Despite a slower user growth since its redesign back in 2017, sources say 2019 may very well be the year that helped Snapchat bounce back.
Snapchat hasn’t been doing great in terms of growth in the last few years. That’s why this report from eMarketer is so surprising. The platform’s 2019 projected user growth is over 14%!
Ok, sure, but what’s driving this prediction? Well, 2019 has seen more than just YoY growth for Snapchat. eMarketer credits new features and an Android rebuild for this year’s steady quarterly growth. And it’s these features that have led them to amend 3-year projections as well.
According to those projections, Snapchat will have just over 293 million users worldwide at the beginning of 2020, with the US market leading the pack with 80 million users (27.4% of its 2019 users).
Snapchat’s Fastest Growing Demographic
Despite losing 1.1 million of them with the platform’s 2017 unpopular redesign, Snapchat’s fastest-growing demographic remains between the ages of 12 to 17. But, also remarkably, Snapchat has seen its older demographic – ages 35 to 64 – growing into double-digit percentages, accounting for 15.4 million users in the US.
What Does The Competition Look Like?
While Snapchat’s US user base looks to see a 5.9% growth, competitor Instagram is projected to exceed that at 6.7%. So yes, Snapchat is still trailing its main competitor, and judging by eMarketer’s continued projections, not only is that likely not to change, but 2019 seems to be the peak of Snapchat’s growth.
Furthermore, what about the digital ad market share and revenue? Instagram has a much larger piece of that pie and is looking to make $15 billion in global net revenue this year. Snapchat pales in comparison with an estimated $1.53 billion.
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