South Africa Records Highest In-app Spending In Africa But Nigeria Recorded The Highest Installs
South Africa records highest in-app spending in Africa but Nigeria recorded the highest installs
Nigeria is the market leader in Africa's burgeoning mobile app market. In the last year, the country contributed a sizable portion of the continent's overall 41 percent increase in installs.
This is according to a new report from AppsFlyer and Google, which examined mobile app activity in three of Africa's largest app markets (Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa) between Q1 2020 and Q1 2021.
According to the report, Nigeria saw a 43 percent increase in installs, the highest growth rate on the continent, while South Africa saw a 37 percent increase. Kenya is third with a 29 percent increase.
With a young and mobile-first population, Africa's app market has been steadily growing over the last few years. As demonstrated in the report, the effect of the 2020 pandemic accelerated the market's growth.
To gain a better understanding of the pandemic's impact, Appsflyer reports that app installs increased by up to 20% in the second quarter, as more people spent time at home across the three countries.
A breakdown reveals that the South African market was the first to feel the pandemic's effects, with installs increasing by 17% over the previous quarter (Q1, 2020).
Nigeria and Kenya grew at a slower pace, increasing by only 2% and 9%, respectively, over the same period.
The report attributed the disparity in initial adoption to countries' varying degrees of restriction, with South Africa facing the most severe restrictions.
Among all app categories, gaming apps performed exceptionally well during the pandemic's early months. According to AppsFlyer, game installs increased by 50% across all three markets.
In comparison, non-gaming apps increased by only 8% over the same time period. Non-gaming apps on the rise include fintech and super apps, according to the report.
According to AppsFlyer, this growth is being driven by Africa's large mobile-first population, which is underserved by traditional financial institutions.
This is consistent with a Disrupt Africa report that found African fintechs grew by an astounding 89.4 percent between 2017 and 2021.
According to the report, the rise of super apps is partly due to device limitations on the continent. “Super apps alleviate some of these users' barriers, while also providing a level of customer insight and experience that traditional banks cannot,” the report stated.
South African’s spent more
Along with installs, the pandemic prompted consumers to spend money on apps. Between July and September, app revenue increased by 136 percent over the previous quarter.
The majority of the increase in consumer spending was driven by non-gaming apps, which increased by 172 percent.
According to regions, South Africans lead the way with a massive 213 percent increase in revenue as users spent more on mobile apps, ranging from retail purchases to game upgrades.
Nigeria and Kenya also experienced significant increases in IAP during the same period, increasing by 141 percent and 74%, respectively.
With Africans spending more money, it's unsurprising that marketers spent more money last year as well. According to the report, revenue from in-app advertising (IAA) increased by 167 percent in Q2 2020.
Similarly, non-organic game installs (from advertisements) increased by 56% as game marketers increased their spending in response to rising consumer spending.
However, non-organic installs of other apps decreased by 17% in Q2 but rebounded in Q3. This indicates that marketers curtailed advertising spending initially due to the pandemic's uncertainty, but resumed it around July.
In Conclusion
Nigeria is the fastest growing market for mobile applications, while South Africa has historically been a more lucrative market with the highest consumer spending.
In general, the phenomenal growth of the continent's mobile app market demonstrates that Africa has one of the world's highest rates of digital adoption.
