The Google Play Android market is finally generating the revenue its massive download numbers have long promised.
Games now generate 90% of Play revenue, and 98% of that revenue comes from freemium apps, according to a new report from mobile analytics company App Annie. Japan continues to lead all countries in pouring cashing into Google’s coffers, App Annie’s data reveals.
“There are now over 1.5 million apps available on Google Play,” App Annie, which just acquired rival Distimo, said today in its report. “The number of apps grew by around 60% between July 2013 and June 2014.”
176 developers with $600M in annual revenue told us what works in Mobile Games Monetization.
But while Google has long has massive download numbers, the revenue it is delivering for developers is now starting to outpace downloads. Downloads were up 1.5x over the past year, while revenue jumped 2.5x. That’s great news for developers and bad news for mobile rival Apple, as it shows that Google is getting better and better at monetizing mobile apps, and that consumers — especially in Japan, Brazil, Russian, and India — are spending a lot of money inside the “free” apps they download.
While games are huge on Google Play, all categories are trending up and to the right in both downloads and revenue.
Entertainment app downloads jumped about 35%, social app downloads grew more than 50%, and communication apps — like the ubiquitous Messenger and WhatsApp — jumped more than 100%.
Most of the increase in revenue, and almost all the other revenue on Google Play, comes in via freemium apps. Only 2% of Play revenue is from pay-to-download apps, with the overwhelming majority coming from in-app purchases. In fact, only one country, Brazil, has more than 10% of its revenue coming in via paid apps, or paid apps that also have in-app purchases.
Asia, of course, is still a big story for Google Play — especially Japan. “Japan continues to dominate Google Play revenue,” App Annie says.
Japan was the top country for Google Play revenue in Q1 2014, continuing a trend with 2.4x revenue growth compared to the same period last year. But the U.S. jumped ahead of South Korea, with strong 2.6x growth, while Korea cooled a little to 1.9x. Germany and the U.K. were both also fast-growth Android regions, although on smaller bases.
The U.S. also saw strong downloads, with 1.2x growth, but Brazil and Russia were both higher, at 2.6x and 1.9x respectively.
Apple designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. The company's best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad. Apple software includes t... read more »
Google's innovative search technologies connect millions of people around the world with information every day. Founded in 1998 by Stanford Ph.D. students Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google today is a top web property in all major glob... read more »
App Annie Analytics makes it easy for app publishers to track their apps' downloads, revenues, rankings and reviews for iOS and Android. At App Annie, we believe there has been a radical shift in the way content is being distributed. I... read more »
