The Global Market for Mobile Messaging Apps is Projected to Reach 2.1 Billion Users by 2020

Increasing ‘Social Connectedness’ Drives Demand for Mobile Messaging Apps, According to a New Report by Global Industry Analysts, Inc.

GIA launches comprehensive analysis of industry segments, trends, growth drivers, market share, size and demand forecasts on the global Mobile Messaging Apps market. The global market for Mobile Messaging Apps is projected to reach 2.1 billion users by 2020, driven by the growing penetration of smartphones and tablets, increase in social connectedness among the young and old population, and availability of cheap mobile Internet services.

The global mobile communication landscape is experiencing the rapid proliferation of mobile messaging apps, which offer the highest level of convenience and user experience in text-based communication. Growing sales of smartphones and tablet PCs and their ever-expanding role in media and communications in daily life are continuing to fuel adoption of messaging apps. Also, the need for ‘social connectedness’ is encouraging a spurt in peer-to-peer (P2P) communication through innovative Internet-centric platforms, which in turn is benefitting market prospects for messaging apps. Declining prices of smartphones, availability of cheaper data plans, and free public Wi-Fi platforms are also fueling penetration of messaging apps among global mobile users.  Mobile messaging apps, also called as mobile instant messaging (IM) apps, over-the-top (OTT) apps, social messaging apps or chat apps, are utilities designed for sending and receiving text messages in one-to-one and one-to-many communication on mobile phones. Typically functioning as the extended versions of the more established social networking platforms, which are widely prevalent among desktop users, mobile messaging apps provide a reliable medium for immediate and intimate exchange of communication between Internet-connected mobile users, while allowing users to send text messages, make voice calls, share videos and photos, and implement group chatting in a hassle-free and flexible manner.

The use of messaging apps is gathering steam among mobile users across all age groups including teens, youth, young adults, the middle-aged, baby boomers and senior citizens. Adoption of these apps is especially high among tech-savvy young population, particularly teenagers and young adults aged below 30 years. The use of messaging apps is also gaining traction in enterprise environments, where enterprise messaging apps are used to improve internal communication, increase productivity, and enhance collaboration among colleagues and teams. While the user base for standard messaging apps such as WhatsApp and WeChat continues to expand, the market is also witnessing the growing popularity of new messaging apps in innovative formats. Ephemeral Apps, cloud-based messaging apps, and security focused messaging apps are some of the app types that are expanding their presence in the market.

As stated by the new market research report on Mobile Messaging Apps, Asia-Pacific represents the largest market worldwide, led by China, South Korea, India and other South East Asian countries. Other factors driving growth in the region include ballooning base of mobile subscribers and mobile Internet subscriptions, falling data tariff plans, deployment of faster and higher bandwidth 4G networks, availability of free to download apps, and rapid development of telecom infrastructure in rural areas. The Middle East & Africa ranks as the fastest growing market with a CAGR of 16% over the analysis period.

Major players covered in the report include Alibaba Group, Apple Inc., BlackBerry Limited, Facebook Inc., Hike Ltd., Kakao Corp., Kik Interactive Inc., LINE Corporation, Myriad Group AG, Nimbuzz Technologies, Skype Technologies, Snapchat Inc., Tango, Telegram Messenger LLP, Tencent Holdings , Viber Media S.à r.l, WhatsApp Inc., and Yahoo! Inc. among others.

The research report titled “Mobile Messaging Apps: A Global Strategic Business Report” announced by Global Industry Analysts Inc., provides a comprehensive review of market trends, issues, drivers, mergers, acquisitions and other strategic industry activities of global companies. The report provides market estimates and projections for Mobile Messaging Apps in Number of Users / User Base terms for all major geographic markets such as the US, Canada, Japan, Europe (France, Germany, Italy, UK, Spain and Rest of Europe), Asia-Pacific (China, India, and Rest of Asia-Pacific), Middle East & Africa, and Latin America (Brazil and Rest of Latin America).

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