Mumbai: Despite early adopter status, Social Apps are still in high demand, 74 billion Social Apps were downloaded to date among that 4.7 billion Downloads in H1 2021 Alone, as per App Annie report.
The report further states that spend in social apps is booming, with $22.2B spent on Social Apps to date among that $3.2B in H1 2021 Alone which is a 50% YoY growth.
Social Apps command 740B hours in H121, equal to 44% of time spent on mobile globally. The time spent in Social Apps has maintained steady growth over the past 3 years, witnessed a growth of 30% in H1 2021 vs H1 2018. Total time spent in the top 5 Social apps with an emphasis on live streaming are set to surpass half a trillion hours on Android phones alone, outside of China in 2021, a 3-Year CAGR of 25% compared to 15% for Chat and Photo & Video apps. Live streaming is driving growth in engagement for social apps, which sets them up for consumer spend. Social Apps that offer Live Streaming as a prominent feature account for $3 of every $4 spent in Top 25 Social Apps in H1 2021.
Live Streaming Apps Increased Market Share of Consumer Spend by 24 Percentage Points from 2018. Video is at the Forefront of the Evolving Social Landscape & Live Streaming is Set to Fuel Significant Future Growth. TikTok has Upended the Streaming & Social Landscape — with Average Monthly Time Per User Surpassing YouTube in the US and UK, and Making Significant Strides in South Korea Where YouTube Leads by 2.5X.
While many social apps have included in-app purchases in the past, many were one-off items like sticker packs purchased from the company. Now, in-app purchases fueling the Social market spend are often tied to “gifting” content creators during live streams. On Twitch, ‘Bits’ are a virtual good that give viewers the power to “cheer” and support streamers financially and ‘subs,’ monthly channel subscriptions, allow viewers to access exclusive benefits from their favorite creators such as custom emotes (custom Twitch-specific emoticons) and subscriber badges. In Bigo Live, they are beans, and in TikTok they are virtual coins which the viewer uses to buy virtual gifts that they send to the streamers. Generally, the content creators can exchange in-app currency for funds paid out to them. Creators are encouraged to give shout-outs to gifters, which creates a positive feedback loop.
$78 Billion Spent in Social Apps Through 2025. Consumer support for Live Streamers and content creators set to supercharge monetization of social media Apps to reach $17.7 Billion in annual spend in 2025 — 5-Year CAGR of 29%.
Asia is the Largest Region for Downloads of Social Apps in H1 2021 at 60% of Market. India is the Top Market by a Factor of 5x, Surpassing the US in 2018. US, Indonesia, Brazil and China Follow — a Mix of Mature and Emerging Markets. Even in the US Where Habits May Be More Engrained, Demand for New Social Apps Remains High.
US, Japan & China account for 60% of spend in Social Apps in H1 2021; Japan an early adopter market. The US emerged as the #1 market for consumer spend in Social Apps in H1 2021 seeing 1.7x spend of next largest market and representing 30% of total market fueled by spend in support of content creators and live streamers.
Time spent in Social Apps in India has boomed over the past 3.5 Years, shrinking the gap between India and China from 115% in 2018 to 7% in H1 2021.
Consumers are shifting to a model of paying for content creators instead of professionally produced content, illustrating a shift towards authentic experiences. YouTube and TikTok outrank the leading video streaming app, Disney+, showing that consumers are opening their wallets to the creator economy at a level we’ve never seen before — a positive sign for the industry. Further, TikTok, Twitch and Bigo Live all rank among the top 10 apps by consumer spend, showcasing the power of the gifting mechanism.
YouTube, Facebook and WhatsApp dominate the time spent charts, TikTok has settled comfortably at #6 in H1 2021, from outside the top 10 in 2019. YouTube remains the leader in the streaming, social and photo and video space due to both depth and breadth of engagement, but the average time spent per user in TikTok has surpassed YouTube in key markets like the US and UK and could shake up the rankings in years to come. Short-video, authentic content and live streaming are pillars to cultivating deep engagement, with live streaming in particular driving growth in time spent.
