Mobile apps are on a path to reach $70 billion in annual revenue by 2017. Digi-Capital, an investment bank for mobile apps and games, said in its first quarter mobile apps study that non-game apps could double their percentage share of total app revenue from 26 percent to 51 percent by 2017, thanks to a 61.3-percent compound annual growth rate.
“Everyone knows that mobile apps are hot, and that games have taken the lion’s share of revenue so far,” said Tim Merel, managing director at Digi-Capital in London. “We think the balance is going to change, with other app categories using new approaches to win. We’re already seeing SaaS-like App as a Service models emerging, and we can’t wait to see what happens next.”
Mobile usage has grown five times in four years to approximately 20 percent of media consumption last year. From 2009 to 2013, the compound annual growth rate for mobile apps was 50 percent. Meanwhile, mobile app investment is gathering steam. It has doubled across categories since the third quarter of 2013, with $10 billion invested in the last 12 months.