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STORE INTELLIGENCE · RANDY NELSON · NOVEMBER 2018
U.S. App Store Revenue on Black Friday Grew 31% from 2017 to $52 Million, Setting a Single-Day Record
Apple's U.S. App Store set a new single-day revenue record of $52 million on Black Friday, Sensor Tower Store Intelligence data shows.
U.S. consumers spent an estimated $52 million on Apple's App Store this Black Friday, setting a new single-day revenue record for the store. This marked an increase in spending of 31.6 percent over last year's Black Friday, when gross revenue on the store hit an estimated $39.5 million, and 31 percent more than Christmas 2017's $39.8 million spent, Sensor Tower Store Intelligence data shows.
Our data further reveals that approximately $117.3 million was spent by App Store users outside the United States on Black Friday, for a global total of $169.3 million, up 18.4 percent from 2017. Spending outside the U.S. grew 13.9 percent year-over-year, spotlighting the predominantly America-centric nature of this Black Friday bump. The year-over-year growth of 31.6 percent in the U.S. between Black Friday 2017 and 2018 was slightly greater than the 29.2 percent increase between 2016 and 2017.
The $52 million spent on the U.S. App Store was more than double the $23.9 million we estimate Google Player users spent on the same day. At a combined $75.9 million, this figure sets a record for the most ever spent on a single day across both stores in the United States.
Games Drove Spending, But Others Also Grew
Black Friday spending on the App Store was primarily driven by mobile gaming at 68 percent of all revenue. Consumers spent close to $35.4 million in mobile games on the U.S. store on Black Friday, a 63 percent week-over-week increase from the previous Friday. This steep change was fueled mostly by discounts on in-app purchases and special bundles on IAP offered by game makers to coincide with the year's largest shopping day in the U.S.
Some other app categories on the store saw significant growth versus the prior Friday, including Food & Drink and Sports at 34 and 49 percent, respectively. Top apps in these categories included NYT Cooking and ESPN: Live Sports and Scores, as users sought dining and entertainment during the holiday weekend—and no doubt took advantage of discounted Apple gift cards they purchased on Black Friday.
Cyber Monday Had Less Impact
Compared to Black Friday, our early estimates show that this year's Cyber Monday didn't deliver the same degree of week-over-week growth, with U.S. revenue increasing about 20 percent versus the previous Monday to an estimated $37 million. This is in contrast to the 42.7 week-over-week growth seen on Black Friday.
