- Global mobile ad spending reached $362 billion in 2023, an 8% increase over the previous 12 months, driven by revenue from short-form video and video-sharing apps, according to Data.ai’s latest State of Mobile 2024 report. The report projects mobile ad spending will hit $402 billion in 2024, a 11% year-over-year increase.
- Mobile consumer spending reached $171 billion last 12 months, up 3% YoY, according to the report. Social apps and the creator economy are gaining attention for brand spanking new monetization opportunities beyond ads.
- Generative AI also experienced explosive growth in 2023, led by innovations comparable to AI chatbots and art generators, fueling latest embedded features across virtually all mobile sectors, the report detailed.
Data.ai’s report removes any lingering doubt that mobile has taken over as the highest channel for consumer attention and promoting spending. The $362 billion spent on mobile promoting in 2023 is larger than the economies of several countries, including Colombia, Finland and New Zealand. Consumers in mobile-first markets spent a mean of over five hours per day on mobile, a latest high, the report outlined.
Driving the return to growth of consumer spend is apps, which outpaced games and saw a 11% YoY boost to $64 billion in 2023. Gaming spending decreased 2% to $107 billion, though downloads remained regular at 88 billion. More broadly, latest app downloads remained flat at 257 billion. According to the report, social apps and the creator economy in 2023 created latest pathways to monetization beyond promoting, including through TikTok’s content creator “tipping” mechanism, which helped drive the app past $10 billion in lifetime spend.
“Consumers are signaling a necessity for authenticity, video-first content, and a willingness to control the narrative of their social media experiences through the facility of a dollar,” said Lexi Sydow, director of corporate marketing and insights at data.ai, in an announcement provided to Marketing Dive.
In 2024, direct consumer monetization in social apps via in-app purchases will proceed to grow, reaching an estimated $1.3 billion, a 150% YoY increase. As AI continues to maintain a stronghold on adland, the report also lauded TikTok’s experiments in the space. The ByteDance app has “revolutionized the landscape of engagement and monetization,” per Theodore Krantz, CEO of information.ai, in an announcement.
“In 2024, [TikTok] stands poised to surpass gaming giants and secure its position because the highest-grossing app in history,” Krantz said in the discharge.
Notable generative AI apps mentioned in the report include ChatGPT, Ask AI and Open Chat. Elsewhere in the mobile landscape, Chinese shopping apps Temu and Shein grew by 140% in 2023 as they broke through in Western markets. Temu led app downloads across 125 markets. Social and entertainment apps also experienced double-digit growth, with spending up 10% YoY to $29 billion and time spent up 12% to 3 trillion total hours.
Finally, the results of the pandemic’s isolation proceed to drive consumer behavior. Travel downloads, comparable to integrated travel, tour booking and flight booking apps, increased by 13% YoY in 2023 and ticketing app downloads grew 31% in 2023, a 66% increase over pre-pandemic levels.
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