App Store sees record $1.1 billion in sales during holidays

Apple broke two App Store records this holiday season, sells total $1.1 billion worth of apps

By: Sean Ridgeley | Apps News | Posted: Jan 7, 2016 6:25 am

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Apple had its biggest holiday season for the App Store to date, with a record-setting $1.1 billion in app sales from December 20 to January 3. January 1 was the biggest day of the bunch, with over $144 million in sales, ahead of the second biggest day: Christmas. Both of these days broke records unto themselves. Total year sales were over $20 billion, and total sales since the App Store launched in 2008 are $40 billion. In other words, this was an absolutely ridiculous year for Apple and app developers.

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Gaming, Social Networking, and Entertainment were the most popular categories. Minecraft, Trivia Crack, Heads Up!, Clash of Clans, Monster Strike, and Game of War - Fire Age and Fantasy Westward Journey dominated games; Facebook Messenger, WeChat, and Snapchat took over the social space, and Netflix, Hulu, and Match were at the top for Entertainment.

This sub-industry -- centering on app creation, software engineering, as well as non-IT jobs -- has created over 1.4 million jobs in the US; previous reports indicated another 2.6 million jobs had been created across both Europe and China, for a total of 4 million.