Apple held record App Store spending in the final week of 2020 up as an example of broader rises in user growth and engagement across the full year.

Customers spent $1.8 billion on its app marketplace between 24 December and 31 December, up almost 27 per cent year-on-year. Gaming apps reaped the greatest benefits.

In a statement, the company said “apps have become more essential than ever”. Apple Music racked up “a record year” due to live interviews and group chats, with the company also highlighting growth in use of its fitness tracking app and “remarkable growth” in the number of new customers using its e-book service.

“Now more than ever before, customers around the world have found inspiration and value in the breadth and quality of Apple’s services, which have impacted their lives in big and small ways every day”, explained Eddy Cue, Apple’s SVP of Internet Software and Services.

By end-2020, Apple noted developers on its platform had earned more than $200 billion since the App Store’s launch in 2008.

App Store spending on 1 January hit $540 million, a near 40 per cent increase on the same date in 2020.