When I joined Appnext this year, I knew I was going to be a part of a dedicated and dynamic team of people who all share a common goal: to build the largest and most advanced app discovery platform in the world. It is, I am proud to say, a goal we are well on the way to achieving.
Before I discuss the many ways we are working towards growing our platform, I would like to highlight some important facts about the region I am head of, Turkey. As some are aware, Turkey is enjoying something of a smartphone revolution. This year, it is estimated there will be just under 53 million smartphone users in the country (68% of the population), which is a rise of more than 10 million users than in 2018. By next year, the Turkish smartphone penetration rate will exceed 70% of the population for the first time in history. Significantly for Appnext, which works with the world’s biggest Android manufacturers, Android devices far outpace iPhones in terms of popularity and availability in Turkey’s mobile market with these models accounting for 84% of all smartphones.
The rapid surge in mobile usage in Turkey is exciting because it is indicative of the many growth opportunities for Appnext in the region. In the last few years, our platform has made huge advances in our OEM journey. The transition from solely in-app to both in-app and in-device discovery was made possible by cultivating partnerships with many of the world’s leading manufacturers, including household names Samsung, Xiaomi, and Oppo. These OEM relationships will help to drive our expansion in Turkey, particularly because the three vendors I mentioned account for 60% of all smartphones in Turkey.
An exciting trend I would also like to touch upon is Turkey’s thriving e-commerce market and how Appnext can play a pivotal role within it. The COVID-19 crisis accelerated the expansion of the mobile shopping market on a global scale. While the pandemic and resulting lockdowns negatively impacted traditional bricks and mortar retail, e-commerce boomed as millions of people relied on their phones to order goods and services. Although mobile purchases currently represent only a small fraction of the overall retail market in Turkey, the number of people using their phones to shop has risen dramatically in recent years. In 2019, Turkey’s e-commerce market grew by colossal 31% and mobile is currently worth 63% of that market. Furthermore, it is predicted that mobile commerce will grow at a CAGR of 18.6% by 2023. Appnext can be at the forefront of helping marketers take advantage of this mobile shopping upsurge. Our proprietary ‘Timeline’ technology helps our clients ensure they deliver a completely personalized and localized customer experience, which we know is absolutely critical in the mobile shopping industry. Our in-app and on-device recommendations mean developers can reach high-intent and ready-to-buy users with innovative placements that are delivered at opportune moments.
There are so many opportunities in this region for an entrepreneur team such as ours and I am looking forward to watching us flourish!
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