Electric scooters are parked by a road in Seoul on May 11, 2021. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, May 25 (Korea Bizwire) — With the persisting spread of the coronavirus pandemic, ride-sharing electric scooter hailing apps, over-the-top (OTT) service platforms, and second-hand shopping apps have risen as the most installed apps among smartphone users.
The ‘2021 App Trend Report’ released on Monday by NHN Corp., South Korea’s leading game and internet company, analysed data collected from 31 million mobile Android devices between October and April.
According to the report, the ride-sharing e-scooter apps showed the highest rate of increase in the number of installations. E-scooter apps including Lime, Kickgoing and Xingxing rose by 31, 25, and 52 percent, respectively.
More than half of all e-scooter app users were in their 20s.
The report explained that the popularity of e-scooters is attributed to less physical contact than public transportation, and quick coverage of short distances.
Online video streaming platforms including Netflix, TVing, and Wavve rose by 16, 19, and 11 percent, respectively, in terms of the number of installations.
Among Watcha and Coupang Play users, 80 percent were in their 20s and 30s. TVing was the only OTT platform that had been installed more by women compared to men.
Among shopping apps, secondhand transactions app Bungaejangter showed the highest increase rate of installation, jumping by 35 percent. Danggeun Market rose by 25 percent.
The report explained that everyday restrictions imposed by the pandemic have led to higher demand for second-hand shopping in local communities.
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
