APP STORY - #1: THE APPS

Try counting the number of apps on your mobile devices and then add up the hours and money spent. Surprised at how large it all is? Bravo! You are a relatively early adopter and contributing member of the incredible App Story. Today you choose from >10 million apps, are one of >3.4 billion app users worldwide who spend >1.6 trillion hours and >$1.3 trillion annually. By 2021, those numbers are projected to double, triple or more with > 25 million apps available, 6.3 billion app users, 3.5 trillion hours and an astounding $6.3 trillion. Apps are the latest new digital thing. And those big and fast-growing numbers can, if you embrace the App Story, drive your global sales, brands and business growth.

Today there are literally millions of apps: in China, for example, mobile phone users have a choice of >6.4 million apps. Google Play offers over 2.8 million (Android OS); Apple App Store 2.2 million (iOS), Windows Store 0.7 million and Amazon Appstore 0.6 million. That figure is growing every day. It is worth recalling that the Apple App Store was launched with the iPhone 2007 and the Android App Stores one year later in 2008 - so this App Story is less than 10 years old. Last year, Apple claims that downloads from the App Store exceeded 140 billion. Gartner, a leading IT consultancy firm, forecasts that in 2017 we will download 268 billion apps!

The world’s #1 app market (measured by apps, users, hours and money) is China. Not unsurprisingly, the dominant apps in China are produced by Chinese firms, most successfully by Tencent and Baidu, two of the so-called BAT leading tech giants (Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent). But like everywhere in the world, the leading apps are those that facilitate daily life, entertainment and enjoyment, so are used for: communications, online access, shopping, selling, music, videos, games…

A full version of this article originally appeared on our ibt.onl website.

John is a founding partner at IBT Online at its creation in 2002. John started his professional career in London qualifying as a Chartered Accountant. Today, he is an acknowledged expert in the field of innovating international business development, with global website localization and international online marketing.