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Windows Store App Growth Slows

The rate of growth in the Windows Store tailed off substantially from December to January, compared to the previous month.

The dropoff isn't surprising, given the holiday season in the United States and the fact that it's hard to maintain triple-digit growth rates as the underlying numbers get bigger. Still, at just under 25,000 apps, Microsoft is so far behind the relevant app stores -- Apple and Google -- that it needs the explosive growth to continue if it's going to be a factor in the app world.

RCP first counted the apps in the Windows Store on Nov. 7 and found 7,096 apps. A month later on Dec. 9, the raw number of apps was up to 18,125 for a 155 percent growth rate. Another count on Jan. 9 found 24,629 apps for a 36 percent month-over-month increase.

Things look slightly better, but only slightly, when comparing raw numbers. In the November-to-December period, the store gained 11,029 apps. In the December-to-January period, the store picked up 6,504 apps.

Overall, Microsoft's Windows Store has grown nearly 250 percent over the two months, which roughly correspond to the availability of Windows 8 and Windows RT, which became generally available on Oct. 26.

Windows Store App Growth by Category:

CATEGORY DEC. 9
(# OF APPS)		 JAN. 9
(# OF APPS)		 INCREASE
(%)
Books & Reference 1655 2676 62
Sports 483 757 57
Finance 213 316 48
Games 2438 3610 48
Government 65 94 45
Music & Video 588 846 44
Travel 658 928 41
Business 428 580 36
Photo 377 501 33
Entertainment 2465 3255 32
Lifestyle 762 999 31
Education 2551 3311 30
Tools 1708 2174 27
Productivity 841 1067 27
Health & Fitness 568 711 25
Food & Dining 523 654 25
Shopping 128 158 23
Social 379 467 23
News & Weather 1159 1375 19
Security 136 150 10
Total 18125 24629 36

Posted by Scott Bekker on January 10, 2013


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