In the past year, people have had to adjust their lives when it comes to fitness and socialization. Lockdowns have forced people to turn to their mobile phones in order to stay healthy and connect with others. A new report says that health and fitness apps reached new heights in 2020 in terms of downloads and revenue. Meanwhile, a survey revealed that gamers in the U.S. are the most aware of mental health in comparison to other countries. Want to learn more? Read on for this week’s Mobile Monday!
Health & Fitness Apps Surpass 400 Million Installs in 2020
Sensor Tower’s recent report entitled The State of Health & Fitness Apps 2021 covers the trends within the growing app category. In-person gyms and fitness classes in the United States shuttered last year due to COVID-19 which initiated unprecedented growth in health & fitness apps. Downloads surged in Q2 2020 at 120 million, which was the most the category had ever seen in a single quarter. Most of the new installs came from the App Store, which showed a 52% increase year-over-year. Across both the App Store and Google Play, U.S. health & fitness apps surpassed 400 million installs in 2020, a 22% jump from 332 million in 2019.
While health app install numbers are likely to slow down, the pandemic has made a long-lasting impact on consumer spending. Revenue for the category set a new record of $214 million in Q2 2020, only to later exceed that in the next quarter with $225 million. Over the course of the year, consumer spending in health and fitness apps reached $838 million which is a 42% growth year-over-year from $592 million. WW from Weight Watchers ranked as the top-earning health and fitness app on the App Store in 2020, earning $46 million on the platform.
U.S. Gamers Feel More Connected While Interacting with Other Gamers
Publisher My.Games partnered with the IGDA and Fair Play Alliance to conduct a gamers mental health survey to find out how aware gamers are of mental health and how frequently they struggled with related issues. Respondents were asked to evaluate their mental health during three time periods: prior to the pandemic, several months into lockdowns, and presently. Gamers in the U.S. were revealed to be the most aware of mental health in comparison to other countries. 75% of U.S. gamers said they are well-aware of the concept of mental health, with only 12% unaware. Furthermore, 96% of respondents said it was important to look after one’s mental health. Respondents were also asked to evaluate the state of their mental health before and during COVID lockdowns and 70% claimed their mental health was stable before the pandemic, while 64% said it was normal in the early months of lockdowns, and 65% said it was normal presently.
Almost all U.S. gamers (96%) said they played multiplayer games, with most of them open to communicating regularly with other players during play. More than 36% of the respondents said they started spending more time hanging out with friends in games, while 64% in the U.S. said interacting with other players gave them a stronger feeling of being connected to others during the pandemic. Only 9% said interacting with other players had a negative effect on their mental health. The survey’s findings suggest that playing games and communicating with others has provided gamers a positive and safe way to stay connected during COVID-19.
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