Indians downloaded fewer apps in 2023, but spent more on them, according to an analysis of download estimates from app intelligence provider, data.ai, shared with Moneycontrol.
The increase in app spends indicates the rising maturity of consumers in India, a market that is primarily considered as DAU (daily active users) and MAU (monthly active users) farms for many prominent global internet companies.
Industry experts say the rapid proliferation of the UPI (Unified Payments Interface) payment option in the country along with the increased digital adoption during the Covid-19 pandemic has made consumers more comfortable with spending money on mobile apps, thereby accelerating digital purchases. That said, app spends in India are still a tiny chunk of global app spends, indicating a lot of room for future growth.
Mobile games, productivity apps, entertainment and utilities are some of the top categories that attracted the maximum app spends during the year.
That said, app downloads appear to be cooling down after a rapid pandemic-fuelled growth in the past couple of years. Nine of the top 10 most downloaded apps in India witnessed a decline in downloads in 2023.
People are also buying fewer smartphones and keeping their existing smartphones for a longer period of time, which is also resulting in lesser download numbers, said Tarun Pathak, Research Director at Counterpoint Research.
Several companies cutting back on their app marketing spends amid an increasingly challenging macroeconomic environment this year was another key factor contributing to lower app downloads in the country.
Top Android apps of 2023
Social platforms, e-commerce and entertainment apps, including mobile games, continue to dominate the list of India's top downloaded apps on Google Play Store and Apple App Store this year.
Also noteworthy is that social networking giant Meta owns three of the top 10 most downloaded Android apps in India in 2023. Instagram topped the list of most downloaded Android apps with 270.3 million app installs this year, benefiting from growing user consumption of short videos in the country
"A pivotal factor contributing to Instagram's popularity in India has been TikTok's ban in the country in 2020. Instagram Reels has effectively filled the void left by the ban of TikTok, offering users a comparable platform for creating and sharing short-form videos," app intelligence firm Sensor Tower said in a report released in December 2023.
A look at India's most downloaded Android apps in 2023
Facebook took the second spot with 151.7 million app installs while WhatsApp Messenger took the eighth spot with 106.6 million installs.
JioCinema, which saw a massive surge in popularity this year primarily due to free IPL streaming, took the fifth place with 125.9 million installs. It was the only app among the top 10 Android apps in 2023 that witnessed an increase in its app installs.
Among the other Indian apps include Meesho at the third spot with 146.1 million installs and PhonePe at the sixth spot with 113.5 million installs. Flipkart took the seventh spot with 110.5 million installs while its value commerce platform Shopsy took the ninth spot with 103.7 million installs.
These are overall app install numbers in the country and we haven't been able to source the number of active users of these apps.
Top iOS apps of 2023
Google dominated the list of top downloaded apps on the App Store this year, with five of its apps finding a place in the list of top 10 iOS apps in India this year.
YouTube was the most popular Google-owned app this year, taking the third spot with 14.3 million downloads in 2023. Google Pay, Google, and Google Maps took the fourth, fifth and sixth spots respectively while Chrome browser took the eight position.
Meta-owned WhatsApp however led the charts with 18.4 million installs, followed by Instagram with 17.9 million installs.
A list of India's most downloaded iOS apps in 2023
JioCinema was the sole Indian app that found a place in the list of top iOS apps in the country in 2023, taking the seventh spot with 8.5 million installs.
It's worth noting that unlike in Android, all the iOS apps witnessed a surge in app downloads this year, which is likely reflective of the growing base of iPhone users in the country.
Over the past year, Apple has witnessed a strong growth in its iPhone sales in India, with the company saying in November that iPhone sales crossed an all-time record in the country during the quarter ending September 30,2023.
Top apps in terms of consumer spend
Google Play registered $ 404.2 million in app spend until November 2023 while the App Store accumulated $ 143.4 million, taking the overall mobile app spend $ 547.6 million, as per data.ai. Industry executives, however, say this is a significantly conservative number, and the actual consumer spend could be as much as twice this figure.
In comparison, Google Play registered $307.4 million in app spend until November 2022 while the App Store clocked $110.5 million, taking the overall mobile app spend to $417.9 million.
Increasing app spends indicates the rising maturity of consumers in India
Indian app spending is currently a tiny chunk of global app spends that hit the $100 billion mark as of October 2023, as per information shared by data.ai.
In terms of where people are spending money, mobile games continue to lead the charts in consumer spend on the Play Store, taking four of the top 10 spots on the leaderboard.
Garena's battle royale game Free Fire was the highest grossing Android app while rival Krafton's Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI), which made a comeback to India this year after a 10-month suspension, stood at fifth position. Casual games Coin Master and King's Candy Crush Saga stood at third and sixth position respectively.
A list of India's top Android apps in terms of consumer spend in 2023
On Apple's App Store, streaming video services led the list of top grossing iOS apps in India, accounting for four of the top 10 spots on the leaderboard.
Disney's video streaming service Disney+Hotstar was the highest grossing app in 2023 followed by Google's YouTube, Sony Pictures Networks India's Sony LIV and Zee Entertainment's ZEE5.
A look at India's top iOS apps in terms of consumer spend in 2023
Disclaimer: Moneycontrol is a part of the Network18 group. Network18 is controlled by Independent Media Trust, of which Reliance Industries is the sole beneficiary.
Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
Find the best of Al News in one place, specially curated for you every weekend.
Stay on top of the latest tech trends and biggest startup news.
