Global app market to reach $6.3 trillion by 2021

A new study by analyst firm App Annie suggests the global mobile app economy was worth $1.3 trillion last year and is poised to skyrocket to $6.3 trillion by 2021 as users spend more money on apps, in-app purchases, and mobile commerce.

According to the report, consumer spending across all mobile app stores will reach $139 billion over the next four years. Apple's App Store will remain the largest contributor regarding app store purchases, growing to over $60 billion in 2021. In-app advertising will also witness a sharp growth to $201 billion.

While people are spending more time interacting with apps, the researchers predict the amount of time they will be logged on will grow from 1.6 trillion hours in 2016 to a staggering 3.5 trillion hours in 2021.

Mobile commerce, like the purchasing of goods via a smartphone app, represents the “single largest driver of the growth of the mobile and app economy,” said App Annie.

It added that much of the spike would come from China and the US, followed by Japan, the UK, and India. Asia will be the fastest-growing app economy reaching $3.2 trillion.

“Compared to US consumers, Chinese consumers are nearly three times as likely to buy food and groceries via their devices, twice as likely to transfer money using apps, and four times more likely to spend a majority of disposable income on mobile,” the report said.

App Annie estimates an average person would spend $946 on mobile commerce by 2021, compared to last year's average of $344 per person.