Apple contributed more than half a trillion dollars to commerce in 2019, the Cupertino based tech giant announced on Monday. It cited a report from the Analysis Group that puts the economic worth of Apple’s platform into perspective.
Apple’s App Store ecosystem supported $519 billion in billings and sales last year. Out of the total amount, sales of physical goods and services amounted to 80%, digital goods and services contributed 11%, and in-app advertisement generated 9% of the revenue.
Crediting China’s importance in global commerce, Apple and its researchers said that the Chinese market generated $224 billion, or 48% of the total activity. Most of the revenue generated here also came from physical goods and services, though Apple wasn’t able to quantify it as well as the results from the US, Europe, and other regions.
Digital goods and services generated $61 billion and this category included apps, games, ebooks, dating and music services, and more. Games were yet again the most downloaded apps of 2019 and notable titles included Mario Kart Tour, Sky: Children of Light, and a plethora of others.
In-app advertising made up $45 billion of the total amount and 44% of this sum was generated from games. Non-gaming apps with significant in-app advertising are often free to download and use apps such as Twitter, Pinterest, and other social media.
Looking forward, the numbers are expected to falter in the first two quarters of 2020 due to the coronavirus situation causing lockdowns, social distancing, travel suspension, production halts, and more. Apple users are expected to switch more towards digital spending rather than physical goods and services.
