Sensor Tower: 2021 Mobile App Ecosystem Usage Report

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact the mobile app ecosystem, according to the annual review report released today by app intelligence company Sensor Tower. In the early days of the pandemic, some apps saw a rapid increase in usage – such as those focused on online shopping, entertainment, business, and education. Although much of the world has reopened, things have not yet fully returned to normal in app stores.

The new report found that downloads for some app categories remain well above pre-pandemic levels, while others have yet to fully recover.

Travel apps have naturally been hit hard by the pandemic, as countries closed their borders to tourists and visitors and in-person events were canceled. In addition, the rise of remote work has led to a decrease in demand for ride-sharing apps and other apps related to daily commuting. Overall, travel and navigation apps have been hit hardest by the pandemic, with installations down about 40% in April 2020 compared to 2019 totals.

It's clear that the travel category as a whole is still living or dying by the ups and downs of COVID. For example, as things began to improve in the summer, travel apps began to see a recovery. Sensor Tower said that by the peak of summer travel in July 2021, travel apps had almost reached their 2019 average. But with the emergence of the Omicron variant, travel apps saw those gains begin to fade. As of December 2021, travel apps were down 14% again compared to 2019 levels, while navigation apps were down 22%.

Other app categories have been less impacted by the daily battles of the COVID surge and may instead represent trends that are shifting longer-term. Business apps are a key example. Installations in this category remain high as many companies have embraced full-time remote work – or at least delayed plans to return to the office amid the COVID surge. Overall, business app download growth in 2021 remains more than double pre-pandemic levels (+102%).

It’s clear that medical apps have also seen an increase in usage during the pandemic. The category has climbed significantly from 2019 levels, with downloads in December 2021 up 187% compared to the 2019 monthly average.

Other app categories continue to benefit from pandemic-driven growth, but to a lesser extent. Games, Health & Fitness, and Education apps are still up 39%, 31%, and 19%, respectively, over 2019 levels. Among them, Sports apps quickly rebounded when leagues reopened in the second half of 2020, and in 2021 they grew 3% over 2019 levels, a more modest increase.

The report also pointed out that during the pandemic, the normalization of app downloads varied in different countries. Compared with other regions, North America recovered to the total volume of 2019 the fastest. At the same time, the impact of the pandemic lasted longer in the Asian market. As of the fourth quarter of 2021, games in the Asian market were still nearly 40% higher than pre-pandemic levels, and travel app installations were still down 25%.

Additionally, some of the top U.S. travel apps exceeded pre-pandemic levels, including apps for airlines, vacation rentals, and tour operators, while navigation and ride-sharing apps remained sluggish. In European markets, growth is starting to recover, but the top apps in each travel subcategory are still below pre-pandemic totals, including navigation and ride-sharing apps.

Sensor Tower notes that its numbers don't include Apple and Google's own pre-installed apps or third-party Android app stores outside of Google Play.

The company's full report dives into other notable trends for 2021, including cryptocurrency's shift to mobile over the past year, which drove 35% year-over-year growth in the finance category in the fourth quarter of 2021. On the gaming side, Garena Fire ultimately took the top spot in terms of downloads, beating out 2020's top game Among Us and 2019 champion PUBG Mobile.

Of course, growth in installs is just one way to look at the pandemic’s impact on the app economy. Increased overall app usage has also helped drive new levels of consumer spending on apps. In the third quarter of 2021, app store consumer spending reached a record $28 billion in revenue and is on track to reach $133 billion for the full year.

From cnbeta