Sensor Tower: In March, China's mobile apps (non-games) continued their strong momentum in overseas markets, and TikTok ranked first in the revenue list

The Zhitong Finance App learned that the latest data from Sensor Tower shows that in March 2025, China's mobile apps (non-games) continued their strong momentum in overseas markets. Skits, cross-border e-commerce, and tool products became the core of growth, while emerging markets and technological innovation became the focus of competition.

[March Non-Gaming App Overseas Revenue List]

[March Non-Game App Overseas Download List]

[March list of active non-game app overseas users]

Short drama circuit: content fission and deep regional cultivation

Short drama applications continue to maintain a strong growth trend in overseas markets. ReelShort, launched by Crazy Maple Studio Dev, achieved significant results in the North American market with an innovative model of “skit+interaction”, and achieved a 6% month-on-month increase in revenue. By optimizing the content ecosystem and algorithm recommendation mechanism, the platform effectively enhances user stickiness. At the same time, StoryMatrix's Dramabox's performance in the European and American markets was also impressive. Its localized short drama content was widely recognized by users, driving a 35% increase in downloads and a 17% increase in the number of active users, showing excellent cross-regional operation capabilities.

It is worth noting that FarSun's FlickReels entered the Latin American market in the form of ultra-short videos. Revenue increased 78%, downloads soared 397%, and the number of active users surged 199%, making it the fastest growing dark horse this month. The app accurately captures the fragmented entertainment needs of users in emerging markets through lightweight content and social fission strategies.

E-commerce and tools: maintaining the basic market and exploring new growth

In the cross-border e-commerce sector, Temu continues to expand under the “low price+social fission” model. The number of downloads increased 18% month-on-month, and the number of active users on the platform continued to rise. Meanwhile, through supply chain optimization and vertical user operations, SHEIN's active users grew by 6%, consolidating its leading position in the fast fashion circuit.

Tool apps also performed well. PictureThis, a plant identification tool owned by Glority Software, increased revenue by 56%, and active users increased 38%. Its technical barriers and ability to tap vertical demand became the key to growth. Furthermore, AliExpress grew 57% in downloads through deep cultivation in the Southeast Asian market, demonstrating the continued potential of Alibaba's global layout. It is worth mentioning that WPS remains stable in terms of user size. Active users of the platform performed steadily in March, demonstrating its continued market influence and solid user base in the field of office tools.

Technology-driven and emerging markets: competitive barriers are being formed at an accelerated pace

Leading manufacturers are building insurmountable competitive barriers through technological advantages. Take the global phenomenal app TikTok as an example. The platform continuously optimizes its core recommendation algorithm and iterates on innovative functions, achieving 25% month-on-month revenue growth on the basis of maintaining stable user activity. This technology-driven growth model has solidified its leading position in the global market, and the gap with its rivals continues to widen.

Emerging markets, on the other hand, have become the focus of breakthroughs for small and medium-sized manufacturers. NetStory's short drama platform NetShort targets the Southeast Asian market. Revenue soared 90% month-on-month, downloads surged 137%, and active users increased 111%, verifying the effectiveness of low-cost localized content and social fission strategies. The explosion of FlickReels in the Latin American market highlights the adaptability of lightweight products to high-growth regions.

Future outlook: differentiated competition and technology iteration go hand in hand

As competition on the skit circuit becomes increasingly heated, the market pattern is becoming increasingly divided. Leading manufacturers must speed up the construction of IP resource reserves and multi-language production capabilities, while small and medium-sized manufacturers can find differentiated breakthroughs by deepening specific topics or regional markets. At the same time, the cross-border e-commerce sector needs to focus on strengthening the coordination and integration of supply chains and localized marketing, while tool applications should focus on vertical scenarios and continue to build technical barriers. It is worth noting that AI-driven personalized recommendation systems, low code development tools, and low bandwidth adaptation technology are becoming key competitiveness in the industry. These technological breakthroughs will directly affect the next stage of improving user retention rates and optimizing market penetration efficiency, creating new growth opportunities for overseas companies.

Conclusions

The overseas market in March 2025 showed a “multi-dimensional competition” trend — the skit circuit continued to lead with content innovation, e-commerce and tool applications consolidated the basic market through technology and operation, and the emerging market provided space for small and medium-sized manufacturers to overtake cars in curves. In the future, being able to find a balance between content quality, technical enablement, and regional insight will be the key for publishers to win in the global market.