Despite high downloads, mobile apps struggle to make money in India

InMobi surveyed 1,000 smartphone gamers and was surprised to find that 74 per cent preferred to watch an ad for progressing within the game rather than make app payments

Consider this contradiction. Indian consumers are lapping up mobile apps like never before — helping the country rank high in the global pecking order both for new downloads and the hours spent on them. Yet, consumer spends on mobile apps — a key element for making this business viable — are still very small. That is why India does not even figure among the top 20 in App Annie’s global list based on consumer spends for 2021. And though mobile advertising has been growing, despite all the hoopla, the country’s mobile share was less than half a per cent of