Gartner Says 102 Billion Apps Will Be Downloaded Globally In 2013

Research firm Gartner has posted some very interesting numbers looking at the overall app market around the world for 2013. According to the company, there will be 102 billion app downloads globally during 2013. That 102 billion downloads will also generate billions and billions of dollars in sales.

Gartner says that $26 billion in sales will be generated by app downloads around the world in 2013. Considering many apps are now being offered as freemium titles where the game itself is free and then players pay for upgrades in game, it's not surprising that 17% of that revenue is expected to come directly from in-app purchases.

Gartner also predicts that in the future revenue growth will happen more rapidly than the number of app downloads. The research firm says that almost 83 billion downloaded apps in 2013 will be free apps. That means 91% of all apps downloaded are free apps. The dollar amount for in-app purchases estimated for 2013 comes to over $4 billion.

Gartner believes that within the next four years, in-app purchases will account for nearly 48% of all app revenue. By 2017, Gartner predicts there will be 268 billion downloads globally each year. For 2013, Gartner says 90% of all apps will be downloaded via the Apple App Store and Google Play.

SOURCE: Techcrunch