Marketers over-index on Google and Meta, but growth lies outside big tech: Moloco

New Delhi, August 20, 2025: India is fast becoming the global growth engine for mobile app advertising, according to new research released by Moloco, the AI performance advertising company. 

The study highlights how advertisers who diversify beyond Google and Meta are seeing significantly higher returns, with India leading global trends in entertainment, gaming, and generative AI app engagement.

The report, Performance Through Independence: Unlocking Incremental App Growth Beyond Google and Meta, developed in partnership with Sensor Tower and Singular, found that 88% of consumer mobile app ad dollars are still concentrated on Google and Meta, despite users spending more time across thousands of independent apps. By diversifying, advertisers improved Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) by as much as 214% within 30 days.

India stands out as one of the world’s fastest-growing mobile app markets. Between 2023 and 2024:

• Entertainment usage jumped +68 billion hours.
  
  
• Gaming accounted for 34% of app time, growing 11% year-on-year.
  
  
• Generative AI apps surged by +669%, the fastest adoption rate globally.
  
  
• Sports apps, meanwhile, dipped slightly by 130 million hours as attention shifted toward gaming and emerging technologies.
  
  

“India is one of the fastest-growing mobile app markets globally, and our data clearly shows a dramatic shift in user behaviour, particularly the explosive rise of generative AI usage and the continued strength of gaming,” said Siddharth Jhawar, Country Manager, Moloco India. “For advertisers, this means real opportunities lie in looking beyond big tech platforms and diversifying strategies to reach high-value users across new and emerging app categories.”

The research underscores how independent apps are emerging as a serious rival to established social giants. With over two billion daily active users, the independent app ecosystem now delivers reach and engagement comparable to TikTok and Instagram combined.

“Too many advertisers are still over-indexing on Google and Meta. But the biggest returns we are seeing are happening outside big tech,” said Tom Shadbolt, Senior Insights Manager, Moloco. “The independent app ecosystem is quickly becoming the new engine for predictable and long-term performance. This research is a wake-up call for mobile app marketers.”

While app usage in mature markets like the US, UK, Germany and Japan is plateauing, emerging markets such as India, South Africa, and the Philippines are driving the next phase of global growth. This shift signals a future where advertisers must broaden their focus to capture users in diverse app environments rather than rely solely on the largest platforms.

In-app purchases and subscriptions across consumer apps (outside gaming) rose 25% in 2024 to $70.5 billion, with revenues projected to surpass gaming within two years. Categories such as entertainment, finance, delivery, productivity, and generative AI are all outpacing traditional social media in usage growth.

The report draws on data from Moloco, Sensor Tower, and Singular, analysing more than $5 billion in ad spend and 2,000 apps across 15 markets, including India, the US, UK, Japan, and Germany.

India’s surging mobile engagement is creating both a challenge and an opportunity for advertisers. With attention splintering across entertainment, gaming and AI-driven apps, the report warns that continuing to funnel budgets into Google and Meta misses where consumers are actually spending time.