countries. Cumulative downloads are in the hundreds of billions.1 Earlier this year,

4、 Apple reported that earnings it has paid to app developers who sell digital goods and services through the App Store or within their apps totaled more than $155 billion worldwide since 2008, with a quarter of those earnings paid in 2019. Such direct monetization through the App Store occurs through

5、 paid apps and digital content or services obtained using Apples in-app payment system. While such direct monetization of apps is substantial, it significantly underestimates the size of the Apple App Store ecosystem. This is because developers can choose to monetize their apps in different ways, in

6、cluding several that do not involve transacting directly through the App Store. These other monetization strategies include selling digital goods and services outside of the App Store that can be used within apps on Apple devices (such as streaming apps), selling physical goods and services (such as

7、 grocery delivery apps), and offering ad-supported content (such as social networking apps). Study Goal The goal of this study is to capture total billings and sales generated through app developers various monetization strategies.2 In other words, our purpose is to estimate total billings and sales

8、 facilitated by the Apple App Store ecosystem.3 Our study accounts for billings generated through direct monetization via the App Store and sales generated through monetization outside the App Store.4 Our analysis focuses on third-party iPhone and iPad apps5 in 2019, the most recent full year at the

9、 time this report was prepared. The coronavirus pandemic has dramatically impacted the mobile economy and the app ecosystem. More consumers are turning to apps to make purchases and to stay informed, connected, and entertained. While our primary results focus on 2019, we briefly discuss the pandemic

10、s potential effects on the app ecosystem at the end of this report. 1 App Annie, The Data Behind 10 Years of the iOS App Store, 2018. 2 We use the term “billings” to refer specifically to payments generated by paid downloads and in-app purchases (including subscriptions) that use the Apple in-app pa

11、yment system, and the term “sales” to refer to money spent by customers purchasing goods and services in general. 3 We use the term “facilitated” to include the various ways in which apps contribute toward generating billings and sales. We describe these different mechanisms for generating billings

12、and sales below. 4 The following apps and associated billings and sales are excluded from this analysis: apps developed by Apple, such as Apple Music, and mobile browser apps such as Google Chrome or Safari. 5 Apple TV apps are also included in our estimates of usage and engagement for video streami

13、ng. How Large Is the Apple App Store Ecosystem? ANALYSIS GROUP | 2 Results We estimate that the Apple App Store ecosystem facilitated more than $500 billion in billings and sales worldwide in 2019. More than 85% of that accrues solely to third parties. Table 1 shows that our estimated total of $519

14、billion consists of $61 billion from billings and sales of digital goods and services (12% of the total), $413 billion from sales of physical goods and services through apps (80% of the total), and $45 billion from in-app advertising (9% of the total).6 We consider these estimates to be conservative

15、 for reasons we describe later in this section. One important methodological note is that our estimate for the category of digital goods and services is not the same as App Store billings (i.e., from paid downloads and in-app purchases, including subscriptions). As discussed in the methodology secti

16、on, our estimate also includes the volume of sales from digital goods and services purchased elsewhere but used on apps on Apple devices, and, conversely, subtracts billings from in-app purchases made via the App Store but used elsewhere. For example, a subscription to a video streaming service may

17、be purchased on a website but the majority of the consumption may happen on an app on an Apple device, or vice versa. Other examples include enterprise apps, which are frequently used on Apple devices but are typically paid for by corporations and institutions, rather than purchased via the App Stor

18、e. Table 1: Estimated Billings and Sales Facilitated by the Apple App Store Ecosystem Worldwide, 2019 Estimated Billings and Sales ($ billion)* Digital Goods and Services*$61 Physical Goods and Services$413 In-App Advertising$45 Total Estimated Billings and Sales ($ billion)$519 * Totals may not sum

19、 due to rounding. * Estimated billings and sales from digital goods and services is not the same as total App Store billings. Our estimate also includes the volume of sales from digital goods and services purchased elsewhere but used on apps on Apple devices, and, conversely, subtracts billings from

