An independent study by economists from Analysis Group shows that Apple’s App Store ecosystem helped developers reach $1.1 trillion in sales in 2022. Additionally, 90% of this total came from transactions that didn’t go through the App Store, meaning those amounts went directly to the developers, with no commission paid to Apple.
According to another analysis by the Progressive Policy Institute, Apple’s iOS app economy also supports more than 4.8 million jobs in the United States and Europe, or about 2.4 million in each of those regions.
Analysis Group economists estimate that App Store developers made $910 billion in physical goods and services sales, $109 billion in in-app ad sales, and $104 billion in goods and services sales. digital services.
The App Store benefits from the pandemic… and the end of the pandemic
Tim Cook, Apple CEO, said in a press release: “As this report shows, the App Store is a dynamic and innovative market where opportunities are growing, and we are more committed than ever to investing in the developer success and the future of the app economy.”
This investment in developers could take an interesting turn next week with Apple’s expected launch of a virtual reality headset at WWDC 2023. Rather than a consumer product, the “Reality Pro” headset is considered by some observers as part of a development kit for application developers for now.
According to Analysis Group, the growth of the App Store ecosystem is attributed to increased demand for travel and ride-sharing services, as well as growth in advertising spending across social media and e-apps. -trade.
With the easing of travel restrictions during the Covid 19 pandemic, app categories such as travel saw sales increase by 84% in 2022, and app categories such as ride-sharing services saw their sales increase by 45%.
But some pandemic-era trends in the app economy have stuck and boosted sales, like shopping for food and groceries online. iOS app-based food delivery sales have more than doubled, and grocery store sales have tripled, since 2019.