Dive Brief:

• Global mobile ad spending reached $362 billion in 2023, an 8% increase over the previous year, driven by revenue from short-form video and video-sharing apps, according to Data.ai’s new State of Mobile 2024 report. The report projects mobile ad spending will hit $402 billion in 2024, a 11% year-over-year increase.
• Mobile consumer spending reached $171 billion last year, up 3% YoY, according to the report. Social apps and the creator economy are gaining attention for new monetization opportunities beyond ads.
• Generative AI also experienced explosive growth in 2023, led by innovations such as AI chatbots and art generators, fueling new embedded features across virtually all mobile sectors, the report detailed.

Dive Insight:

Data.ai’s report removes any lingering doubt that mobile has taken over as the top channel for consumer attention and advertising spending. The $362 billion spent on mobile advertising in 2023 is larger than the economies of several countries, including Colombia, Finland and New Zealand. Consumers in mobile-first markets spent an average of over five hours per day on mobile, a new high, the report outlined.

Driving the return to growth of consumer spend is apps, which outpaced games and saw a 11% YoY boost to $64 billion in 2023. Gaming spending decreased 2% to $107 billion, though downloads remained steady at 88 billion. More broadly, new app downloads remained flat at 257 billion. According to the report, social apps and the creator economy in 2023 created new pathways to monetization beyond advertising, including through TikTok’s content creator “tipping” mechanism, which helped drive the app past $10 billion in lifetime spend. 

“Consumers are signaling a need for authenticity, video-first content, and a willingness to control the narrative of their social media experiences through the power of a dollar,” said Lexi Sydow, director of corporate marketing and insights at data.ai, in a statement provided to Marketing Dive.

In 2024, direct consumer monetization in social apps via in-app purchases will continue to grow, reaching an estimated $1.3 billion, a 150% YoY increase. As AI continues to maintain a stronghold on adland, the report also lauded TikTok’s experiments in the space. The ByteDance app has “revolutionized the landscape of engagement and monetization,” per Theodore Krantz, CEO of data.ai, in a statement.

“In 2024, [TikTok] stands poised to surpass gaming giants and secure its position as the highest-grossing app in history,” Krantz said in the release.

Notable generative AI apps mentioned in the report include ChatGPT, Ask AI and Open Chat. Elsewhere in the mobile landscape, Chinese shopping apps Temu and Shein grew by 140% in 2023 as they broke through in Western markets. Temu led app downloads across 125 markets. Social and entertainment apps also experienced double-digit growth, with spending up 10% YoY to $29 billion and time spent up 12% to 3 trillion total hours.

Finally, the effects of the pandemic’s isolation continue to drive consumer behavior. Travel downloads, such as integrated travel, tour booking and flight booking apps, increased by 13% YoY in 2023 and ticketing app downloads grew 31% in 2023, a 66% increase over pre-pandemic levels.