Global consumer spending on apps hit an all-time high last year, with two app powerhouses in APAC — Vietnam and Pakistan — standing out for their remarkable growth.
Downloads of apps from each of the two markets surged by more than 30% in compound annual growth rate from 2018 to 2023. And in that period, app revenues grew by more than 4X for Vietnam and over 2X for Pakistan.1
That growth was fuelled, in part, by a large pool of tech talent and a vibrant startup culture in both markets.
But we’ve also seen app developers in both Vietnam and Pakistan use the following three strategies to drive app innovation and monetisation, and spur customer loyalty, lifetime value, and growth.
1. Don’t just follow trends, evolve them
A winning strategy behind many successful apps from Vietnam and Pakistan is “trend evolution.”
It involves developers spotting emerging app trends and incorporating innovative, creative elements to spawn new, enhanced apps. Think of it like remixing a popular song, where jazzing up a well-loved melody increases engagement and attracts new audiences.
Combine music games with pet-themed games: Amanotes
Vietnam’s leading music game developer, Amanotes, for instance, spotted the growing popularity of pet-themed app games. So it combined that trend with its expertise in music games publishing to produce “Duet Cats.” The cat-themed music game ranked No. 1 in the U.S. Google Play Store within just three months of launch, and it boasts over 50 million downloads to date.
Pair generative AI with image editing: Vyro
In Pakistan, app developer Vyro noticed the rise of generative AI and its immense potential. It tapped into that trend early on and developed “ImagineArt,” an AI-powered app that lets users generate images and edit photos via prompts. That app quickly crossed 20 million downloads and Vyro has continued to evolve its winning trend by combining generative AI with other image-related uses.
2. Adopt a user-first approach to app monetisation
Another strategy app developers embrace is a user-first approach toward monetisation. That might seem counterintuitive in a competitive app market where developers tend to prioritise monetisation first.
But a user-first approach is, in fact, founded on the enduring insight that a high-quality user experience improves user retention, drives lifetime value, and helps sustain monetisation and revenue growth over the longer term.
That user-first approach has empowered developers in Vietnam and Pakistan to drive app engagement and revenues in recent times, with Vietnam’s app revenue rising from $59 million in 2018 to $251 million in 2023.2
Use player experience to influence monetisation: ZnK Games
For ZnK Games, a Pakistani app company, audience engagement was a top priority for its “Scary Teacher” game. It created memorable characters and an appealing gameplay, which inspired a global following and over 1.2 million YouTube subscribers.
When it came to monetising the game, ZnK Games continued to prioritise the player. It used a data-driven approach to balance its ads and in-app purchase offers with user experience, and it was able to maximise customer retention and lifetime value.
Balance user experience and monetisation via A/B testing: ABI
Vietnamese game developer ABI used A/B testing to monetise its “Wood Nuts and Bolts” puzzle game while preserving user experience. The tests let ABI determine the ideal ad frequency for user retention, and develop in-app purchase offers which appeal to players with a higher purchasing power. That resulted in a new revenue stream, contributing up to 30% of the app’s total revenue.
3. Level-up with AI-powered marketing
A growing number of app developers are also achieving unprecedented results with AI-powered marketing solutions.
They run AI-powered data analysis to better understand their audience, and use AI-powered ads solutions to create and deliver more relevant content to users at speed and scale.
Localise ads and model lifetime value with AI: iKame
To expand the overseas reach of its apps, Vietnamese gaming and app developer iKame used the Google AI-powered Text Ads Generator to develop highly relevant ads in different languages at scale. That drove a 30% increase in click-through rates and a 3.7% increase in instals per mille.
It also used Google AI to strengthen its lifetime value modelling and gained insights on how marketing its games over a longer time horizon would lead to greater growth.
Optimise ad returns with AI: Game District
Game District, a leading game development company in Pakistan, used the AI-powered Target ROAS bidding in App campaigns to optimise its user acquisition. It was able to rebalance its acquisition investments across Tier 1 and emerging markets, and achieve better user lifetime value. Its ROAS efficiency grew by 177% year over year and its earnings rose by 58%.
It also used the AI-powered analytics tools Firebase and Google Analytics 4 to enhance its audience analysis, and consolidate its in-app ad and purchase revenues to further optimise its AI-powered ad campaigns.
If you’re looking to build winning apps with a global appeal, the three strategies that Vietnam and Pakistan’s leading developers use can help you. By driving app innovation, increasing customer lifetime value, and supercharging growth with AI-powered marketing, your app can scale global ranks too.
To learn more strategies that fueled the growth of rising app developers in Vietnam and Pakistan, watch the playback of Google's Apps and Gaming events: Think Apps Vietnam and Think Apps Pakistan.
Contributors: Pooja Gidwani, Product Marketing Manager; Claire Le, Principal Account Manager; Saad Hamid, App Growth Manager; Mike Koh, Principal Analytical Consultant
