Hey, developers: Brazil is waiting for you

Targeting the young, growing Brazilian market may be the smartest decision an app publisher can make this year. App installs have been growing at an impressive 30% year-over-year, easily the largest and fastest growth in the region. With the world’s sixth largest population, Brazil’s smartphone growth has exploded in recent years — up 11% in 2019. But it may have only scratched the surface in terms of where the market could go. In 2019, Brazil had a smartphone penetration of only 45.6%, dwarfed in comparison to top countries like the U.K., Germany, and U.S., which are around 80%.

App publishers have capitalized on the young Brazilian user base through regionalizing their app and campaigns to a Gen-Z market quick to adopt a mobile lifestyle. According to AppsFlyer, 9.1% of users who install an ecommerce app go on to become purchasing customers, more than twice as much as other high-end markets in the region. The categories that are crushing it in ecommerce sales align well with Brazil’s young demographic: food delivery, games, shopping, and travel.