App Annie and IDC are exploring the future of app monetization in a new report – “Mobile Advertising and Monetization Spotlight 2012-2017: The Economics of Free.”
Once again, the freemium model remains the optimal way for app developers to make the most money off of their creations (with the implentation of in-app ads, of course).
As the app market matures, app publishers continue to look for the monetization models that will work best for them. However, there is no “one size fits all” strategy, and so it’s critical for developers to think about which markets they plan to enter before deciding on how to generate revenues.
We are already aware that freemium is the best way to monetize an app today, but the report shows in-app advertising outpacing both mobile and PC browser-based ads in revenue growth, making it the next important growth model, but not in every market.
“Unsurprisingly, the United States and Japan lead the way in mobile app monetization, with revenue growth occurring across several countries,” observes Karsten Weide, Program Vice President of Digital Media and Entertainment at IDC.
“However,” Weide concludes, “most device growth will come from emerging markets moving forward, which significantly influences the app monetization profile in aggregate. India is a prime example with 8.7x revenue growth from 2013 to 2017, which appears to be largely driven by rapid smartphone adoption.”
To learn more about the new report and its findings, check out the full report from App Annie here.
