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Your customers already live on mobile.

Sam Donworth Published Updated 3 sources · 60-second read

Attention

5.3trillion hours

Spent in mobile apps worldwide in 2025. Each mark = 100 billion hours · Source: Sensor Tower, State of Mobile 2026 · ⓘ Method

3.6hours

A day in apps, per mobile user, on average. Source: Sensor Tower, 2026 · data for 2025

$167billion

Spent by consumers on in-app purchases and paid apps in 2025. Source: Sensor Tower, 2026 · iOS and Google Play

Experience

Experience is part of the product.

89%

of Irish customers said the experience a company provides is as important as its products or services. Source: Salesforce, State of the Connected Customer: Ireland, 2023 · Vendor research · ⓘ Method

Expectation

Customers expect to be recognised.

71%

of consumers expect personalised interactions.

76%

become frustrated when they do not get them.

Source: McKinsey & Company, Next in Personalization 2021 · US consumer survey · ⓘ Method

The opportunity

One direct line to your customers.

A useful app can bring ordering, booking, payment, loyalty, personalisation and service into one place customers come back to.

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Illustrative interface · tap a function

Not every business needs an app.

An app earns its place when customers have a reason to return to it.

Strong reason to return

  • Repeat orders
  • Regular bookings
  • Memberships and loyalty
  • Accounts customers manage

Weak reason to return

  • One-off purchases
  • Rare, infrequent visits
  • Information a website already serves well

For the right business, a good app is better infrastructure for serving and keeping customers.

Sources & methodology +

Sensor Tower
State of Mobile 2026 · published January 2026 · data for calendar year 2025

Measured: Estimated time spent and consumer spending across iOS App Store and Google Play worldwide. China covers iOS only. Daily time per user is an average across tracked markets.

Limitations: Modelled estimates from panel and store data, not audited totals. The $167 billion is gross in-app purchase and paid-app revenue including games and store fees. Global, not Irish, figures.

sensortower.com/report/state-of-mobile-2026 ↗

Salesforce
State of the Connected Customer: Ireland Edition · published January 2023

Measured: Survey of 650 consumers and business buyers in Ireland.

Limitations: Commissioned and published by Salesforce, a CRM vendor. Self-reported attitudes, not observed behaviour.

salesforce.com/eu/blog/connected-customers-ireland ↗

McKinsey & Company
Next in Personalization 2021 Report · published November 2021

Measured: Online survey of consumers in the United States on expectations of personalisation.

Limitations: US sample, not Irish. Self-reported expectations. McKinsey sells consulting services in this area.

mckinsey.com: The value of getting personalization right ↗
These figures describe customer behaviour and expectations. None of them show that having an app increases revenue, and this page does not claim that.