Commentary

Mobile Ad Spend Leapt 23% To $295B In 2021, 19% Jump Forecast For 2022

Globally, mobile advertising spending jumped 23%, to $295 billion, last year — and is forecast to see another 19% increase in 2022, to $350 billion, according to App Annie’s State of Mobile 2022 report. 

That would translate to a four-year compound annual growth rate/CAGR of 22.6% as of year-end 2022. 

Robust mobile growth continued despite Apple’s new requirement that developers get iOS users’ permission to access the Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA) to collect targeting data, notes the report. 

Mobile represented 70% of digital ad spend growth last year, and its dominance is expected to continue in 2022, with more advertisers using the channel for brand marketing, as well as performance marketing, the mobile data and analytics company reports. 

Other key global mobile trends and stats highlighted in the report:

*A record 3.8 trillion hours were spent on mobile in 2021. 

*In the top 10 mobile markets, 4.8 hours a day were spent on mobile. 

*Consumers spent $170 billion on apps, up 19% from last year. Downloads continued growing at 5% year-over-year, to reach 230 billion. 

*Publishers released 2 million new apps and games, bringing the cumulative total to 21 million. 

*Consumer spend on mobile gaming grew 15%, to $116 billion fueled by the growing popularity of hyper casual games. 

*Apps earning more than $100 million in consumer spend grew by 20%. 

*Total hours spent watching video streaming apps have increased by 16% worldwide since pre-pandemic, 2019 levels. (See separate news item for more specifics on the mobile video streaming stats). 

*Led by TikTok, seven of every 10 minutes was spent on social, photo and/or video apps. TikTok saw its user time grow 90% outside of its native Chinese market. 

*Worldwide consumer spending on dating apps surged past $4.2 billion — up 55% compared to 2019. 

*Time in shopping apps rose 18% YoY, to reach 100 billion hours, led by fast fashion, social shopping, and big-box players. 

*Food and drink apps hit a new milestone at 194 billion sessions—up 50% YoY. 

*With all things “metaverse” gaining interest, avatar apps saw 160% YoY growth.

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