Big in Brazil: The Apps that are taking Latin America’s Biggest Market by Storm

If you work in the app industry, there is a lot to get excited about in Brazil. And it's not just the scale of the opportunity — although, with a population of more than 212 million people, that's a pretty compelling call-to-arms for app developers hoping to target Latin America's biggest market. With 69% of the population below the age of 30, Brazil is also an incredibly youthful economy – and you know how much those millennials and Gen Xers love their mobile devices.Like many other emerging economies (and remember Brazil stands proudly at the forefront of those BRICS economies), the smartphone is the primary method of accessing digital services. Some 71% of Brazilians own a smartphone and 90% of Internet users get connected via their mobile devices. It’s a market where Android dominates the market with an 84% market share with reasonably priced devices like the Samsung Galaxy J5 amongst the most popular handsets.Dig a little deeper and you’ll discover that Brazil is the fourth largest app market in the world with more than 6 billion apps downloaded ever year. The average Brazilian smartphone user has upwards of 83 apps installed on their device and will use up to 12 services every day.Further Reading: Brazil: The App Economy is About to Explode.Further Reading:BRICS: A Smart Future Built on Affordable Devices.Feet on the Ground and Fingers on the PulseWhen presented with such an amazing opportunity, any business that professes to be a "mover and shaker" in the app industry (and we do) would be foolish to try and dial-in to the market from a remote location. That's why Digital Turbine is proud to have a pro-active team of app marketing experts with the feet well and truly on the ground in the Brazilian market and with the fingers on the pulse of what excites the local population.Just because the app industry is a global phenomenon, it doesn’t mean that what works in one country translates perfectly to another. There are so many factors (language, culture, economics, infrastructure, etc., etc.) that mean cross-border business isn’t as easy as many people would imagine. That’s why we also listen to our local staff when we want to learn what’s hot and what’s not in the Brazilian market — not to mention many other international markets.What’s Hot Right Now in Brazil?With this in mind, we asked our Brazilian team to highlight some of the apps that are currently getting the local market excited. Here’s what they shared with us:Centauro: As you would expect from a country that is universally recognized as a giant in the world of soccer, sport is a big deal in Brazil. As one of the nation’s leading sports retailers, Centauro is making big waves with their eCommerce app. The app is big on delivering amazing discounts via targeted voucher codes, free shipping on online purchases, and click and collect to attract sports fans into their real-world stores.Renner: Lojas Renner is Brazil’s largest department store with a history going back all the way to 1912. Despite this long history, Renner has its eyes firmly on the future with a solid app marketing strategy. The Renner app offers the full range of eCommerce services you would expect from a thoroughly modern retailer, including free delivery, click and collect, a store locator, and a visual search facility that allows users to upload an image of style they are interested in recreating.Cabify: Apps like Uber and Lyft don’t have a global monopoly on the ride-sharing industry. Cabify is a transportation network which operates across 38 cities across the Spanish and Portuguese speaking world. Cabify launched its service in the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo in 2016 after the Japanese eCommerce company Rakuten (already a lead investor in the company) injected a further $92 into the service. More than 80% of Cabify’s revenues now come from the Latin American market highlighting the vibrancy of the market.Zoom: Brazilians relish the opportunity to connect with each other and the wider world. 83% of smartphone users in Brazil regularly use apps to chat with their friends and work colleagues. The video conferencing tool Zoom helps them take this to a new level, helping people share ideas and work with each locally, nationally and internationally in a more flexible and professional environment than offered by services like Skype or Google Hangouts. Zoom is also frequently used by universities, colleges, and other distance learning organizations to deliver affordable educational services to Brazil's large student population.Learn More About The Brazilian App OpportunityTo learn more about how your organization can make an impact in the Brazilian market, contact us today and we’ll put you in touch with one of Digital Turbine’s in-country Brazilian app marketing experts.