Mobile Application Storefronts - Strategies for App Distribution and Monetization

Application Analysis

Universal storefronts that cater for all customer segments and app categories have become the paradigm that drives the distribution of native apps. In this study, ABI Research evaluates the current trends and dynamics in this side of the industry, and provides predictions of what is likely to happen in the future.

In order to offer an adequate snapshot of the current state of the mobile application market, ABI Research calculated the cumulative download counts for each of the nine leading storefronts, split by smartphones and tablets. Other market data includes a forecast on smartphone application downloads by geographic region, and the percentage breakdown of annual application revenues in 2012 by type of revenue.

Table of Contents

  • 1. STATE OF THE APP MARKET
    • 1.1. Where Are We Now?
    • 1.2. Outlook for Tablet Apps
    • 1.3. Outlook for Smartphone Apps
  • 2. KEY TRENDS AMONG APP STOREFRONTS
    • 2.1. Business Models Evolve towards Incremental Monetization
    • 2.2. Niche Opportunity in Discovery, Not in Distribution
    • 2.3. Biggest Change of 2012: Google's Storefront Rehabilitation
    • 2.4. Storefront Discovery Remains an Issue
    • 2.5. Ballooning App Marketing Costs
  • 3. APP STOREFRONT AND THE WAY AHEAD
    • 3.1. Personalized App Distribution
    • 3.2. Geographic Outlook
    • 3.3. Impact of Web Apps

Tables

  1. Cumulative Application Downloads by Storefront, World Market, Forecast: September 2010 to September 2012
  2. Cumulative Application Downloads by Storefront, Tablets Only, World Market, Forecast: September 2010 to September 2012
  3. Cumulative Application Downloads by Storefront, Smartphones Only, World Market, Forecast: September 2010 to September 2012

Charts

  1. Cumulative Application Downloads by Storefront, World Market, Forecast: September 2010 to September 2012
  2. Cumulative Application Downloads by Storefront, Tablets Only, World Market, Forecast: September 2010 to September 2012
  3. Cumulative Application Downloads by Storefront, Smartphones Only, World Market, Forecast: September 2010 to September 2012
  4. Annual Application Revenues by Activity, World Market, Forecast: 2012
  5. Annual Smartphone Application Downloads, World Market by Region, Forecast: 2009 to 2017