Despite Saturation, PA App Market Still Growing

Market saturation can be deadly for any business. Google and Apple seem to have – somehow - avoided this terminal outcome so far though. Despite the presence of billions of pieces of software on their respective app stores, the public appetite for apps and games appears to be future-proof. Indeed, it’s growing.

Worldwide, the market for apps is likely to grow by 11.5% per year to 2027. And, while Pennsylvania may not sound like a natural forge for this kind of activity, the state has a number of sizeable companies dedicated to creating mobile software. Currently, around 150 businesses in the state spend at least 10% of their resources on mobile development.

Local Software

ChopDawg, for instance, has created more than 350 apps for brands as diverse as Siemens, Wawa, and the University of Washington. This Philadelphia-based organization delves into areas like user-experience design and even AI. However, it’s arguably their ‘find a truck’ app for the Mister Softee ice cream brand that stands out. Who doesn’t like ice cream?
 

Source: Pexels

OpenForge, another Philly-based outlet, keeps open-source programming at the heart of their business. Despite this dedication to openness, their most popular app, LoudCloud, is all about anonymity. LoudCloud doubles down on privacy and allows customers around the world to make phone calls with disposable numbers.

There’s also a significant casino presence in Pennsylvania that’s inflating the size of the local app market. Casino websites in PA often serve the state exclusively due to varying laws and regulations on the northeast coast. The BonusFinder website notes that nine apps on the Google and Apple markets belong to a PA casino. The growing sophistication of mobile devices coupled with the spread of online gaming has made the switch from desktop to smartphone a necessary step, but one that’s increasingly easy.

Neverending Popularity

But why is the app market growing at all? As mentioned, apps reached saturation point many years ago. And the volume of nearly identical products available suggests that developers ran out of ideas around the same time. However, any sense of app fatigue ignores the fact that smartphones still haven’t finished proliferating around the world.
 

Source: Pexels

Internet companies have also been notoriously slow to increase their speeds and penetration to compensate for more demanding apps. Developing countries like India, where, in 2020, only 51% of the country had broadband internet, will be responsible for further growth in the app market once they’re all fully connected.

While easily forgotten, wearables are a factor too. Deloitte claims that smartwatches and similar devices experienced the biggest surge in uptake among all other electronic devices in the three years to 2019. The flexibility of this kind of software is key to its seemingly neverending popularity.

Overall, while saturation almost always means death - just look at the video game crash of 1983 - apps have succeeded in avoiding this fate due to ongoing infrastructure development. It'll be interesting to see how the market fares a few decades from now though.