Mobile apps in the Nordics - statistics & facts
The Nordics have undergone a thorough digitalization process in the last decade. The leading markets in the region - Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland - presented some of the highest mobile internet penetration shares in the European region, driving mobile app usage trends.
The share of consumers in the Nordics that prefer using mobile phones for both functional and entertaining tasks reaches between 70 and 80 percent of mobile users in the markets. According to a July 2023 survey, 78 percent of Nordic users prefer using their smartphones to engage with social media, while 75 percent reported preferring their mobile devices to check their bank balances.
Both functional and entertaining apps are featured among users’ favorites: Disney+ generated approximately 14 million U.S. dollars from users in 2023, ranking as the leading mobile app in Denmark by monthly in-app purchase revenue. Among iPhone users, shopping apps such as Temu and Vinted were the leading apps in the Apple App Store in Denmark in March 2024 based on number of downloads. In March 2024, the Chinese-developed shopping app Temu was also the leading app in the Google Play Store in Sweden, with over 160,000 downloads during the month. In comparison, the dating app Tinder and the mobile gaming app Candy Crush Saga were the leading mobile apps in Norway by monthly in-app purchase revenue.
As in the rest of the European market, mobile apps are an essential part of the mobile experience for users in the Nordics. From social media to shopping and payment apps, the adoption of mobile apps in the region has been increasing steadily.
The share of consumers in the Nordics that prefer using mobile phones for both functional and entertaining tasks reaches between 70 and 80 percent of mobile users in the markets. According to a July 2023 survey, 78 percent of Nordic users prefer using their smartphones to engage with social media, while 75 percent reported preferring their mobile devices to check their bank balances.
Nordic app market
In 2023, the consumer spending on mobile apps in the Nordics was 1.9 billion U.S. dollars. Sweden was the top app market in the region – with an estimated 658 million U.S. dollars spent on paid mobile content, app subscriptions, and paid access to mobile app content in the last examined year.Both functional and entertaining apps are featured among users’ favorites: Disney+ generated approximately 14 million U.S. dollars from users in 2023, ranking as the leading mobile app in Denmark by monthly in-app purchase revenue. Among iPhone users, shopping apps such as Temu and Vinted were the leading apps in the Apple App Store in Denmark in March 2024 based on number of downloads. In March 2024, the Chinese-developed shopping app Temu was also the leading app in the Google Play Store in Sweden, with over 160,000 downloads during the month. In comparison, the dating app Tinder and the mobile gaming app Candy Crush Saga were the leading mobile apps in Norway by monthly in-app purchase revenue.
Payment apps: a functional trend
Thanks to the launch of official payment and identification mobile apps by recognized institutions like Danske Bank in Denmark and DNB Bank in Norway, mobile payments have become increasingly popular in the Nordic region. The app Swish, launched in a joint operation by six large Swedish banks, saw customers in Sweden make an average of 10 transactions in May 2023. In Norway, the adoption of mobile payments performed with any mobile device at POS increased from 16 percent in 2019 to 23 percent in 2023.As in the rest of the European market, mobile apps are an essential part of the mobile experience for users in the Nordics. From social media to shopping and payment apps, the adoption of mobile apps in the region has been increasing steadily.
