As attraction for apps as a go-to resource for communication, entertainment, shopping, productivity grows, a new report by global market researcher App Annie estimates that the mobile app market will increase by 270 percent, from $70 billion in 2015 to $189 billion in 2020.

By the end of 2016 mobile app market revenue will be at $88 billion representing a 27 percent growth from 2015.

Mobile gaming, the report says, will lead the growth accounting for 55 percent of app store revenues, while time people spend in-apps is also expected to increase 114 percent during the time. Growth in time spent – three fold; will also be experienced in other categories such as shopping and transportation.

According to the authors of the report, “Today, app publishers come from every industry – not just game studios and media and entertainment companies, but also banks, retailers, airlines, ride-sharing services, and government agencies, to name a few.

To fully capitalise on the app economy’s exceptional growth, publishers need to anticipate future market opportunities when planning for a variety of business scenarios, including product launches, performance goals, international expansion, and portfolio management.”

The report also noted that in-app advertising and freemium – a business model in which a product is given away for free to a large group of users, will continue to dominate other business models and subscriptions will continue to be increasingly important type of in-app purchase.

In-app advertising is expected to exceed 2015 total from 58 percent ($40 billion) to 62 percent ($117.2 billion) in 2020. Dramatic increase of time spent in-apps and the doubling of the global installed base of smartphones and tablets to 6.2 billion in 2020 will be the major drivers of growth for in-app advertising and app store revenue.

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