Report estimates a $6.3 trillion app industry by 2021, with more than 6.3 billion global app users

Recent App Annie estimates predict that the global app industry will expand by whopping 380% percent in the next four years, almost quadrupling its current annually generated revenue of $1.3 trillion, to reach $6.3 billion in 2021.

On average, last year, app users spent $379 on average, per person on app store purchases, in-app ads and mobile online shopping, and the figure is set to rise to $1,008 in the next four years. The last factor, namely online purchases, is said to be largest driving force behind the projected increases, with Asia being the quickest expanding app market. The report highlights Alibaba’s impact on the market, with online buys accounting for 79% of the company’s retail in China.

Furthermore, the report supports its prediction about the Asian market, as it makes a reference to statistics that show Chinese consumers are much more engaged with app and online interactions.

“Compared to U.S. consumers, Chinese consumers are nearly three times as likely to buy food and groceries via their devices, twice as likely to transfer money using apps, and four times more likely to spend a majority of disposable income on mobile,” the report said.

In this regard, App Annie estimates that the Chinese app market will be worth $2.59 trillion in 2021, while US’ will stand at $820 billion.

All of the foregoing is obviously going to affect app store revenues in the years to come as well. The report suggests that Apple’s App Store will see revenues of $40 billion this year, while Play Store will average at $21 billion, pretty much maintaining their current current ratio. By 2021, App Annie predicts that Apple’s iOS platform will enjoy revenues of $60 billion, while all third party Android app stores will catch up with Google Play.

You don’t really need a PhD in nuclear mathematics to correlate all staggering numbers above to our ever-increasing fondness of spending time online, bent over our smartphones. Apparently, app interactions at a global level took a total of 1.6 trillion hours away from people’s lives, while expectations are that this figure would increase to 3.5 trillion over the next four years. The numbers we have quoted so far are also related to the fact that, according to the report, the number of people who use apps will almost double in the mentioned timeframe, with a projected number of 6.3 billion app users, compared to a current figure of 3.4 billion.

App Annie’s calculations are generally reliable, but even if they were off by a fraction, they certainly indicate a future where commerce and daily routines are largely ran and supported by related apps, for about two thirds of Earth’s population. The app boom is definitely changing how we live and its momentum seems to be in full swing, as technology and app-enabled devices become available for record numbers of people.

Source: AppAnnie via Fortune500