Author: Mintel Group Ltd.
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Mobile Device Apps - UK - October 2019

OVERVIEW
What you need to know
Products covered in this Report
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The market
Value of mobile apps market grows by a third
Figure 1: Gross mobile app revenue for App Store and Google Play Store, 2014-2024
Strong growth in consumer spend on apps and games in first half of 2019
Netflix and Coin Master generate most revenue on App Store and Google Play Store
App developers could see value in producing high quality games for Stadia and xCloud
Video streaming apps set to benefit from 5G
Companies and brands
Google Play to refresh its ratings system
Changes to WhatsApp and Instagram including new titles, ads and cross-messaging considerations
Uber Technologies and Just Eat among the highest ad spenders
The consumer
Six in ten have Android
Figure 2: Operating systems running on smartphones, July 2019
Social media and messaging still by far the most frequently used apps
Figure 3: Frequency of app usage, by category, July 2019
Two in ten download apps weekly
Figure 4: Frequency of downloading apps, July 2019
People are most likely to be paying for games
Figure 5: Paid app downloads, by app category, July 2019
Intrusive ads are a deal-breaker for many app users
Figure 6: Attitudes towards intrusive ads and ad-based rewards, July 2019
Consumers prioritise privacy with location permission
Figure 7: Attitudes towards location access, storage space and use of media casting, July 2019
What we think
ISSUES AND INSIGHTS
Enabling users to choose preferred type of ad is likely to improve experience on free apps
The facts
The implications
Mobile app developers can work with Google and Xbox to produce higher-quality games
The facts
The implications
THE MARKET – WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Strong growth in consumer spend on apps and games in first half of 2019
Value of mobile apps market grows by a third
Netflix and Coin Master generate most revenue on App Store and Google Play Store
App developers could see value in producing high quality games for Stadia and xCloud
Video streaming apps set to benefit from 5G
MARKET SIZE AND FORECAST
Strong growth in consumer spend on apps and games in first half of 2019
Figure 8: Consumer Spend on App Store and Google Play Store apps and games, 2014 – 2018 and H1 2019
Figure 9: Consumer spend on App Store and Google Play Store apps and games, July 2018 and July 2019
Value of mobile apps market grows by a third
Figure 10: Gross mobile app revenue for App Store and Google Play Store, 2014-2024
Figure 11: Gross mobile app revenue for App Store and Google Play Store, 2014-2024
Netflix generates the most revenue on the App Store
Netflix’s dominance to be challenged by new launches
Figure 12: Top apps by revenue for UK iOS App Store, January – June 2019
Coin Master is top app on Google Pay Store
Figure 13: Top apps by revenue for Google Play Store, January – June 2019
Games continue to generate the most revenue
Figure 14: Top categories for UK iOS App Store and Google Play Store, January – June 2019
MARKET DRIVERS
App developers could see value in producing high quality games for Stadia and xCloud
Video streaming apps set to benefit from 5G
COMPANIES AND BRANDS – WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Google Play to refresh its ratings system
Apple announces Apple Arcade gaming app
Changes to WhatsApp and Instagram including new titles, ads and cross-messaging considerations
Cross messaging
WhatsApp and Instagram name changes
WhatsApp Status ads
Uber Technologies and Just Eat among highest ad spenders
LAUNCH ACTIVITY AND INNOVATION
Google Play Store to refresh its ratings system
Apple releases Apple Arcade gaming app
Changes to WhatsApp and Instagram, including new titles, ads and cross-messaging considerations
Cross-messaging
WhatsApp and Instagram name changes
WhatsApp biometric authentication for iOS
Instagram adds in-app shopping feature
WhatsApp Status ads
ADVERTISING AND MARKETING ACTIVITY
Uber Technologies and Just Eat among highest ad spenders
Banks also spending heavily to advertise finance apps
Figure 15: Top advertisers, by total above-the-line, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure on mobile apps, 2018
Nielsen Ad Intel coverage
THE CONSUMER – WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Six in ten have Android smartphone
Social media and messaging still by far the most frequently used apps
Generation Z and Younger Millennials driven by regular mobile media consumption
Two in ten download apps weekly
People are most likely to be paying for games
Consumers prefer banner ads for free apps
Intrusive ads are a deal-breaker for many app users
Consumers prioritise privacy with location permission
OPERATING SYSTEMS ON MOBILE DEVICES
Six in ten have Android smartphone
Figure 16: Operating systems running on smartphones, July 2019
Operating systems on tablets stays consistent
Figure 17: Operating systems running on tablets, July 2019
APP USAGE ON MOBILE DEVICES
Social media and messaging still by far the most frequently used apps
Figure 18: Frequency of app usage, by category, July 2019
Nearly one in four use payment apps daily
Figure 19: Daily use of apps, by category, July 2019
Generation Z and Younger Millennials driven by regular mobile media consumption
Figure 20: Daily use of apps, by category, for Generation Z and Younger Millennials, July 2019
Consumers most likely to have used gaming apps in the past
Figure 21: Use of apps in the past, by category, July 2019
APP DOWNLOADING AND PURCHASING
Two in ten download apps weekly
Figure 22: Frequency of downloading apps, July 2019
People are most likely to be paying for games
Figure 23: Paid app downloads, by category, July 2019
Figure 24: Payments for premium content, by app category, July 2019
MOBILE APP ADVERTISING
Consumers prefer banner ads for free apps
Figure 25: Preferred type of in-app adverts, July 2019
Intrusive ads are a deal-breaker for many app users
Figure 26: Attitudes towards intrusive ads and ad-based rewards, July 2019
ATTITUDES TOWARDS LOCATION ACCESS, STORAGE SPACE AND MEDIA CASTING
Consumers prioritise privacy with location permission
Apps are usually discarded first to regain device storage space
Millennials most likely to cast media content to TV
Figure 27: Attitudes towards location access, storage space and use of media casting, July 2019
APPENDIX – DATA SOURCES, ABBREVIATIONS AND SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Abbreviations
Consumer research methodology
APPENDIX – MARKET SIZE AND FORECAST
Forecast methodology
Total market value forecast
Figure 28: Gross mobile app revenue for App Store and Google Play Store (best/worst case), 2019-2024

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