Top 5 app marketing data trends of 2024 and predictions for 2025

After a 6% YoY decline in user acquisition ad spend among mobile apps during 2023’s economic downturn, the market rebounded in 2024, rising 5% to $65 billion globally (excluding China, see methodology below the chart). However, trends diverged by verticals, with non-gaming apps growing 8% while gaming apps fell 7%.

This shift aligns with a growing interest in non-gaming apps among VCs, driven not by declining confidence in gaming but by renewed opportunities in non-gaming sectors. Finance apps led the charge with a 61% YoY surge, buoyed by crypto and FinTech growth, while Travel apps rose 20%, nearing pre-COVID activity. Conversely, Shopping apps saw declining ad spend, reflecting a return to normalcy after a 2023 surge led by Asian shopping giants.

Within gaming, Casual games achieved a modest 3% growth, expanding their market share from 61% to 64%. Hypercasual ad budgets held steady, but Mid-core and Casino games saw steep declines of 21% and 12%, respectively.

Geographically, non-gaming ad spend rose across developed markets like the UK, Germany, Canada, and the US, with notable growth in Brazil and India as well. Gaming, however, faced global declines, with developed markets experiencing sharper drops than developing regions.

This rebound and sector divergence highlight shifting priorities and evolving strategies in a dynamic market.

In 2025, the global economy is expected to grow 3%, according to financial experts. With macro economic conditions a key indicator of ad spend, it’s another positive indication on the direction of app marketing budgets will take in 2025. 

Boundaries between gaming and non-gaming are likely to continue dissolving, with non-gaming expected to be the main growth driver. At the same time, the market is demonstrating confidence ahead of the expected roll-out of Privacy Sandbox and as a result is unlikely to affect  longer-term budget allocation.

In-app purchase (IAP) revenue saw significant growth in non-gaming sectors in 2024, increasing nearly 20%, led by Travel (+20%) and Shopping (+21%). 

This growth stemmed from two key trends. On the positive side, advanced monetization strategies focusing on high-value users played a crucial role. Apps improved at identifying when and where users are willing to pay, capitalizing on the ongoing shift from physical stores to digital platforms. On the downside, inflation-driven price hikes also contributed to revenue growth, costs largely absorbed by consumers.

In contrast, gaming IAP revenue remained stable or slightly declined, with Casino up 4%, Midcore down 2%, and Casual down 5%.

In-app advertising (IAA) revenue also saw notable increases: +26% year-over-year in non-gaming and +7% in gaming. This was fueled by the adoption of hybrid monetization strategies, where IAP apps integrated IAA. Midcore apps, traditionally reliant on IAP, experienced a 21% jump in IAA revenue. Hypercasual apps, facing profit-margin challenges, seemed to have found stability by becoming hybrid casual, blending IAP with IAA, and ultimately boosting their ad revenue.

Another reason for the climb is the growth potential of IAA revenue driven by non-gaming budgets. Some media companies focused on gaming are increasingly looking at non-gaming as a growth driver. Indeed, we see that investment from non-gaming apps in leading gaming ad networks surged 38% in 2024, while gaming investments dropped 19%. Despite this shift, gaming budgets in these networks remain dominant.

In 2025, more and more brands and non-gaming apps are expected to invest in gaming inventories. IAP is also set for growth, driven by three enduring factors: the refinement of mixed monetization strategies, efficient loyalty programs, and evolving consumer behavior. These habits include more frequent purchases of low-cost products, prioritizing quantity over quality, and a growing familiarity with online shopping.

The utilization of owned media combined with deep linking technology reshaped the market in 2024, driving a 64% increase in owned media conversions due to greater focus on maximizing lifetime value of existing users. Deep linking enhances user experience by directing users to specific app content from virtually anywhere—whether physical (via QR codes) or digital. This allows app developers to create and manage seamless digital experiences across devices and operating systems.

The market experienced growth on multiple channels: referral-to-app (+58%), email-to-app (+47%), text-to-app (+25%), and QR-to-app (+14%). 

Special attention must be given to the Web-to-app channel which recorded 79% YoY growth. The rise was fueled by deep linking success (in our case, with AppsFlyer’s OneLink) which enabled higher conversion rates. Moreover, more brands are adopting smart script-based technology that generates tailored, contextual deep links during users’ web journeys.

