While nearly half of all consumers are willing to pay a monthly subscription for an app they love, nearly as many said they would be willing to pay less than $25 a month, according to a recent study from Branchfire. The Chicago-based firm based its research on a survey conducted July 8-10, 2014, among 2,042 adults (aged 18 and over), of which 1,298 own a tablet or smartphone. The survey was conducted by Harris Poll on behalf of Branchfire via its Quick Query omnibus product.
- 49 percent are willing to pay monthly subscription costs; 48 percent will pay less than $25, while 31 percent will pay less than $10 and 2 percent were willing to pay more than $25.
- Of those aged 18-34 years old who pay for monthly subscriptions, the top categories are streaming TV and movie apps at 59 percent, followed by 34 percent for games and 31 percent for streaming movies.
- 37 percent of tablet owners subscribe to monthly subscription-based apps.
- 57 percent said they have never paid for an app.
"Ten dollars a month is the sweet spot for subscribers," a summary of the report said. "With 37 percent of smartphone/tablet owners already subscribing to monthly subscription-based apps, this points to a small rate (just 12 percent) of growth to penetrate."
There probably aren't that many developers who are counting on paid downloads at this point, but Branchfire's study also suggests that creating the next Netflix or Spotify isn't going to be all that easy, either. The overall willingness of subscribers to pay for a subscription is encouraging, so it will probably come down to what kind of content or experience is compelling enough to justify a repeatable monthly cost, rather than the exact pricing. Otherwise, this study provides even more ammunition for developers to think about other monetization models such as in-app advertising or in-app purchases.
For more:
- to access the report, click here
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