The State of App Marketing in Asia – 2024 Edition

The app marketing landscape in Asia has been on a tear. The continent has seen significant changes and steady growth in its mobile user base since before 2020, continuing through 2023. Despite the disruptions of the pandemic, installs have kept climbing, especially in key markets like India. India’s share of installs in Asia is growing fast, along with its ad spending, making it a major player in the region.

With mobile usage reaching all-time highs in 2023, Asian apps are spending again. Worldwide spending bounced back in the first half of 2024 after a small dip in 2023, with costs per install (CPI) remaining a key factor in influencing spending decisions. While Indian and Indonesian apps stay focused on their massive local audiences, apps from Australia, China and Korea are starting to expand their reach beyond home markets. Not all categories saw spending growth. Finance apps have seen a phenomenal boost in investment, but e-commerce ad spend has dropped. 

On the revenue side, Asia saw a decline in in-app purchases (IAP), particularly in India and the Philippines—closely reflecting global trends. Since 2021, Asia’s share of global app revenue has dipped, reflecting broader challenges in sustaining purchase growth. But with innovation continuing and markets like Indonesia emerging, Asia’s app marketing landscape remains vibrant and full of opportunities.With smartphone adoption in Asia expected by Statista to top 90% by 2030, we see a bright future ahead for mobile apps.

We’re looking at a whole new ball game. Over the past decade, Asia’s app market has taken off like never before, with install rates skyrocketing 10x since 2017 – more than double the global average. This explosive growth highlights the region’s fast-paced digital transformation and the increasing role mobile technology plays in everyday life. What we’re seeing is not just a passing trend – it’s a strong indicator of APAC’s massive potential in the app economy.

While growth is happening across all verticals, non-gaming apps have taken the lead post-pandemic. E-commerce, Fintech and Utility apps are being adopted at record speed, reflecting shifts in consumer behavior in response to global changes. This diversification shows just how versatile and adaptable the Asian market truly is.

And there’s no signs of slowing down. In H1 2024, year-over-year growth in paid installs across APAC hit 22%, with non-gaming apps surging 31% and gaming apps growing by 8%.

Asia’s impact on the global app market is also impossible to ignore. The region now commands a huge share of paid installs worldwide, both in gaming and non-gaming. In fact, Asia’s share of paid gaming installs has jumped 27% since 2021, solidifying its position as a global gaming powerhouse. India and Indonesia are leading the charge, driving a 26% increase in gaming market share since 2021, highlighting their rapid emergence as industry powerhouses.

India and Indonesia have quickly transformed into the gaming heavy hitters of Asia. Since 2021, these two growth engines have driven a remarkable 26% increase in market share. With their massive populations and unstoppable passion for gaming, they’re also making waves globally. The rapid rise of these developing markets not only highlights their own potential but also shines a spotlight on Asia’s growing influence in the gaming world.

We see other bright spots across the region. The Philippines saw an impressive 32% boost in gaming installs, while Japan posted a solid 7% gain. On the flip side, Vietnam, considered to be a regional gaming hub, has taken a hit, with a 10% drop in paid installs.

When it comes to non-gaming apps, users are increasingly turning to e-commerce, fintech and utility apps across the region. Japan, South Korea and India all host thriving ecosystems. Japan leads the charge with a 27% rise in installs, while South Korea and India both saw a healthy 15% increase.

Overseas, the top five app-exporting countries are China, India, Japan, Vietnam, and Indonesia. China leads, driving most exports, but others are also expanding globally.

Paid installs can be categorized into three groups: installs in the app’s home country, other Asian markets, and outside Asia. Australia excels in non-Asian, English-speaking markets. Vietnam, China, and Korea export widely (though China’s local installs aren’t tracked), while Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia, and India focus more locally.

Non-gaming Asian apps dominate regional paid installs, bouncing back to 2021 levels in 2024 after a 2022 dip. Gaming companies have shifted ad spending to Asia, reducing focus on North America and Europe, investing heavily in their home region since 2021.

India’s gaming app market grew 49% since 2021. Vietnam leads non-gaming paid install growth. Non-gaming Asian apps also gained 24% in Europe and 10% in Latin America, while gaming saw only 5% growth in Latin America and a 5% decline in Europe.

Asian gaming apps are driving solid growth at home, boasting a 27% increase in non-organic installs (NOI) since 2021. However, their success hasn’t been as strong in North America, where NOI has dropped by 21%.

India has become an increasingly key market for Asian gaming apps, with a staggering 49% surge in Indian gamers since 2021. Meanwhile, Vietnam has seen the biggest boost in paid install traffic for non-gaming apps, making it a standout for that category.

At the same time, non-gaming Asian apps are making impressive gains in Europe and Latin America, with paid installs growing by 24% in Europe and 10% in Latin America. On the gaming side, Latin America saw only a modest 5% increase, while Europe’s gaming market experienced a 5% decline in paid installs.

In 2023, Android ad spend in Asia hit an impressive $9.1 billion, covering the entire market based on estimated market share. Year-over-year trends from H1 2024 compared with H1 2023 show an overall 2% dip in ad spend across Asia, with gaming taking an 8% hit. But non-gaming proved more resilient, seeing a 5% increase.

