While some devices have apps pre-installed, users can select apps through applications stores such as the Google Play store for Android, the Apple App Store for iOS and the Amazon Appstore. Google Play generates the largest amount of worldwide app downloads. In 2019, app users downloaded 21.3 billion apps from Google Play. However, the Apple app store dominates the market in terms of consumer spending, taking 64 percent share of worldwide consumer spending on app stores. By 2023, mobile apps are projected to generate over 9935 billion U.S. dollars through paid downloads and in-app advertising.
With the global number of mobile phone users growing steadily, the number of app downloads is also projected to increase. As of 2019, over 2 million apps are available for download on the Google Play store, while 1.83 million apps are available on the Apple App Store. Retention rates, however, have not seen a corresponding upward trend. The global app retention rate after 10 sessions stood at 32 percent in 2019, a decrease from 38 percent in the previous year. In total, a quarter of mobile apps were only used once after downloading.