20、 in-app purchases made via the App Store but used elsewhere. The estimate is based on a combination of third-party sources and Apple data. See methodology section. 6 We round all numbers in this report to the nearest billion dollars. Because of this rounding, individual numbers may not add up to the

21、 indicated totals, and individual percentages may not sum to 100%. The Apple App Store ecosystem facilitated more than $500 billion in billings and sales worldwide in 2019. How Large Is the Apple App Store Ecosystem? ANALYSIS GROUP | 3 Table 2 provides a more detailed breakdown of total estimated bi

22、llings and sales for certain app categories. The three largest streams of sales from physical goods and services facilitated by the App Store ecosystem in 2019 were from general retail ($268 billion), travel ($57 billion), and ride hailing ($40 billion), all of which are part of the substantial mobi

23、le commerce, or m-commerce, category. We estimate that in-app ad sales were $20 billion for gaming apps and $25 billion for non-gaming apps in 2019. Apple does not disclose disaggregated billings for digital goods and services. Therefore we do not break out total estimated billings and sales ($61 bi

24、llion in 2019) for this category. Table 2: Estimated Billings and Sales Facilitated by the Apple App Store Ecosystem Worldwide, by App Categories, 2019 Estimated Billings and Sales ($ billion)* Digital Goods and Services*$61 Includes: Games Video and Music Streaming E-books and Audiobooks, News and

25、Magazines Dating Apps, Fitness, Photo and Video Editing Enterprise and Education Physical Goods and Services$413 M-Commerce General Retail$268 Travel$57 Ride Hailing$40 Food Delivery$31 Grocery$14 Digital Payment$4 In-App Advertising$45 Gaming$20 Non-gaming$25 Total Estimated Billings and Sales ($ b

26、illion)$519 * Totals may not sum due to rounding. * Estimated billings and sales from digital goods and services are not the same as total App Store billings. See methodology section. Apple does not disclose disaggregated billings for digital goods and services. Therefore we do not break out total e

27、stimated billings and sales for this category. More than 85% of total billings and sales supported by the App Store ecosystem accrue solely to third parties. How Large Is the Apple App Store Ecosystem? ANALYSIS GROUP | 4 Table 3 breaks down the results in Table 2 by geography. We estimate that China

28、 accounted for $246 billion, or 47%, of total global billings and sales facilitated by the App Store ecosystem in 2019, while the US accounted for $138 billion, or 27%, of the global total. Europe, Japan, and the rest of the world accounted for 10%, 7%, and 9%, respectively, of the global total. We

29、see variation in estimated billings and sales by region. For example, China led the category of physical goods and services in 2019 ($225 billion, or 54% of the total for the category), while the US accounted for most of the in-app ad sales in 2019 ($23 billion, or 51% of the total for the category)

30、. Chinas large share in the physical goods and services category involves transactions that occur outside of the App Store, from which Apple gets no commission. This large share reflects the speed at which Chinese commerce has migrated to mobile commerce, on apps in particular, compared with the res

31、t of the world. Table 3: Estimated Billings and Sales Facilitated by the Apple App Store Ecosystem by Region and App Categories, 2019 ($ Billion*) US China Europe* Japan Rest of the World Total Estimated Billings and Sales Digital Goods and Services*$22$13$6$11$9$61 Physical Goods and Services$93$22

32、5$39$24$32$413 M-Commerce General Retail$44$175$22$14$13$268 Travel$16$16$10$6$9$57 Ride Hailing$23$8$4$1$5$40 Food Delivery$8$16$3$1$3$31 Grocery$2$7$1$2$1$14 Digital Payment$1$3-$4 In-App Advertising$23$8$6$2$6$45 Gaming$11$4$3$1$3$20 Non-gaming$13$4$3$1$3$25 Total Estimated Billings and Sales ($

33、billion)$138$246$51$37$47$519 * Totals may not sum due to rounding. * Europe includes countries in Western, Central, and Eastern Europe (including the UK and Nordic Region). Russia is included in the Rest of the World category. * Estimated billings and sales from digital goods and services are not t

