US iPhone users spent 23% more on in-app purchases (IAP) & premium apps in 2017 than the year before, Sensor Tower Store Intelligence data reveals.
The average amount spent per active iPhone increased to an estimated $58 last year, up from $47 in 2016. This spending does not include purchases made in shopping apps such as Amazon or payments to ride sharing apps like Uber, for example. It does, however, reflect revenue earned by apps including Netflix & Tinder, not to mention the store’s ever-growing number of free-to-play mobile games, which once again represented the lion’s share of consumer expenditure.
Among the top five largest app categories by US App Store revenue last year, Lifestyle apps posted the most significant year-over-year increase in per-device spending, growing 110% — or over double 2016 — to an average of US $2.10 per iPhone. Dating apps such as Tinder & Bumble, which more than doubled their annual revenue from US iPhones last year, were among the top earners in this category, according to the data.
Entertainment & Social Networking categories, too, saw significant growth over the previous year of 57 & 38%, respectively, to US $4.40 & $3.60 per device. The Music app category displayed the smallest year-over-year growth among the five highest-earning categories at 8 % to US $4.10 per device.
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