The App Store has certainly shifted quite a bit over the last few years. Upon its introduction, users were thrilled to get their hands on some new apps, even if they came with a mildly high price tag. These days, though, the mood has changed, and “free” apps are looking like the way to go.
Flurry reported earlier this year that the shift of popularity from paid to free apps has continued, with about six percent growth over the last three years from 84 percent to 90 percent. In addition, developer A/B testing indicated that free apps, supported by in-program purchases, were the most popular.
“It suggests that developers are not just moving to free apps because everyone else is or it seems like the thing to do. Many of them have actually tested different price points,” said Flurry’s Director of Research, Mary Ellen Gordon, PhD. “Based on the trends, I would guess that by next year the (weighted) percentage of apps that are free will be somewhere between 91 and 93 percent — greater than it is now, but not 100 percent because there will probably always be certain specialized apps that are able to charge for downloads.”
It looks like the shift to free-to-play apps is greater than most people anticipated.
Source: TechCrunch
