Retail trading apps in the UK have become increasingly popular in the past seven years. Total combined downloads reached 15.1m as of September 2023. There were 8.5m downloads from September 2020 to September 2023, more than doubling the total combined downloads before September 2020. Global retail trading reached an all-time high in 2023, surpassing the 2021 meme-driven surge in day trading, with retail investors accounting for about 23% of total trading volume from January 25 to February 1 2023, according to JPMorgan data. This figure narrowly exceeded the previous record of 22% during the pandemic trading frenzy. In September 2023 sentiment around stocks and shares has dropped significantly from the start of the year. Investors are becoming increasingly concerned as the stock market faces its worst month of the year in September, driven by a combination of surging bond yields, rising oil prices, and slowing economic growth.
Trading 212, a trading platform for stocks, ETFs, forex and commodities, is the most downloaded Retail trading app in the UK as of September 2023. Trading 212 disrupted the stock brokerage industry in 2016 by offering the first zero-commission stock trading service in the UK and Europe and has garnered over 15m app downloads, globally with 36% coming from the UK. Since 2016, Trading 212’s app has been the UK’s #1 trading app, and in 2017 it reached the #1 spot in Germany. Trading 212 also has 2m lifetime funded accounts and £3.5 billion in client assets and cash.
