App Annie adds that U.S. consumers spent more time on TikTok with their smartphones than other popular video streaming services such as Amazon Prime Video. The company also looked at iPhone users and crossover between what video streaming apps consumers use beyond Netflix. Disney Plus and Hulu saw the most crossover, with 24 percent and 21 percent open rates. Third, however, was TikTok (17 percent), ahead of established streaming platforms such as Amazon Prime Video (16 percent), Twitch (6 percent) and HBO (2 percent), according to App Annie.
“TikTok has grown to become both a social networking app and a source of entertainment, showcasing short, user-generated videos, often featuring lip-syncing or comedy,” App Annie says. Songs, "like Lil Nas X’s 'Old Town Road' started as a meme on TikTok and went viral on the platform, landing at No. 1 and breaking Billboard Hot 100 records.”
According to the report, 8 out of every 10 minutes spent on TikTok came from China. India was the second largest user of the app while the U.S. was third, App Annie says. All in, some 68 billion hours were spent in the TikTok app globally.
App revenue balloons
Overall, the report says, $120 billion was spent in apps globally in 2019, up from $101 billion last year. Of that, about $86 billion came from gaming-related apps; Tinder generated the most revenue of all non-gaming apps, App Annie said. The U.S., meanwhile, contributed $25 billion to the $120 billion figure figure, a 20 percent upswing when compared to the same time last year, App Annie says.
U.S. consumers are also spending 2.8 hours a day on their mobile devices, up 5 percent year-over-year. “That figure is trending to three hours a day,” says Sydow. “That’s a significant amount of time, assuming the average person spends eight hours each day sleeping.”
Gaming apps dominate both consumer spend and time spent in apps, but GenZ spends the most time outside gaming apps than any other demographic. The age group spends about 3.8 hours per month, per app among the top 25 non-gaming apps, according to App Annie. They’re also accessing those apps more frequently, or about 150-times for each app, each month.
Breakout social app: Yolo
The company says Yolo was the breakout social app in 2019 for the U.S. The app, which stands for “you only live once,” is extremely popular among GenZ, says Sydow.
“It is an anonymous Q&A app and it became so popular because it integrated with Snapchat,” she says. “It’s a Q&A feedback app and while there’s been a slew of them over the years, Yolo has managed to find success and I believe it’s because of their integration with Snapchat.”
Common questions tweens ask on Yolo include “Are you dating Tyler,” or “What movie should I be watching?”
