Consumer spending on mobile hit a staggering $50 billion in H1 2020 which marks the best H1 for both the App Store and Google Play according to App Annie.

Consumer spending peaked in May as it hit $6.8 billion. Furthermore, the number of apps and games downloaded worldwide through both storefronts hit 64 billion in the first six months of this year. Meanwhile, in April, the growth of games outweighed that of other apps at 35 per cent.

Of course, these impressive figures can be attributed to COVID-19, and the lockdown that it inflicted upon the world.

At an increase of 20 per cent year-on-year, users spent around 4.3 hours a day on their mobile devices in April. Overall in H1 2020, consumers accumulated 1.6 trillion hours of time spent on smartphones.

Accelerated growth

Mobile is a popular target for ads, as such, ad placements increased by 70 per cent over the first half of the year.

"COVID-19 propelled mobile usage forward — achieving growth that would have otherwise taken 2 to 3 years. As we head into the holiday season and 2021, businesses who prioritize mobile will outpace competitors, as mobile represents a significant driver of revenue growth for businesses," said App Annie senior market insights manager Lexi Sydow.

In Q2 2020, consumer spending hit $19 billion on mobile games. On top of that, there was a total of 14 trillion installs.