Apps buying apps is usually interesting news, so when I read that Strava bought another app, I immediately got excited. Fitness has become a serious business on mobile, so this was going to be interesting.
It wasn't. But!
When I loaded Strava into our App Intelligence dashboard, I noticed a very interesting unrelated trend.
Strava's revenue has grown substantially in 2022!
Since 2018, Strava's mobile revenue has grown more than 10x, from under a million in monthly net revenue up to over $11 million.
Looking at the trend, it's pretty clear revenue started spiking in 2020. Lockdowns were a mega catalyst for the growth in demand for fitness apps. Peloton was one of the first to see this, but many other fitness apps rode the wave.
But for Strava, these were short-term spikes in 2020 and in 2021. Great spikes that saw revenue balloon 8x for a month, but it was only for a month or two.
And then 2022 hit.
Those spikes I highlighted were in August of 2020 and 2021. August isn't even done yet and Strava's monthly revenue has already crossed both previous spikes.
In May, Strava's net revenue jumped to $9.8M, and in July, it crossed $11.7M. What do you think will happen in August?
If you aren't convinced already, this should help you see two things. The first is that there's money in the banana stand, and by banana stand, I mean the App Store and even Google Play. And also that those two stores are becoming where people start their search for things they need – be it something to read, watch, or a way to keep active.
And guess what's powering all of this growth? Subscriptions!
If you're monetizing with subscriptions please help my next live stream by answering this short survey, and join me on 8/23 for an AMA on doing subscriptions right.
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