South Korea Mobile App Spending Reaches 7.9 Trillion Won, Ranking 4th Worldwide

[Asia Economy Reporter Buaeri] Last year, global spending on mobile applications (apps) reached $170 billion (approximately 203 trillion KRW). Consumer spending in South Korea recorded $6.61 billion (approximately 7.9 trillion KRW), ranking 4th worldwide.

According to mobile data analytics platform App Annie on the 13th, global mobile consumers downloaded 230 billion apps last year and spent 3.8 trillion hours on mobile apps. The company described this as an unprecedented surge.

The number of app downloads grew by 5% compared to 2020, consumer spending increased by 19%, and usage time rose by 6%.

App Annie reported that the countries with the highest consumer spending worldwide were China, the United States, and Japan, in that order. South Korea ranked 4th with consumer spending of $6.61 billion (approximately 7.9 trillion KRW).

The countries with the highest mobile app usage time were China, India, and the United States, respectively, with South Korea ranking 13th at 46.6 billion hours.

In terms of downloads, domestic downloads declined last year. The number recorded was 2.01 billion, a 2% decrease compared to 2020.

David Kim, Vice President of Global Sales at App Annie, said, "While big screens like TVs are being pushed aside as auxiliary devices to mobile, mobile is setting new records in all areas: usage time, downloads, and consumer spending," adding, "Mobile will establish itself as the main driver of the new economy this year."