Even as the Covid-19 pandemic forced millions of users to stay indoors, digital platforms saw an exponential surge in usage and spending in 2020.

A new Sensor Tower report corroborates the trend as it reveals global consumer spending in the top 100 non-game subscription-based apps grew 34% year-over-year. The spending surged to US$13bil in 2020, up from US$9.7bil in 2019.

According to the report, the top 100 earning non-game subscription apps accounted for 11.7% of the total US$111bil consumers spend on in-app purchases. In the fourth quarter of 2020, 86 of the top 100 earning non-games provided subscriptions, slightly down from 89 in the same quarter previous year.

The report further revealed that Apple’s App Store continued to see a higher share of spending than Google’s equivalent Play Store. The top 100 subscription apps on Apple’s app store registered US$10.3bil in 2020, recording a 32% surge from US$7.8bil in 2019. The top 100 subscription apps on the Google app store saw US$2.7bil in 2020. The growth rate on Google was much higher at 42%, though. In 2019, Google’s Play Store generated US$1.9bil .

Sensor Tower also notes the significant surge in subscription app spending on Google. It said that spending on the platform was high both globally and in the US. It noted that YouTube led Google’s suite of products as it generated US$991.7mil in gross revenue globally. In the US alone, it generated US$562mil .

“It was also the top-earning subscription app on the App Store, whereas Google One was the top-grossing app on Google’s marketplace with more than US$445mil generated globally and US$255.7mil in the US,” the report added.

The top apps in terms of US consumer spending are YouTube, Disney+, Tinder, Pandora, Google One, Twitch, Bumble, HBO Max, Hulu, and ESPN. On Google Play Store, Google One, Disney+ and Pandora were the top three apps. On Apple's, YouTube, Tinder and Disney+ led the top three charts.

 - TNS