Sensor Tower, a provider of data on the digital economy has released its annual State of Mobile report for 2025. The report reveals that in 2024 consumer spending on in-app purchases and subscriptions hit $150 billion globally, an increase of 13 per cent year-over-year (YoY). Consumers also remain as connected to their smartphones as ever, with 4.2 trillion (+5.8 per cent YoY) total hours spent on mobile worldwide last year. However, app downloads fell slightly to 136 billion (-1.0 per cent YoY).
The findings of the report show that for the fourth consecutive year growth in consumer spend on non-gaming apps outpaced games, with spend in non-games increasing by nearly $14bn in 2024 (25 per cent YoY growth). Film & Television Streaming ($11.9bn) and Social Media ($11.7bn) were, by a considerable margin, the two largest subgenres by consumer spend in 2024.
However, it was AI Chatbots that stole the show in 2024. A surge of interest in generative AI saw consumers spend nearly $1.1bn (+200 per cent YoY) in apps such as ChatGPT, Google Gemini and Doubao, growing at a rate that could catapult the subgenre into the top ten by consumer spending within just a year. Time spent in AI apps like Character AI and ChatGPT nearly eclipsed 7.7 billion hours, and apps mentioning AI were downloaded 17 billion times, emphasizing the growing appetite among consumers for AI features at their fingertips.
“Apps continue to capture consumer attention, particularly in non-games. And as consumers spend more time on mobile, they are becoming far more comfortable making purchases on their devices,” said Oliver Yeh, Chief Executive Officer and Cofounder, Sensor Tower. “Apps have shifted their monetization strategies to capitalize on this increased attention, finding innovative ways to streamline and improve consumers’ digital experience. As we look ahead, we expect to see more apps experiment with AI, finding novel and creative ways of incorporating the technology.”
Interestingly, though the report points to signs of consumer digital fatigue in top app categories like streaming where engagement is experiencing a slight pullback from recent highs, it also highlights the success of apps that improve in-person customer experiences. Many of the fastest-growing categories connect users across devices or to their in-person experiences. Food & Drink app downloads (+8.5 per cent YoY) and session count (+9.2 per cent YoY) saw accelerated growth as more companies integrated the app into the customer buying process.
More key findings include:
- New Billion Dollar Club Members: Four games and one app: Last War, Whiteout Survival, Dungeon & Fighter, Brawl Stars, and WeTV were the latest to reach the billion-dollar club, surpassing $1 billion dollars for consumer spend for a calendar year
- The AI Takeover: ChatGPT has reached 50 million (+500 per cent YoY) Monthly Active Users faster than Temu, Disney+ and YouTube Music
- Apps Offer Financial Services Convenience: Led by the popularity of digital wallets and mobile banking, finance apps maintained double-digit growth YoY for time spent, and approached 7.5 billion downloads (+8 per cent YoY)
- Cryptocurrency Apps Establish Global Appeal: Binance (6th) and Tonkeeper (9th) rank among the top 10 finance apps by downloads in 2024
- Chinese E-tailers Boost Retail Globally: Temu and SHEIN continue their expansion into Europe, Latin America and Asia, ranking first and second respectively for top app downloads in the retail subgenre
- A Saturated Streaming App Market: While streaming mobile apps have seen ongoing growth in in-app revenue and downloads, engagement is falling as users experience “digital fatigue”. The absence of switching costs has made it challenging for newer and smaller platforms to drive loyalty and subscriber growth
