Apple’s U.S. App Store consumer spending fell year over year in the second quarter, marking the first drop in a decade, as regulatory changes loosen storefront control and prompt use of alternative payment methods.

Regulatory shifts, notably the rule allowing developers to direct users to external payment pages bypassing Apple’s 15–30% commission, were implemented after the Epic Games case in 2025 and are now influencing spending patterns.

In the United States, App Store consumer spending declined 6% year over year in Q2 2026, while global spending grew modestly at 3%, down from double-digit growth the prior year.

The supply of new apps has surged, but demand hasn’t kept pace: many new titles are clones or thin wrappers, diluting user attention and willingness to pay.

From Apple’s perspective, the challenge is whether other Services—advertising, AppleCare, iCloud, and Apple TV+—can offset reduced App Store commissions while preserving high-margin contributions from the Services segment.

The overall decline in App Store monetization is amplified by a softer gaming category, currency headwinds, and broader demand softness in mobile gaming, creating a triple headwind for revenue.

The broader takeaway is that the App Store is expanding in volume but losing the monetizable portion of user attention as AI-driven development floods the market and spending concentrates on fewer products.

The decline coincides with a record surge in App Store submissions driven by AI-enabled app-building tools, with roughly 236,000 submissions in a single quarter, an 84% year-over-year increase.

Global App Store spending rose only 3% year over year, with gaming revenue down 4.5% globally; non-gaming categories rose about 15%, led by generative AI apps that surged 108%, with ChatGPT contributing about 60% of that category’s revenue.

Apple’s Services segment posted a quarterly record of $30.7 billion but missed expectations around $31.4 billion, signaling a mismatch between Services growth and App Store performance.

In the June quarter, Services, including the App Store, generated $30.7 billion in revenue with a gross margin of about 75.6%, underscoring margins even as growth trends diverge from expectations.

Morgan Stanley projects only 0.5% App Store growth for Q3 2026, highlighting ongoing regulatory and market pressures on the platform.