New research highlights employment growth in small businesses on the App Store
May 25, 2022
UPDATE
New Study Highlights Job Growth, Global Success of Small Businesses and Entrepreneurs on the App Store
Two independent analyzes show that the iOS app economy now supports more than 2.2 million US jobs and a 118% increase in income for small US developers over the past two years.
The iOS app economy continued its track record as an engine of economic growth and opportunity in 2021, supporting more than 2.2 million U.S. jobs and helping small businesses be more successful than ever . The information comes as two new research analyzes show the support of the iOS app economy for entrepreneurs to build new businesses, to innovate and reach customers through the pandemic, and to grow their teams of coders, designers and of creatives – contributing to one of the most thriving and innovative global markets that exist today.
A new analysis, “Spotlight on small businesses and app makers on the App Store“ — conducted by independent economists from Analysis Group — found that developer revenues have increased significantly over the past two years. While revenue for all developers grew, revenue for small developers active on the App Store in 2019 increased 113% over the past two years, more than doubling the revenue growth of large developers. In the United States, these small developers, defined as those earning up to $1 million per year and with less than one million annual downloads, have seen an above-average increase in revenue of 118% since 2019 .
Additionally, a separate new analysis from the Progressive Policy Institute sheds light on job creation in the iOS app economy. This research examines how the iOS app economy has helped create millions of jobs, ranging from software development to sales, designers, and more.
Together, this research demonstrates that as more companies have used apps to reach their customers in innovative ways over the past two years, these digital and hybrid shifts have endured even as related restrictions to COVID have been lifted in many parts of the world. These developers and their apps have helped people find new and often sustainable ways to collaborate with colleagues, find entertainment, hone their creativity, and connect with friends and family.
Smaller and emerging developers find global success on the App Store
In their research, “Spotlight on Small Businesses and App Store App Builders,” Analysis Group economists examine how entrepreneurs in the iOS app economy have continued to innovate and grow. Altogether, the research paints a picture of a thriving and vibrant app ecosystem where opportunities and innovations have flourished.
In 2021, thousands of small businesses and new app makers joined the App Store from around the world. Of this set of new developers, approximately 24% came from Europe, 23% from China, 14% from the United States, 4.3% from Japan, and 34% from other regions, including Korea, India, and Japan. Brazil. And over the past two years, the number of small, emerging developers joining the App Store has increased – for example, in the UK, the number of small developers new to the App Store has increased by almost 40% since 2019 , and, in Germany, it increased by more than 25%.
While these developers leverage App Store capabilities that facilitate app distribution to 175 global markets, approximately 40% of all app downloads from small businesses and emerging app makers came from online users. outside of developer home countries in 2021.
The research also reveals that the App Store has helped entrepreneurs launch new apps and grow their businesses quickly. To analyze the growth paths of developers who made over $1 million on the App Store in 2021, economists looked at a longer time frame and found that 45% of today’s top developers don’t weren’t on the App Store or had less. over $10,000 in revenue just five years ago.
Entrepreneurial Journeys on the App Store
The PocketSuite booking and payment application is designed to allow service professionals, alone or in small teams, to easily manage their entire business. From booking clients and managing payments to invoicing and signing contracts, this app does it all from an iPhone. Co-founder and CEO Chinwe Onyeagoro, a former management consultant who had moved on to helping small businesses find financing, saw that these businesses weren’t growing because they were always short of cash. “I thought there had to be a better way for service professionals to get paid quickly and create recurring income – so I went back to my roots as a 7 year old by finding ways to earn money with friends from a lemonade stand at a babysitting club,” says Onyeagoro. “I wanted it to be easy for anyone, be it a beautician, a dog trainer , home cleaner or handyman, to reach his income goal so he can live a good life.”
As she shared her vision with her husband, co-founder and CTO Yang Forjindam, they knew they needed a mobile app where professionals who are away from an office four to five days a week could manage the their entire business. Forjindam, who was an enterprise software architect, explains, “I quickly realized that Apple was the easiest platform to develop,” and he learned how to do it himself to launch PocketSuite on the App. Store in 2016. The team has since become an early adopter of technologies like Apple Pay and EventKit that make it easier to offer smart tools to app users. These tools are part of the robust set of technologies Apple provides to help developers of all sizes build innovative applications, including more than 250,000 software development components (APIs) and more than 40 software development kits ( SDK) to harness the power of machine learning. , augmented reality and other advanced technologies.
Today, PocketSuite’s team has not only tripled from seven to 25 members spread across the globe, but they are also realizing their vision of empowering people who work for themselves: after just 45 days with the application, the average user sees a 30 percent increase in revenue.
Launched in 2017, science-based panic and anxiety relief app Rootd has a simple mission to demystify panic attacks and provide immediate relief to users. As a solo entrepreneur, founder and CEO Ania Wysocka has relied on a variety of resources to help her grow the business further, including Apple’s Small Business program. Wysocka describes participating in the program, which offers a reduced 15% commission to small developers, as a positive experience that has made a huge difference to its growth.
In the past year alone, Rootd has been featured multiple times on the App Store and has seen an almost 200% year-over-year increase in billings. “When Apple recognizes a small company like me, it’s incredibly powerful – helping us to be seen by a wider audience around the world. That audience in turn recognizes the raw quality of Rootd, leaving great customer reviews. users and further sharing the app with others in its network. In the US, we were ranked #1 for Panic Attacks and #3 for Keyword Anxiety, and spent a leading week for health and fitness apps in Mexico,” said Wysocka. These opportunities allow it to build on the organic growth of new global storefronts on the App Store, continuing to improve the experience of the app for users towards reaching her next goals of generating $1 million in revenue and reaching 2 million downloads in what she hopes is the near future.” One thing I have learned as an entrepreneur is to have goals and opportunities to stop, reflect and celebrate as much as possible when you achieve them.”
The Chamba recruitment platform has identified a different trajectory to success. By launching its first app in early 2020, Chamba’s goal is to be able to help as many people as possible find employment in the United States. As Latino entrepreneurs, co-founders Diego Montemayor and David Ruiz saw the need to create an employment resource for the Hispanic community, traditionally affected by high unemployment. The need for the app became even more apparent as people navigated a fluctuating job market throughout the pandemic and turned to their phones to find jobs that had previously often passed through ‘word of mouth’. . As Montemayor explains, “At the beginning of 2020 I was unemployed trying to start a business while the whole country was laying off people, but luckily Chamba made it and better than that, we’re growing.”
Chamba quickly gained popularity in cities like Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles and New York, growing the team from a team of two to 15 full-time employees. Last year, Chamba experienced a 900% growth in the number of job seekers. Today, 66,000 active job seekers use the platform every month to find jobs in fields ranging from hospitality to software engineering. Montemayor shares: “It has been quite a journey. I am very fortunate to hold this position which allows me to help connect employers to employees and to serve all of our Hispanic communities across the United States, which have too often been neglected. »
Analysis Group’s comprehensive research on small business developers and app makers on the App Store is now available.
The App Store, which was launched in 2008, is the safest and fastest growing app marketplace in the world, currently offering 1.8 million apps and visited by more than 600 million people each week. Apple provides more than 30 million registered developers with all the tools, resources and support they need to create and deliver software to more than 1 billion customers worldwide on Apple platforms. App entrepreneurs also have access to the App Store Small Business program, which includes a reduced commission rate of 15% to support small, individual developers who earn up to $1 million in revenue and drive innovation for the next chapter of applications.
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