In a stay-at-home year for billions of people, the app habit grew stronger in all markets analysed. According to App Annie, the leading mobile data and analytics company, the global average time spent in apps was 4.2 hours a day, up 30% compared to two years prior. The UK has had a particularly stellar quarter looking at app habits.
Check out the App Annie Q1 2021 Market Index Rankings
In the UK, across iOS and Google Play for Q1 2021, app store consumer spend surpassed $1 billion, with a 60% YoY growth, making this the biggest quarter ever recorded.
The UK stands at #5 for top markets by consumer spend for Q1 2021, with US, Japan, China (iOS only) and South Korea ahead.
Breakout Apps of Q1 2021: Private Messaging, Investing and Video Sharing Products Dominate the Quarter
- The overall download charts reveal little movement across the quarter – they are still dominated by evergreens such as TikTok, YouTube andFacebook
- In Western markets, we can trace the rise of the two market-leading secure messaging products: Signal and Telegram. Signal places first in the UK.
- Elsewhere, the charts reflect the rise of investment and trading apps as consumers explored alternative ways to manage their incomes. Crypto is a common theme, with the Coinbase app appearing at 6 in the UK.
Crash Bandicoot: On the Run Lands on the Top Breakout Games of Q1 2021 Charts for US, UK and Germany With Only 1 Week Showing
- TikTok‘s overwhelming influence on mobile culture is also evident in the breakout games chart. One of the quarter’s biggest successes was High Heels, a hyper-casual game which was heavily advertised on the video sharing app.
- High Heels was developed by Istanbul-based Rollic (acquired by Zynga in 2020). In it, a character collects higher and higher heels, which enable them to get past obstacles. They must also avoid traps that cut their heels down in size. The title was number 1 on the US and UK breakout games download chart.
- The success of High Heels also reflected the ongoing rise of the hyper-casual genre. Another example of this came from Project Makeover, which appeared at 6 in the UK.
- It’s also worth mentioning Crash Bandicoot: On the Run. Although mobile gaming has yielded a huge range of original IP, it still presents a sizable opportunity for ‘classic’ franchises. Activision Blizzard (via its King subsidiary) only launched Crash Bandicoot: On The Run on March 25, but the game still generated 21 million downloads in just four days. Its solitary week of availability was enough to propel it to the breakout chart at #3 in the UK.
