Japan finally beats the U.S. in App Store revenue

When you think of apps, you might first think of the U.S. – not because it’s home to Google and Apple and the related app stores, but also because the country has a massive penetration of smartphones and tablets with owners who are buying up apps and in-app content. While the U.S. was once the king of app store revenue generation, Japan is now spending even more on apps, according to new data from App Annie.

According to app store data, Japan has become the world’s No. 1 country in app store revenue, overtaking the United States, thanks to an explosion in growth of smartphone and tablet games. According to the same data from app tracker App Annie, Japanese consumers spent roughly 10% more than U.S. consumers did on apps found on smartphones and tablets in October. The amount spent in Japan is triple the spending in South Korea and six times greater than that in Great Britain. Just a year ago, Japanese consumers spent 40% less than U.S. consumers.