34、he same as total App Store billings. While our analysis captures the major app monetization strategies in 2019, we do not capture all of the ways in which the App Store ecosystem facilitates sales or all of the benefits created by apps. For example, we do not include any benefits companies derive fr

35、om providing free apps that work with, and improve, their products or services. These “companion apps” raise the value of the goods or services. Popular examples include banking and finance apps, airline apps, smart home apps (e.g., Nest, Ring), and health apps, among others. Nor do we take into acc

36、ount the role that apps have played in generating new markets and platforms for businesses, including in the financial sector, the benefits of mobile apps to businesses (e.g., lower costs or increased productivity), or the consumer surplus generated by apps (in particular, free apps). How Large Is t

37、he Apple App Store Ecosystem? ANALYSIS GROUP | 5 Moreover, for the monetization strategies included in our analysis, we choose inputs and assumptions that tend to generate conservatively low estimates of the billings and sales facilitated by the App Store ecosystem. For all of these reasons, our res

38、ults should be considered a lower bound on how much value was facilitated by the Apple App Store ecosystem in 2019. For context, Deloitte estimated the total app economy including the Android platform at $340 billion in 2018 in the US alone. App Annie estimated that the global app economy, including

39、 all platforms, was worth $1.3 trillion in 2016 and will grow to $6.3 trillion in 2021.7 Methodological Approach To arrive at our results, we distinguish among three primary app monetization strategies that developers use: The first monetization strategy is to sell and distribute digital goods and s

40、ervices. Sales and distribution of digital goods and services can occur through the App Store in the form of paid app downloads and in-app purchases, or through the sale of digital content and subscriptions from multi-platform apps that allow for the use and consumption of the app both in the App St

41、ore ecosystem and elsewhere. Examples of apps using this monetization strategy include those for gaming, dating, video and music streaming, fitness and health, and news and magazines. The second monetization strategy is to sell physical goods and services through the app. Apps using this monetizatio

42、n strategy are mobile commerce apps generally, including apps for ride hailing, food delivery, grocery delivery and pickup, general retail, and travel, as well as digital payment apps. The third monetization strategy is to sell in-app advertising. Examples of apps using in-app advertising as their p

43、rimary monetization strategy are social network and short video sharing apps. We employ different methodologies to estimate billings and sales facilitated by the App Store ecosystem for each of these monetization strategies. In so doing, we rely on a variety of data sources, including data from Appl

44、e, app analytics companies, market research firms, and individual companies. To ensure the reliability and robustness of our estimates, we validate and compare key inputs from different data sources. 7 Both studies include the three major types of monetization: app stores, in-app advertising, and mo

45、bile commerce. Deloitte, The App Economy in the United States; App Annie, The App Economy Forecast: $6 Trillion in New Value. We consider our estimates to be conservative and a lower bound on how much value was facilitated by the App Store ecosystem in 2019. How Large Is the Apple App Store Ecosyste

46、m? ANALYSIS GROUP | 6 Sales and Distribution of Digital Goods and Services Apps used to sell and distribute digital goods and services fall into two subcategories: Certain app developers choose to monetize their iOS apps only through the App Store, and those apps can only be used on the iOS platform

47、.8 Most billings from these apps come from games, which involve a one-time payment or, more often, in-app payments that allow app users to remove ads, unlock bonus levels, or access premium features. This category also includes most photo-editing apps and dating apps, as well as apps for short video

48、, weather, and others. Other apps allow for the consumption of digital goods and services both within the App Store ecosystem and elsewhere. These so-called multi-platform apps allow consumers to pay through either the App Store or another platform or device. In other words, consumers use non-device

49、-specific subscriptions or purchases to enjoy the digital goods and services provided. Multi-platform apps can be further divided into consumer apps and enterprise apps. -Consumer apps typically offer paid digital content such as movies, music, audiobooks, news, meditation courses, and fitness classes that can be consumed within the app. Moreover, they may offer paid digital services obtained on the app, such as