UPDATE
May 25, 2022
New report highlights global success of small businesses and entrepreneurs on the App Store
The App Store continues to offer growth opportunities for global businesses, as small developers see 113 percent increase in earnings over the past two years
Small businesses and app creators are finding more success than ever on the App Store. A new report “Spotlight on Small Business & App Creators on the App Store” — conducted by independent economists from Analysis Group — found that developers’ earnings have increased significantly over the past two years. Earnings for smaller developers active on the App Store in 2019 increased by 113 percent over the past two years — outpacing the earnings growth of large developers by more than double.
Entrepreneurs have continued to create new businesses, innovate through the rapidly changing environment of the past two years, and grow teams of coders, designers, and creatives — contributing to one of the most thriving and innovative global markets that exist today.
The research demonstrates that as more businesses have used apps to reach their customers in innovative ways over the past two years, these digital and hybrid shifts have endured even as COVID-related restrictions have lifted in many parts of the world. These developers and their apps have helped people find new and often lasting ways to collaborate with colleagues, find entertainment, hone their creativity, and connect with friends and family.
Smaller and Emerging Developers Find Global Success on the App Store
In their research, “Spotlight on Small Business & App Creators on the App Store,” economists from Analysis Group examine how entrepreneurs in the iOS app economy have continued to innovate and grow. In total, the research paints a picture of a thriving and dynamic app ecosystem where opportunities and innovations have flourished.
In 2021, thousands of small business and new app creators joined the App Store from all around the world. Of this set of new developers, approximately 24 percent came from Europe, 23 percent from China, 14 percent from the US, 4.3 percent from Japan, and 34 percent from other regions including Korea, India, and Brazil. And over the last two years, the number of smaller and emerging developers joining the App Store has grown — for instance, in the UK, the number of small developers new to the App Store grew by almost 40 percent since 2019, and, in Germany, it grew by over 25 percent.
As these developers take advantage of the App Store’s capabilities that make it easy to distribute apps in 175 global markets, about 40 percent of all downloads of apps from small businesses and emerging app creators came from users outside of the developers’ home countries in 2021.
The research also finds the App Store has helped entrepreneurs start new apps and rapidly scale their businesses. To analyse the paths to growth of developers that earned more than $1 million on the App Store in 2021, the economists looked back at a longer time period and found that 45 percent of today’s large developers were either not on the App Store, or had less than $10,000 in earnings, just five years ago.
The full Analysis Group research on small business developers and app creators on the App Store is now available.
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