The global app economy continued its recovery in 2024, with consumer spending reaching $127 billion across the Apple App Store and Google Play, a 15.7% increase from the previous year, according to new data from app intelligence firm Appfigures. However, this growth was driven primarily by Apple's App Store, as Google Play spending declined.

Despite the increase in consumer spending, the app economy showed signs of slowing down, with global app downloads declining by 2.3% to nearly 110 billion. This downward trend was seen across both app stores, indicating a shift in the app ecosystem's massive growth.

The decline in app downloads can be attributed to the app economy's maturation, with the focus shifting from driving downloads to extracting revenue from existing apps through ongoing subscriptions. Only 5% of apps worldwide offered subscriptions last year, but they accounted for 48% of the app revenue across both app stores. The top 10 earning apps globally generated 13.7% of all consumer spending, up 1.2% from 12.5% in 2023.

Another factor contributing to the decline in downloads was the management of app stores by Apple and Google Play. Google, in particular, cracked down on spam and low-quality apps, leading to a 60% reduction in the release of new apps on Google Play. This was likely driven by increased requirements for developers around app testing and app review.

In the United States, iOS downloads declined 5.3% to 6.1 billion, while Google Play app downloads dropped 0.7% to 4.4 billion. In total, U.S. app downloads declined by 3.4% in the year, reaching approximately 10.6 billion. Instagram was the most downloaded app in 2024, with close to 640 million installs, while Temu was the most downloaded app in the U.S. with 48 million installs.

In terms of revenue, the App Store continued to dominate, with $91.6 billion in consumer spending, up 24% year-over-year. Google Play consumer spending declined by 1.5% year-over-year to reach $35.7 billion globally. The U.S. accounted for a large portion of the overall revenue, with $47.6 billion in consumer spending, up 11% year-over-year.

TikTok was the top app globally by consumer spending, with an estimated $2.5 billion across iOS and Android, not counting app stores in China. Brazil was the fastest-growing market for consumer spending, up 73% year-over-year.

The decline in app downloads and the shift towards subscription-based revenue models indicate a maturing app economy. As the industry continues to evolve, it will be interesting to see how developers and app stores adapt to these changes and find new ways to drive growth and revenue.