Global Smartphone App Download Market Could Reach $15 Billion By 2013: Report
Robin Wauters
Mar 5, 2010

Research reports forecasting future market sizes should always be taken with a grain of salt, but it occasionally helps to see the estimates of research organizations in order to gain some perspective on the current and upcoming trends for those markets.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at what research2guidance has to say about the worldwide smartphone application market, which it estimates will grow from $1.94 billion in 2009 to $15.65 billion by 2013.

The big surge in applications will be driven by a fast-growing number of smartphone users, which the research company estimates will increase from about 100 million last year to nearly 1 billion by 2013.

There’s a ton of opportunity for corporations to tap into this vast audience with mobile apps, research2guidance adds, because according to its research only 10% of Fortune 2000 companies are targeting their customers with a smartphone application to date.

Still according to the agency’s findings, the vast majority of them have published applications to give access to their core products or for promotional purposes (91%). Only a minor share (9%) use applications as a stand-alone product.

If you’re interested in the full report, you can purchase it here.

Does your company offer mobile applications for smartphones? On what platform?

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  • http://uniqueapps.com Ryan Wade

    Damn … I know those are only estimates … but still … pretty impressive!

  • Michael

    How can you base a four-year prediction on a single actual data point (2009)?!

  • http://www.ArticlePlayground.com/ Article Playground

    That’s wassup

  • http://www.research2guidance.com Chris Wilson

    Great to have the interest of the TechCrunch community!

    The upward trajectory of the smartphone app market certainly points to a key opportunity for corporations, the majority of whom have not yet made the jump into the mobile market. However, our new report includes key insights from those “first mover” corporations that have managed to publish successful apps.

    Interested readers can check out a preview of some of this first-hand feedback (and more!) here:

    http://bit.ly/r2g_AppReportPreview

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  • Dan

    I don’t see that happening the recession doesn’t make people buy smartphones or applications

  • http://www.androidphonegeek.com/?p=4335 Global Smartphone App Market Expects Explosive Growth | Android Phone Geek

    [...] came across this interesting article on TechCrunch discussing a report released by research2guidance showing it’s view of the future for the [...]

  • http://blackberrystormfront.com/?p=7035 Smartphone App Market Expects Explosive Growth | Blackberry Storm Front

    [...] came across this interesting article on TechCrunch discussing a report released by research2guidance showing it’s view of the future for the [...]

  • Stamos

    The forecast is complete BS, I can tell even without taking a look at details. They probably extrapolated the trend from the beginning of the app market all the way to 2013 without taking into account seasonal effects like deflators in the Global economy, also affecting Internet-related purchases. But, hold on! If Obama finds a way to pay back US creditors, mainly Japan and China, in the form of smart-phone apps, the forecast may actually work!!! That would make the US government the single biggest owner of smart-phone apps! sending in my resume in for consideration… :)

  • http://www.mobango.com Chris
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  • http://eduk8.com Nicholas

    I will say that it could actually be greater, and here’s why. What we’re seeing in the chart is simply consumer behavior. If you’ll recall from the previous smartphone platforms, apps that approached $50 were not uncommon and perhaps will not be again. Think SalesForce.

    This is specifically not including tablets, but Microsoft Office for the iPad could easily garner $99. I may be interested in running that on my iPhone as well simply to have remote access to files. The “smartphone” is going to transition from a device to a mobile computing paradigm.

    Take verticals. Look at education. Let’s say that it is possible to sell educational content like textbooks on tablets and smartphones. That would be a multi-billion dollar market completely outside of the general consumer space. Look at medicine!

    The chart could easily move away from a linear progressions. In fact I believe that a linear chart is more often simply wrong. It is not going down however, particularly with sales of smartphone following an upward curve.

  • http://iptiam.com iptiam (iPad, Therefore I am)

    7 fold increase in 3 years? that must be some record if that happens ?

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  • http://www.ckrinteractive.com Ralph Leon

    I think apps could have the potential of increasing in sales, but I also think this growth is going to be hindered due to apples app police. Lately they seem to be stealthily removing apps without warning. I think if this becomes more of a trend those numbers won’t be nearly as much by 2013

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  • Pete Allright

    The figures look reasonable to me.
    The smartphone sales have increased even during the recession. There is no reason why this should stop in a more positive economic environment.
    In addition with the growing competition between SP vendors prices will go done which makes smartphone affordable for people who prefered feature phones because of the price. Today in some countries the share of smartphone shipments of total handsets sales pasted the 20% line. I don’t see why this trend should stop either.

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  • Dave W Baldwin

    You are wise Nick

  • Dave W Baldwin

    Remember the tide has to turn where some apps just aren’t useful….is a phone smart if it has 20 million useless apps?

  • http://www.dailyelectronic.com/theboygeniusreport/mobile-application-market-could-grow-to-over-15-billion-by-2013/ Mobile application market could grow to over $15 billion by 2013? | Daily Electronic

    [...] Read [...]

  • Harsh

    I was wondering if the google market and apple appstore can be considered as monopoly since their is no way another company can release a new market or appstore on their phones???

  • http://www.pramodthomas.com/ pramodthomas

    I agree that this is a huge figure, but it is achievable. I expect even more numbers

  • http://drivingonlinesales.com Wynne

    I totally agree. This smart phone market is only growing to grow, and at a drastic rate.

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  • http://drivingonlinesales.com/ Wynne

    Recessions are only temporary and don’t last forever. Innovations trending strongly such as smart phones, and applicaitons for them will continue to ‘truck-on’ regardless of any recession / depression.

  • Michelle

    wow! incredible,This is why companies like Appboy http://appboy.com have good things coming for them, they r the social network for app developers and users, i am a developer and use them to get my work discovered.

  • http://philvelez.com/blog/?p=165 Velez's View » Blog Archive » Smartphones Boost Use of Social Networking Sites

    [...] Another research company, research2gudiance, estimates the fast-growing number of smartphone users will increase from about 100 million last year to nearly 1 billion by 2013. [...]

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  • http://www.revelmob.com/smartphone-app-download-market-could-reach-15-billion-by-2013/ Smartphone App Download Market Could Reach $15 Billion by 2013 | RevelMob – Mobile Applications Development

    [...] Smartphone App Download Market Could Reach $15 Billion by 2013 R2G (Research2guidance) are estimating that by 2013 the smartphone app download market could reach $15 globally: http://techcrunch.com/2010/03/05/global-smartphone-app-download-market-could-reach-15-billion-by-201... [...]

  • http://napkintech.com/2010/03/09/the-mobile-application-market/ napkintech by andrew meyer :: The Mobile Application Market

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  • http://blog.theunical.com/featured/getjar-mobile-app-sales-will-overtake-cd-sales-by-2012/ GetJar: Mobile App Sales Will Overtake CD Sales By 2012 | TheUnical Technologies Blog

    [...] prediction that the worldwide smartphone application market will grow from $1.94 billion in 2009 to $15.65 billion by [...]

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