Apple (AAPL +1.18%) published a press release on Monday detailing milestone performance for its App Store in 2019. The announcement cited an independent study conducted by Analysis Group, which found that $519 billion in global transactions were conducted through Apple's app ecosystem last year. The study noted that more than 85% of 2019's total spending on the platform went directly to third-party app owners without Apple receiving a commission.
The tech giant typically gets either 15% or 30% of digital goods and services spending on the App Store -- with the company usually taking the smaller commission for recurring-service payments and the larger commission for one-time purchases. However, it does not get a cut of physical goods purchased through third-party e-commerce apps or from services like Lyft, Uber, or AirBnB.
Image source: Apple.
What does it mean for Apple?
Physical goods and services accounted for $416 billion of total spending through the App Store ecosystem last year, while digital goods and services generated $61 billion in sales, and in-app advertising -- of which Apple doesn't receive a cut -- accounted for $45 billion in transactions.
Despite receiving a commission on a relatively small portion of total commerce conducted with App Store applications, the new data from Analysis Group bodes well for Apple. The company's services segment (which includes the App Store) has been a key growth vehicle for the company in recent years. Segment sales reached an all-time high of $13.3 billion last quarter, climbing 16.5% year over year, and app spending still has a long runway for growth.
