Global mobile app sales hit new all-time high in 2020

Mobile spending hit $9 billion during December, with mobile games being the most popular category, according to Sensor Tower

People worldwide have spent over $100 billion this year on mobile apps and games, hitting a new all-time high.

According to a report by Sensor Tower, consumers shelled out around $407 million on Christmas alone for apps and games from Apple’s App Store and Google Play. That’s 35 percent more than the $303 million they spent during the same period in 2019. In comparison, spending in 2019 rose 17 percent over that of 2018.

Sensor Tower said mobile spending hit $9 billion during December, with mobile games being the most popular purchase. Gaming purchases shot up 27 percent to $295.6 million on Christmas, from $232.4 million in 2019. Tencent’s Honor of Kings was the big winner, with gamers spending $10.7 million on the Chinese gaming platform on Christmas, up 206 percent from the same day in 2019.

Consumer spending on non-game apps soared 59 percent to $112 million for Christmas. Entertainment was the biggest category, with app purchases jumping 22 percent to $19.3 million through Apple’s App Store. Entertainment purchases through Google Play rose 19 percent to $4.3 million, Sensor Tower said.

TikTok was another standout, with the hugely popular Chinese entertainment app generating $4.7 million on Christmas.

Sales through Apple’s App Store continued to outpace those of Google Play, with the App Store generating sales of $278.6 million on Christmas, compared with Google Play’s $129 million.

Sensor Tower said that U.S. consumers generated the most sales for mobile games this Christmas, with U.S. sales climbing to $87.2 million, up 26 percent from last year. Non-game app sales soared 72 percent to $42.7 million.

Roblox was the top seller, said Sensor Tower, with sales of the popular gaming platform jumping 40 percent year over year to $6.6 million on Christmas. Roblox was followed Disney+, which saw sales climb 44 percent to $2.6 million.

Earlier this month, App Annie reported that global spending in app stores soared this year, hitting $112 billion and growing 25 percent since last year.