The Rise of Healthcare Apps: A New Era in Digital Health

Key Takeaways:

• Demand for healthcare apps surged in recent years, with an average of nearly 1mn downloads per day in 2023, a 42% increase vs 2019. Blood pressure monitors and cardiovascular health apps saw astronomical download growth, up more than 500% in 2023 compared to 2019, reaching over 40mn downloads

• Mobile users spent $716/minute on healthcare apps in 2023, totalling $377mn total – a 19% YoY increase and the highest per-minute spending since at least 2019. Yet, potential for further expansion remains: Only 53% of US healthcare apps offer in-app purchases, indicating a vast, untapped market. Notably, only 6% of medical software apps employ in-app purchases as a monetization strategy

• Usage of blood pressure monitors and diabetes management apps increased by ~190% between 2020 and 2023, possibly also driven by COVID-19’s medical sequelae, including new onset high blood pressure

  • In the US diabetes management app space, Dexcom G6 led in sheer user base size, reaching over 800k MAUs in 2023 (up 17% YoY), excelling in organic downloads and long-term retention against competitors

• In-app purchases from women’s health apps surpassed $100mn in 2023 across major European countries and the US (up 31% YoY). While the period tracker app Flo remains a leader in the women’s health space, competitors can target its user base by advertising on platforms where Flo's users are increasingly active. In the US, these have included Peacock TV and Domino's Pizza apps in the past 90 days, per ST’s new Audience Insights product

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