App and mobile usage continues to soar according to new App Annie report

App and mobile usage has significantly increased around the world, according to the new App Annie State of Mobile 2022 report.

Globally in 2021, the report shows there have been over 232 billion downloads, USD$168 billion in consumer spending, and 3.8 trillion hours spent on mobile apps.

Across the top 10 markets analysed, the weighted average surpassed 4 hours 48 minutes in 2021 which is up 30% from 2019. In addition, users in Brazil, Indonesia and South Korea surpassed 5 hours per day in mobile apps in 2021, with Brazil and Indonesia taking the top spots overall for usage.

Gaming, social networking, shopping and fitness were some of the key criteria analysed, and these categories returned the most change in results.

Developers have hit a win, with publishers releasing $2 million new apps and games in 2021, bringing the cumulative total to $21 million. The results also showed that $16 Billion in gaming spending by consumers was added in 2021, bringing the total to $116 Billion.

The most popular gaming apps were Free Fire, Subway Surfers and ROBLOX. When analysing consumer spending on games, ROBLOX was the highest.

TikTok was the most downloaded when it came to social media, with the greatest depth of engagement over four years and a standout year in 2021. Facebook and Instagram followed closely behind with 15% and 35% increases respectively.

Time spent in shopping apps reached 100 billion hours across the globe, which was up by 18% year over year. This increase was led by fast fashion, social shopping, and big-box players in the midst of the pandemic. Countries with the most rapid general growth were Indonesia, Singapore and Brazil at 52%, 46% and 45% growth YoY, respectively.

With more Gyms and Fitness centres reopening, use in health and wellbeing apps slightly softened from 2020 but remained higher worldwide. China and the United States were two markets that didn't see their 2021 download volumes surpass pre-pandemic levels in 2018, but overall, the world numbers were higher than 2018 and 2019 combined.

When looking into app use by generation, trackers and Headspace were the top apps for Gen Z, and trackers and insurance apps gained popularity amongst Millennials. For Gen X and Baby Boomers, fitness apps such as Fitbit and Garmin were among the most popular apps.

It was also revealed that 7 of every 10 Minutes on mobile was spent on social and photo and video apps in 2021, making it one of the faster-growing markets.

The Tokyo Olympics was also mentioned as a factor for increased use in apps like sports and betting, while 'The Great Resignation' has also led to an increase in job search app downloads. COVID-19 reporting and scanning/tracking apps also saw a significant increase.