Globally, deep linking is expanding, particularly in regions like LATAM (+88%) and Western Europe (+78%). By vertical, gains were seen in Shopping (+21%) and Entertainment (+15%), while gaming saw an impressive increase of +132%. However, this should not overshadow the fact that the majority of deep link volume comes from the non-gaming vertical.

In 2025, deep linking is set to gain even more traction, reflecting smarter utilization of the technology. Brands have learned to deploy deep links more efficiently, identifying when and where ads should be displayed to maximize successful migration to their app where loyalty and lifetime value reign supreme. Expect web-to-app to continue climbing as web journeys become increasingly popular.

Although paid installs grew in 2024, it was at a slow pace (+2%), with Shopping maintaining its levels from the previous year, and Finance rising by 9%. In contrast, Utility & Productivity  declined 9%. The fastest-growing categories in non-gaming were smaller ones, such as Generative AI (+200%) and Lifestyle (+68%). 

In gaming, the slight YoY increase masked some disparities across categories. Growth was driven by Casual (+14%), while Midcore saw a slight increase (a lower CPI led to the significant drop in ad spend which we’ve seen in finding #1). Declines were recorded in Hypercasual (-4%) and, most notably, Casino (-15%). It is worth noting that this decrease aligns with drops in CPIs and ad spend.

Highlighting the importance of maximizing the value of existing users, paid remarketing conversions outpaced installs, growing by an impressive 22%. This uptick was driven by Shopping, its largest category by far, which saw a +29% increase compared to a flat trend in paid installs. In Finance, remarketing conversions grew three times faster than UA paid installs (9% vs. 22%), while a similar trend was observed in Travel (+8% in installs vs. +19% in remarketing).

Zooming in further, the increase in remarketing in recent months was clearly driven by iOS. This trend is most evident in Shopping (+23% on Android vs. +69% on iOS), in Finance (+18% vs. +119% on iOS), as well as in Dating and Entertainment. The jump can be largely attributed to Meta’s gains, with the deployment of Aggregated Event Measurement (AEM). Building on deep linking, AEM offers marketers enhanced visibility. This innovation has created a promising cycle: as measurement confidence improves, more money is invested in measurable strategies.

In 2025, paid installs are likely to grow with the expected growth in budgets. Remarketing efforts are also set to remain significant, underscoring the positive impact of monetization strategies: The goal is to reactivate as many existing users as possible, foster loyalty, and increase LTV.

Mexico, the Philippines, and several Middle Eastern countries, such as Saudi Arabia, have confirmed their status as promising markets with overall install growth of +21%, +25%, and +30% respectively (across both platforms). Meanwhile, some large markets remained relatively stable: US, UK, and India ranged between +1% and +3% growth, while others like Brazil and Indonesia experienced more significant growth (+7% and +18% respectively).

On the category level, Generative AI apps led the way with an impressive 109% YoY increase, especially on Android, while Finance remains a cross platform safe bet (+26%).

Broadly speaking, a distinction can be made between apps users rely on for daily needs (e.g., Transportation, Utility & Productivity), which remain stable, and apps installed for leisure activities. Indeed, categories such as Casino & Gambling, Sports Betting, Lifestyle, and Travel are all on the rise, with growth rates of +102%, +93%, +43%, and +11% respectively.

In 2025, it will be worth monitoring the evolution of markets driven by “essentials” needs, and by leisure activities. In the gaming sector, some experts predict a renewed dynamism driven by the consolidation of hybrid casual categories.

The AI-driven production of creative variations is a rapidly growing industry. In 2024, creative production soared by 40%, reaching an average of 839 variations per month per app for apps spending more than $100K, and 574 for spending above $10K. Clearly, to succeed in creative efforts, in other words to find creative winners, playing the numbers game is a must. The only way to effectively scale at this level is with AI.

Interestingly, this year-over-year rise in creative output is driven almost entirely by apps with large budgets. But apps with smaller budgets, which target the same users in the same platforms, must scale by further adopting AI-driven solutions to stay competitive with larger players.

Additionally, the proliferation of creative variations has highlighted a critical need for performance measurement. The more creatives produced, the more essential it becomes to assess their effectiveness. The industry surrounding creative performance analysis, still in its early stages, is poised for significant growth in 2025.

By leveraging AI for scalability and measurement, businesses can better navigate the challenges of a saturated market, ensuring their creative efforts deliver meaningful results.