Mobile data and analytics provider App Annie has released its State Of Mobile 2021 report, in which the company estimates that more than 71,000 new health and fitness apps were launched in 2020.

App Annie reports that this figure was up 13 per cent on 2019, comprising 24,000 apps on iOS and 47,000 on Google Play.

While January usually sees the highest number of downloads for health and fitness apps, App Annie found that in 2020, unsurprisingly, it was April, not January, that had the biggest spike in downloads of health and fitness apps globally at 276 million, up 80 per cent year over year.

This clearly coincided with the point at which most countries were going into lockdown as a result of the global pandemic.

Indeed, during the week of March 22, 2020, health and fitness app downloads hit 59 million – up 40 per cent on the weekly average for January and February 2020.

This was not a short-lived episode. App Annie noted that although they would expect to see consumer spend spikes follow shortly after download spikes, spend hit a global high of US$185 million in August 2020, up 45 per cent year over year.

The State of Mobile 2021 report demonstrates that the boom in health and fitness apps was sustained across the year, with app store consumer spend up 30 per cent, app downloads up 30 per cent and time spent on apps up 25 per cent, compared to 2019.

The analytics platform found that the biggest spikes in consumer spend came in Germany (up 60 per cent to $99.5 million), France (up 65 per cent to $62.8 million) and the UK (up 70 per cent to $172 million).

In terms of app content, workout apps dominated. The standout worldwide downloads were Home Workout - No Equipment (#2), Mi Fit (#3) and Lose Weight App for Women (#4).

But physical workouts weren't the only type of health app that consumers were drawn to during long months of lockdown. App Annie reports that the top global product in terms of consumer spend for 2020 was the meditation/sleep app Calm. In fourth place was Headspace.

Commenting on what these findings mean for this year, Lexi Sydow, senior market insights manager for App Annie said:

“In the new normal of 2021, home will remain the epicenter of our social, working and wellness lives – with mobile driving an acceleration of 43 per cent in 'at-home' activities. Publishers should incorporate 'at home' and 'on demand' features into their user acquisition and marketing strategies as well as incorporate into their product roadmap to capitalise on the demand.”

You can access the full State of Mobile 2021 report at: https://www.appannie.com/en/go/state-of-mobile-2021/