Strategy Analytics: Apple Continues to Dominate Apps, Earning More than 53 Percent Paid App Download Revenue in 2012

Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Microsoft and Others Fight for Third

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Apps are sure to be the rage at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), as manufacturers look to cash in on the more than 41 billion phone and tablet downloads in 2012. The average selling price of paid downloads is declining across every major platform, as competition heats up and devices move into emerging markets. To offset this loss, storefronts, carriers, and developers look to virtual goods – an industry which will quintuple in size from 2011 to more than $1 billion in 2012. Apple and Android—both early movers in this space—look to take advantage of their positions to retain developer interest, maintain a steady flow of high quality apps, and keep consumers wedded to their ecosystems, as seen in, “Apps Forecast 2008 – 2013: Virtual Goods Drive Real Revenue,” from the Strategy Analytics App Ecosystem Opportunities (AEO) service.

In order to position their platforms for the future, competitors will need to move quickly into the virtual goods space before Apple and Android consolidate their already sizeable leads in paid downloads. [The table, “2011-2012 Marketshare,” may also be seen at: http://sa-link.cc/1141a]

According to Josh Martin, Director of Apps Research at Strategy Analytics, “The introduction of tablets from Amazon and Barnes and Noble and a renewed push for Windows Phone ensure an intensifying battle for the third horse in the apps ecosystem race. Unlike paid downloads that offer one time payment, virtual goods allow developers to earn recurring revenue from heavily used apps, making the business opportunity appealing. Despite the importance of virtual goods, few platforms beyond the leaders have stepped up. Thus, Android and Apple may well dominate into the future.”

About Strategy Analytics

Strategy Analytics, Inc. provides timely and actionable market intelligence focused on opportunities and disruptive forces in the areas of Automotive Electronics and Entertainment, Broadband Connected Home, Mobile & Wireless Intelligent Systems and Virtual Worlds. www.strategyanalytics.com/

CONTACT:

Strategy Analytics, Inc.
US Contact:
Josh Martin, +1 617-614-0730
jmartin@strategyanalytics.com
or
European Contact:
David MacQueen, +44(0) 1908 423 600
DMacQueen@strategyanalytics.com

KEYWORDS:   United States  North America  Massachusetts

INDUSTRY KEYWORDS:   Technology  Consumer Electronics  Internet  Networks  Other Technology  Mobile/Wireless  Automotive  Other Automotive  Communications  Publishing

MEDIA:

Logo