In 2019, apps generated revenues of €1.6 billion in Germany, but last year this figure rose to around €3.1 billion. Compared to 2021, the market is growing by a further 10 percent this year. For the coming year, Bitkom a slight decline to 3.3 billion euros.
Most of the money is earned from sales in the apps
Most of the money is generated not in the Apple and Google app stores, but through in-app purchases: 78 percent of revenue, or approximately €2.7 billion, comes from additional content or features that many apps provide for a fee. Streaming subscriptions are not included here. 14 percent, or €486 million, comes from advertising within the apps. Apps that already cost money in the app stores account for only 8 percent of the total market, with corresponding revenues of €279 million.
"Whether for information, communication, entertainment, shopping, or travel: smartphones have become an indispensable part of everyday life for a large proportion of people in Germany. Accordingly, the range of apps available is also growing. A multi-billion dollar ecosystem has developed around smartphones and tablets in recent years,"
says Bitkom CEO Bernhard Rohleder.
"Especially during the coronavirus pandemic, people have spent more time with their devices and therefore with apps. The app market will stabilize at the high level it has now reached."
Meanwhile, the number of downloaded apps has declined slightly from 3.28 billion to 3.21 billion compared to the previous year. In 2019, 2.15 billion downloads were recorded. 72 percent of downloads are currently for the Android operating system, and 28 percent for iOS.
