Mobile App Spending Hits Record High of 4.8 Trillion in First Half of the Year

Record-Breaking Demand During COVID-19 Special Period
YouTube Maintains Top Spending Position

Domestic consumers spent 4.8 trillion KRW on mobile apps in the first half of this year, marking the highest record for any first half to date.

On the 3rd, mobile data and analytics platform data.ai released the "2023 First Half Mobile App Status" report.

Domestic App Consumer Spending Trends
Photo by Data.ai

In the first half, domestic mobile app spending reached $3.73 billion (4.8 trillion KRW), a 19% increase compared to the same period last year. This also represents a 10% growth compared to the first half of 2021, which had recorded the highest spending due to the COVID-19 special demand.

Spending increased across all sectors, including Apple iOS, Google Play, games, and non-game apps. Consumer spending on domestic iOS grew 32% from the previous first half, surpassing $1 billion (1.3 trillion KRW). Google Play recorded $2.72 billion (3.5 trillion KRW), a 14% increase. Game apps, which accounted for more than 80% of consumer spending, also saw increased spending on both major markets, reaching approximately $3.04 billion (3.9 trillion KRW).

In terms of spending categories, "YouTube" maintained its top position through various in-app services such as YouTube Premium, creator support, and channel memberships. Web novel and webtoon platforms "KakaoPage" and "Naver Webtoon" ranked second and third, respectively. "KakaoTalk," online video services (OTT), and "TikTok" followed.

Global consumer spending also hit a record high of $67.5 billion (86 trillion KRW). The United States, Japan, and China ranked as the top three countries, with South Korea placing fourth.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.