Apptopia: Shopee is the most downloaded shopping app in the world in 2021

Recently, according to data from the app analysis platform Apptopia, Shopee became the most downloaded shopping app in the world in 2021, SheIn ranked second, Amazon ranked fourth, and the third place was Meesho, an Indian social commerce application launched in 2015. However, in the United States, Amazon's downloads still ranked first.

From this chart, we can also see that there are many Chinese companies in the top ten. AliExpress ranks sixth, Alibaba's Lazada ranks ninth, Alibaba B2B ranks tenth, and Pinduoduo ranks eighth. However, the American version of Pinduoduo, Wish, ranks seventh.

(This data includes the total from iPhone and Android app stores worldwide, and only iPhone is included in China)

Let’s first look at the top three companies.

Since its first launch in Singapore in 2015, Shopee has been growing rapidly, with a growth rate of 46% in 2021, and has now become the most downloaded shopping app in the world. Not only in Southeast Asia, but now in Latin America, Europe and the United States, Shopee is serving consumers, and it ranks first in the Brazilian and Polish markets. Related reports say that Shopee is now rapidly expanding globally, such as in India.

SheIn, on the other hand, is deeply involved in the fast fashion market. Foreign media reported that after years of development, this Chinese company, launched in 2008, has become a link between China's clothing supply chain and Generation Z in Europe, America and even the world, and its growth rate in 2021 reached an astonishing 70%. At present, SheIn has spread to more than 200 countries around the world.

Meesho, ranked third, is from India, but it was not well-known before. It is a social commerce application that also creates a platform for manufacturers to sell products to consumers and dealers through social channels such as WhatsApp, and it does not charge commissions. Although it is not yet a global application, it had the highest number of downloads in India in 2021, with a growth rate of 744%.

However, Amazon still ranked first in 2020, but was surpassed by the other three in 2021. According to relevant reports, Amazon has been promoting in smaller markets such as Poland and Egypt in 2021. At the same time, it is regrettable that eBay has withdrawn from the global top 10 stage, and Wish's downloads have decreased by 47%.

Although Amazon still ranked first in downloads in the United States in 2021, relevant analysis agencies indicate that SheIn or Shop will surpass Amazon in 2022 (Shop is an app launched by Shopify).

Among them, the Shop app, which is almost a shopping mall, is very worthy of attention, and it is very likely to become the most downloaded app in the United States in 2022. The huge number of installed users is a considerable asset for Shopify, and Shopify can guide the market direction to a certain extent.

Klarna, which ranks tenth in downloads in the United States, is a buy now, pay later (BNPL) app that combines financial services with shopping. At the end of 2021, it launched a service function for shopping in all online stores through the app. Although it is not integrated with Klarna, shopping can be guided through the BNPL service.

We need to note that downloads and rankings do not match. Although Shopee has such a large number of downloads, its GMV transaction volume is not on the same level as Amazon, and most Americans are not aware of the existence of Shopee and Meesho.

Overall, the growth rate of mobile e-commerce is higher than that of the entire e-commerce market, so the industry is paying close attention to emerging technology companies. However, there are no retailers among the top 10 shopping apps in terms of global downloads.

From Leifeng.com