In-App Purchase Market Expected to Reach $340.76 Billion by 2027

According to a recent report published by Allied Market Research, titled, “In-App Purchase Market by Operating System, Type and App Category: Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2020–2027,” the global in-app purchase market size was valued at $76.43 billion in 2019 and is projected to reach $340.76 billion by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 19.8% from 2020 to 2027. 

The most popular form of in-app purchase application includes games, video streaming application and music streaming application. In addition, various application developer is developing three types of in-app purchase application which include consumable, non-consumable and subscription. Among the three types of application subscription is the major type of application which provide maximum revenue to the developer. In addition, various benefits provided by in-app purchase application include monetize the application, provides new marketing channel to the developer and increases the sales in multiple channels.

Furthermore, increase in smartphone users across the globe and technological advancement in smart phones drive the growth of the market. In addition, rise in use of various promotional strategies and offers such as loyalty programs and increase in data usage & internet penetration across the globe fuel the growth of the market. Moreover, digital illiteracy and limited digital infrastructure and uncertainty of enterprises in developing their own applications hamper the growth of the market. Furthermore, addition of new games and ongoing innovation in technology and surge in expenditure on digital advertisement are expected to provide lucrative opportunity for the market expansion during the forecast period.

Based on operating system, the global in-app purchase market was led by the iOS segment in 2019 and is projected to maintain its dominance during the forecast period. Growing iOS users in developed countries such as the U.S., Canada and Japan and upsurge in purchase of mobile application from the app stores is expected to provide growth opportunities for the market. However, the other segment is expected to grow at the highest rate during the forecast period, owing to companies such as Blackberry, and Microsoft launching new versions of the operating system to maintain its customer base and gain a competitive advantage in the in-app purchase market. 

Region-wise, the global in-app purchase market was dominated by Asia-Pacific in 2019 and is expected to grow at the highest rate during the forecast period. The major factors that drive the market in this region include rising in-app purchase customers in China and India and surge in adoption of subscription based mobile application in the Asian countries. 

Though COVID-19 crisis continues to disrupt many industries, it has offered opportunities for high adoption of digital transformation approaches, among which in-app purchase service has gained high importance and adoption. With state and country-wide lockdowns initiated at the beginning of 2020, many people across the globe are getting addicted to gaming and entertainment application which is providing lucrative opportunity for the market. Furthermore, various key players of the market are introducing new gaming and other non-gaming application with in-app purchase options to enhance the customer experience and to improve their market share in the pandemic situation.

Key Findings of The Study

• By type, the subscription segment generated the highest revenue in 2019.
• By region, Asia-Pacific is expected to attain significant growth during the forecasted period.
• By app category, the gaming segment generated the highest revenue in 2019.

The key players profiled in the in-app purchase market analysis Apple Inc., Disney, Google LLC, King Limited, Netflix, Inc., Rakuten, Inc., Sony Corporation, Spotify Technology S.A, Tencent Holding Limited, and Tinder. These players have adopted various strategies to increase their market penetration and strengthen their position in the industry.