Japan Beats US To Become Top Country In Mobile App Revenue

There is big money to be made on games and other apps for mobile devices around the world. There has been a change at the top of the most profitable countries for apps with Japan taking the top spot. Previously, the top country for mobile app revenues was the US. Japanese consumers spent 10% more on apps than consumers in the US did in October.

The numbers come from a tracking firm called App Annie. Spending on apps in Japan has grown rapidly with the country spending 40% less than the US only a year ago. Japanese consumers spent three times as much on apps as consumers in South Korea this year.

Consumers in Japan also spent about six times as much on apps than mobile users in Great Britain. The huge growth in app purchases is attributed to a huge growth in the popularity of game apps for tablets and smartphones. Japanese consumers have also been making a significant migration from feature phones to smartphones.

The numbers show that Japanese consumers spent about four times as much money on game apps compared to the same time a year ago. Japanese mobile users on the Android platform spent so much money on apps, a gain of 40% compared to last year, that Japan is the first country where Google Play spending has caught up to spending on the Apple App Store.

SOURCE: WSJ