Apple’s App Store Facilitated $519B In Commerce In 2019

As the growing app economy has brought innovation throughout 175 nations, Apple said Monday (June 15) the App Store ecosystem fostered $519 billion in sales around the world just last year. The areas with the highest value were physical goods and services followed by digital goods and services and in-app advertising, Apple said in press release, citing a study conducted by the Analysis Group.

Apple CEO Tim Cook said in the announcement, “The App Store is a place where innovators and dreamers can bring their ideas to life, and users can find safe and trusted tools to make their lives better.” Cook continued, “In a challenging and unsettled time, the App Store provides enduring opportunities for entrepreneurship, health and well-being, education, and job creation, helping people adapt quickly to a changing world.”

Apple said the study showed that direct payments developers receive from Apple are only a part of the total when sales from other channels like physical goods and services are brought into the picture. And, as Apple only gets a commission from billings connected with digital products and services, over 85 percent of the $519 billion goes to third-party developers and companies of varying sizes.

The tech company said sales from physical goods and services comprised the biggest proportion out of the $519 billion the Apple Store ecosystem fostered last year, reaching $413 billion. Mobile commerce apps brought in most of the sales in that area and retail was the biggest, arriving at $268 billion. Retail apps encompass programs that represent physical retailers in the virtual world in addition to digital marketplaces that offer tangible merchandise but exclude grocery delivery.

The app store counts nearly a million apps in its catalog and half a billion individuals each week visit the marketplace from 175 nations.

In March, news surfaced that Apple was growing the App Store and bringing about availability to 20 new nations. At the time, Apple said in a blog post, “Thanks to the creativity and innovation of developers like you, the App Store has become much more than the world’s safest marketplace.”