3. Google Confidential and Proprietary 3
App usage
Google AdMob and Parks Associates, Mobile App Consumer Study, Oct 2013
Are mobile games still casual?
X minutes spare:
Communication apps
XX minutes spare:
Games
4. Google Confidential and Proprietary 4
Business models
Google AdMob and Parks Associates, Mobile App Consumer Study, Oct 2013
The majority of users only download free apps
XX
Only download free apps Budget some amount to spend on apps
United States
XX
XX
United Kingdom
XX
XX
France
XX
Germany
XX
XX
5. Google Confidential and Proprietary 5
App Discovery
Google AdMob and Parks Associates, Mobile App Consumer Study, Oct 2013
The appeal of the new
United States
% of users that download an app to
“try something new
% of users who download an app
on impulse
United Kingdom South Korea China Japan
XX% XX%
XX% XX% XX%
XX% XX% XX% XX% XX%
6. Google Confidential and Proprietary 6
Keeping
customers
happy
Google AdMob and Parks Associates, Mobile App Consumer Study, Oct 2013
Use ads in the right way to maximize revenue
Approximately a third of users in the
UK, france, germany and the US had
clicked on ads in apps.
So this prompts the question ‘are mobile games still casual’?
So we asked the question if you have 5 minutes of spare time, what type of app do you use?
And most people favored communication apps (social networks, email, instant messaging) (slide 37, emea). Games didn’t really factor here which was surprising.
So then we asked if you have 30 minutes of spare time what app do you use? And each market we surveyed said ‘play games’; it was by far the most popular activity. So there’s clearly an opportunity here for developers to think about building, longer engaging games. And maybe that will create better monetization opportunities too.
Just over half of users we surveyed say they will only download free apps.
A high percentage of users in the US, UK and Germany are prepared to spend money on apps, but France reports a much lower number, just over a quarter. (slide 75, emea)
Then we wanted to know ‘of those users who do spend money, what are the business models that entice them to spend?’
In our research we identified that the lifespan of a gaming app is 2-3 months. Coupled with the zero download cost of most apps, it’s no surprise the main motivation for downloading apps is to “try something new” (slide 104, emea).
And this is one of the main problems with free apps; it leads to unqualified user, ‘unqualified’ meaning users who have downloaded an app without really having thought about if they need it or not. Almost a quarter of users in each market download an app on impulse (slide 105, emea).
There’s an opportunity to maximize revenue from users who don’t make in-app purchases (which is the majority). We found that approximately a third of users in the UK, France, Germany and the US had clicked on ads in apps, with similar levels reported for China, Japan and South Korea. (slide 86, emea)
But when does an ad become jarring to the gaming experience? When it comes to banner ads, gaming users preferred to see them on a screen that’s not part of the core gameplay. That’s what we expected and is what we recommend, but we were surprised by another finding: for higher value ads, like video or branded interstitials, users didn’t want to see them between gaming levels. They preferred to see them either when the users opens or closes the app. (slide 92, emea