Sensor Tower

Research

118 documents

Documents

Report26 pages

2026 Predictions: Trends in Gen AI, Gaming & Digital Ad Spend

Generative AI apps will become a top-five category by 2026, generating over $10 billion in IAP revenue, 7.2 billion downloads, and 43 billion hours of usage, representing an 82% year-over-year growth.
By the end of 2026, generative AI traffic will surpass paid sources on more than 50% of the top 1,000 U.S. websites, up from 37% in late 2025.
Short-drama vertical video is projected to overtake traditional OTT streaming in download volume, capturing roughly 80% of total downloads with rapid adoption in India, Indonesia, and Brazil.

Market Forecast AI Advertising+1

Sensor TowerJan 2026

Report31 pages

State of Digital Advertising India 2026

India’s digital advertising market surpassed $4 billion in 2025 and is projected to exceed $5 billion in 2026.
Shopping remains the dominant advertising category, representing 28% of total spend with an 18% year-on-year increase.
Software recorded the highest growth rate among all sectors, surging 84% year-on-year.

Market Analysis Advertising Marketing+1

Sensor TowerJan 2026

Report26 pages

Predictions for the Digital Economy in 2026

Generative AI applications are projected to reach $10 billion in in-app purchase revenue, 4 billion downloads, and 43 billion hours of user engagement by 2026, becoming a top-five mobile category.
Short-drama vertical video is forecast to surpass traditional OTT streaming in global downloads and capture 40% of total user time spent by 2026.
By the end of 2026, half of the top 1,000 U.S. websites are expected to receive more traffic from generative AI than from paid sources, with AI-related traffic rising over 130% year-over-year.

Market Forecast Monetization AI+3

Sensor TowerDec 2025

Report34 pages

Cross-Platform Gaming: Bridging Mobile and PC/Console 2025

Mobile platforms function as the primary discovery engine for the gaming industry, generating over 52 billion annual downloads and $82 billion in in-app purchase revenue.
Publishers maximize franchise growth by using mobile to feed into high-fidelity PC and console ecosystems, which anchor brand loyalty and drive high-value engagement.
Cross-platform progression and unified ecosystems are most effective for RPG and Shooter titles, significantly increasing player lifetime value and retention.

Market Analysis Cross-Platform Global+1

Sensor TowerDec 2025

Report48 pages

Digital Market Index: Q3 2025

Global mobile app consumer spending reached a record $43.2 billion in Q3 2025, an 11.3% year-over-year increase driven by a 20% surge in non-game revenue.
Generative AI tools emerged as a significant revenue driver, contributing $1.5 billion to the mobile app market during the third quarter.
U.S. digital advertising spend rose 12% to $35.9 billion, with mobile app advertising identified as the fastest-growing segment at 42% year-over-year.

Market Analysis AI Global+1

Sensor TowerNov 2025

Report56 pages

Digital Marketing Index Report: Q4 2025

India was the only major global market to record positive overall digital marketing growth in Q4 2025, while other leading economies experienced stagnation or decline.
Generative AI referrals surged by 133% year-over-year in the US, UK, and France, signaling their emergence as significant discovery engines despite currently accounting for less than 1% of total traffic.
US retail-media impressions grew 13% quarter-over-quarter to 123 billion, with Amazon capturing the entire volume and delivering six times the impressions of Walmart.

Marketing Advertising Global+2

Sensor TowerOct 2025

Report46 pages

Digital Market Index: Q2 2025

In Q2 2025, non-gaming applications surpassed mobile games for the first time, accounting for 52% of the record $40 billion in total in-app purchase revenue.
Global mobile gaming downloads contracted by 6.8% year-over-year, while Strategy titles replaced RPGs as the highest-grossing gaming category with a 23% increase.
ChatGPT became the fastest application to reach one billion downloads and secured a top-five position in global revenue, signaling a major shift toward AI-driven utility.

Market Analysis Global Mobile+1

Sensor TowerAug 2025

Report16 pages

Mobile Game Feature Impact Spotlight

Strategic feature selection, rather than exhaustive feature adoption, is the primary driver of commercial success across the top 1,000 mobile games globally.
In the hybridcasual segment, implementing in-app purchase (IAP) bundles correlates with a $1.77 increase in lifetime revenue per download.
Casual puzzle leaders like Royal Match and Candy Crush Saga maintain market dominance with lower feature density, proving that core gameplay often outweighs the addition of luxury elements like cinematic cutscenes.

Market Analysis Global Mobile+1

Sensor TowerJun 2025

Report37 pages

Southeast Asia: Mobile Game Market Insights 2025

Southeast Asia is the world’s second-largest mobile gaming market by volume, recording 1.93 billion installs in early 2025, while ranking seventh globally in revenue at $625 million.
Indonesia is the region's primary volume driver with 870 million installs, whereas Thailand leads in monetization, generating $162 million in consumer spending.
Publishers based in Singapore and Vietnam have become a dominant global force, contributing over 5.8 billion installs to the international market through hypercasual and competitive titles.

Market Analysis Mobile Southeast Asia+3

Sensor TowerJun 2025

Report49 pages

Retail Media Playbook: United States

U.S. retail media expenditures are projected to reach $130 billion by 2028, solidifying its position as the fastest-growing digital advertising channel.
Amazon remains the dominant market leader with $261 million in spend in early 2025, maintaining a strategy where 53% of total ad spend occurs on-site.
Top-tier advertisers like L’Oréal and Samsung prioritize high-intent conversion by allocating over 90% of their budgets to Amazon’s on-site display ads.

Market Analysis Advertising Marketing+1

Sensor TowerApr 2025

Report50 pages

State of Mobile Gaming 2025

Global mobile gaming revenue grew 4% to $82 billion in 2024 despite a 6.6% decline in total downloads, signaling a shift toward high-value player retention.
The industry has entered a 'live operations' era, with 84% of total revenue now generated by games utilizing continuous updates and seasonal events.
Publishers have reduced new game releases by 50% since 2020, focusing resources on high-quality core titles rather than volume.

Market Analysis Monetization Mobile+1

Sensor TowerMar 2025

Report95 pages

State of Mobile 2025

The global mobile economy reached $150 billion in consumer spend in 2024, driven by a 25% surge in non-gaming revenue despite a four-year decline in total app downloads.
Mobile gaming revenue recovered to $80.9 billion, with 80% of earnings generated by titles older than two years and a record eleven games surpassing $1 billion in annual revenue.
Generative AI became a primary engagement catalyst, with chatbot downloads increasing by 635 million and generating nearly $1.3 billion in revenue.

Market Analysis AI Mobile+1

Sensor TowerJan 2025