India dominated with a massive volume of paid traffic, despite a relatively low cost per install (CPI). This puts India in a category all its own when it comes to total ad investment. Keep in mind that this data excludes iOS ad spend since Apple doesn’t provide geo-specific data from SKAdnetwork. If iOS were included, countries like Japan, Australia, South Korea and Vietnam would likely have seen their shares rise significantly.

When we look at gaming versus non-gaming ad spend across Asia, gaming held steady, even outperforming the global average, which saw a drop. Non-gaming ad spend, however, was a bit more unpredictable, closely tied to CPI trends. The biggest dip came from a post-COVID drop in eCommerce investments, as companies shifted their focus toward re-engagement strategies.

On the flip side, the Finance category continues its inexorable rise, with ad spend up 45% since Q2 2023 and 15% since 2021, riding the wave of Asia’s ongoing fintech boom.

While Asian apps lead the way in ad spend within their home region, they’re also making waves globally, claiming at least 20% of the world’s total ad spend. This speaks to the ambitious growth strategies Asian apps are pursuing, not just within Asia but also in wealthier Western markets and developing regions like LATAM and Africa.

It’s no surprise that Asian apps focus primarily on their domestic markets. However, what’s interesting is that non-Asian apps make up about 35% of the ad spend in Asia, proving that localization is key to success in these diverse, complex markets.

Asian gaming apps take a more globally diversified approach. Unlike non-gaming, where more than half the ad spend stays in Asia, gaming apps reach a wider, global audience. Over time, we’ve seen ad spend for Asian gaming apps rise in North America, while it’s slightly dropped in Asia—showing just how global the gaming industry has become.

Once again, the standout is India, which continues to see explosive growth in both gaming and non-gaming categories. Investment in India’s gaming apps has skyrocketed, increasing fivefold, while non-gaming ad spend has jumped 63%. India’s role as a key player in the app market is only becoming more prominent, as its consumer base rapidly expands across a variety of app categories.

Keeping current users engaged can be just as important—if not more—than acquiring new ones. Since the pandemic surge in 2021, remarketing has been steadily on the rise alongside user acquisition (UA) efforts. As app marketers shift focus toward keeping existing users engaged, remarketing has become increasingly vital to driving growth. This trend accelerated this past year, with more apps and markets prioritizing re-engagement to keep users active.

In Asia’s non-gaming sector, remarketing has seen a consistent upward trend, while UA activity seems to have hit a plateau in 2024. While UA has slowed down, both UA and remarketing are now considered critical in the marketer’s toolkit. But remarketing truly took center stage this year, helping apps re-engage users who might have otherwise drifted away, ultimately boosting conversions.

What’s particularly notable is the surge in non-gaming apps in Asia that are running remarketing campaigns. In fact, in 2024, remarketing campaigns have actually outpaced UA campaigns in popularity for non-gaming apps. In the gaming world, however, this trend hasn’t gained as much traction. While remarketing is part of the mix, UA still dominates in the gaming space.

Hybrid monetization models are becoming the norm in Asia. This is particularly true in gaming, where mobile games are starting to blend in-app advertising (IAA) with in-app purchases (IAP). This rise in hybrid models for gaming follows global trends, growing from 36% to 43%. What’s really interesting though is how heavily non-gaming apps in Asia rely on ads. This is largely driven by the popularity of utility, entertainment and photo/video apps, which lean primarily on advertising for revenue.

Since 2023, we’ve seen some significant changes in IAP revenue. While gaming apps have followed the global decline in purchases, non-gaming apps actually saw a 60% jump in purchase revenue between Q1 2021 and Q1 2024. Even more notable is the recent uptick in IAP across both gaming and non-gaming apps since Q1, showing that users are starting to spend more again.

Ad revenue for Asian apps has stayed steady within the region even though IAA revenue jumped by 8% globally in 2024. And when it comes to regional consumer spending, Asia’s share of IAP revenue dipped slightly by 5%, but still remained stable. Meanwhile, North America and Europe apps have seen stronger growth, with their shares increasing by 7% and 16%, respectively. This shift reflects slightly stronger performance among these Western apps in Asia.

App install fraud continues to be a major issue. Yet different app categories face varying levels of risk. Gaming apps, both in Asia and globally, have done a great job keeping fraudsters out, thanks to advanced protection measures. Non-gaming apps, especially in the Finance sector, are not so lucky. With high cost-per-acquisition (CPA) and large volumes, Finance apps are a prime target for fraud.

One of the challenges in fighting fraud in non-gaming apps is that some developers simply aren’t aware of the risks. But there’s a bit of good news: fraud rates in Finance apps have actually dropped over the past year. Unfortunately, this drop in Finance fraud was countered by a significant rise in fraud hitting Food & Drink apps, as well as Entertainment. Since these spikes can happen at any time, it’s important to stay vigilant and keep protections in place.

The most common type of fraud in Asia continues to be bot attacks, which have dominated for a while. Click flooding is another concern, but a newer type of fraud, called Fake Publisher Activity, is also on the rise. This involves tactics like site blacklisting, behavioral anomalies, and install store validation issues—where fraudsters make installs look legitimate. Staying on top of these threats and maintaining strong defenses is key to keeping your app safe.