Global app spending is up 35% YOY but is that good news for publishers?

Global consumer spending on apps and games reached approximately $58.6 billion in 2017, that’s up 35% from the $43.5 billion spent over 2016. This spending was across in-app purchases (IAP), subscriptions, and premium apps in both Apple’s App Store and the Google Play Store.  The growing popularity of app subscription models is partly a result of Apple and Google improving their subscription offerings in their respective app stores. For iOS developers, Apple increased the revenue cut for subscription app developers from 70/30 to 85/15 in June 2016. Paid subscribers across all Apple offerings (this includes paid subscriptions for products in the App Store as well as Apple products like Apple Music) grew 75% YoY in Q3 2017 to 210 million subscribers.

Google adjusted its own subscription revenue share model to match Apple’s and found in May that revenue from subscriptions on Google Play increased tenfold in the last three years. The prevalence of subscription-based apps will likely grow in 2018 as more developers shift to subscription models to reap the revenue benefits of such apps.  

When weighing up the opportunities of being in the App or Google store publishers need to weigh up what customer data is critical for them to create a frictionless path to engagement and subscription. Do you have access to the data you need to evaluate this as an acquisition strategy, what metrics are you using, or even how will this affect attribution modelling. 

My experience is that the customer journey from app discovery to subscription sign is not always a good one for customers.  Companies are trading reach at the expense of conversion.  The evidence is the volume and quality of prospects who convert to a paid subscription. 

http://uk.businessinsider.com/global-app-spending-continues-to-grow-2018-1