India’s Mobile App Economy 2023
In the world after the pandemic, people in India are spending more time on mobile apps than ever before. It’s like everyone’s favorite pastime! Big companies and services are working hard to make these apps super easy and fun to use. Did you know that India has the second-biggest group of people who use smartphones? Yep, right after China!
In 2023, something incredible happened. People in India spent a whopping 1.19 trillion hours on mobile apps. That’s like watching your favorite movie over a billion times! This is a 13.2% increase from the previous year, according to a cool report from data.ai (formerly App Annie), and we got an exclusive look at it.
Yet, there’s a big difference between India and China in terms of app downloads. In 2023, the total number of app downloads in India was 26.4 billion, but in China, it was a whopping 4.3 times higher at 113.4 billion.
But, here’s the surprising thing. Even though Indians spent the most time on mobile apps in 2023, they didn’t spend as much money on them compared to countries like China, the US, Japan, and South Korea. India didn’t feature even among the world’s top 20 markets in terms of in-app spending.
So, what are Indians downloading the most? ‘Utility and Productivity’ apps took the top spot with 1.28 billion downloads. These are apps that help you get things done. VPNs and web browsers also became popular, growing by 50% from the previous year.
When it comes to spending money in-apps, Disney+ Hotstar, the cool entertainment app, got the most money. Indians also love spending on Online Dating (like Bumble) and Live Video Chat (like Chamet) apps. Video-based apps were the kings in 2023!
Interestingly, even with new kinds of apps like grocery delivery, telehealth, and sports betting, Indians still love spending time on messaging (like WhatsApp), entertainment (like YouTube), and social media (like Facebook) apps.
Even shopping and e-commerce apps registered flat growth (only 3%) since 2022, indicating that this market might be growing saturated. In contrast, newer, more verticalized platforms such as LimeRoad, Tira, and Purplle were the “breakout” shopping apps of 2023, according to data.ai.
But wait, there’s more! Different types of apps are popular with different people. Women love Video Editing, E-commerce, and Grocery apps, while Men prefer Flight Bookings, Digital Wallets, and Fantasy Sports.
In terms of age demographics, the 18–24 age group, Video/Photo Editing, Microblogging, and Fantasy Sports dominate, while the 25+ age group prefers Travel, Grocery Delivery, and Telehealth.
And here’s the techy part. Indians started getting into AI (Artificial Intelligence) apps, especially AI Chatbots. These are like talking to a super smart computer! In India, people downloaded AI Chatbots a lot, reaching 10 million in July. People also spent money on them, hitting $100,000 in December. In the US, they spent even more, $4.5 million every week!
AI Art Generator apps, which make cool art using AI, also became a hit. People in India downloaded them steadily, reaching over a million. But spending money on them was not as high, only $15,000 in December.
So, there you have it, the amazing world of mobile apps in India in 2023. People are spending tons of time, trying out new things, and even chatting with AI buddies. It’s like a digital adventure every day! 🚀
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