App Store And Profitable Discounts (Statistics)

Apple App Store is the place where paid software dominates. It is a fact that will remain the way it is. Thus it is a preferable area for software owners and developers to distribute their ideas. Owing to its popularity, it has become the most profitable application store, going far ahead its competitors. But the leader in revenues is able to get even more downloads by a simple decision - namely price cuts. The owners of iDevices must be used to paying for quality software. So they are most likely to take the opportunity of gaining useful software for a lower price. Who wouldn't use such a chance?


Discounts are a great means of winning more clients. This can be illustrated by a recent report by a mobile app analytics provider Distimo. Such strategy proves to be quite efficient in terms of mobile software. According to the report, software owners who cut their application prices, can gain a revenue increase of 159% in a week for iPhone apps, and 71% for iPad apps. This result is achieved by drastic increase in volumes of downloads. A short period of time is enough to make a popular app even more attractive for purchasing.


That is how both sides win. Software owners gain in quantity, while app users get software at a lower price. The estimated average five-day download increase is 1665% for iPhones and 871% for iPads. In December 2012, 850 iPhone apps and 930 apps for iPads dropped their prices by $1-$3. The tendency goes on. On the other hand, if the app prices go up, the volume of downloads drops by 46% for iPhone and 57% for iPad. This is not the rate one would wish for.

Over the same December, App Store earned 3,5 times as much revenue as Google Play. Apple is sure to be in the lead - for now. A study by App Annie discovered some interesting figures. During 2012, Google's application store, though lagging behind in revenues, showed a significant growth rate. This rate steadily goes up, and in its turn exceeds that of App Store. From Q3 to Q4 of 2012 Google Play revenues doubled, and continue to grow. This means that Google Play can come much closer to App Store in bringing profits to software owners. The boost was led by the users from such countries as the USA, Japan, South Korea and China. What's also interesting is that the main source of profits (about 75-90%) were paid games.

That is how both of these application stores can succeed at satisfying the demands of each side. Profitable discounts work in the mobile space. So if you are a software owner, here is an option you should consider. It can make winners of both you and your end users. They will get a cheaper quality application, while you will gain more profits due to the growing download rate.