The 2013 mobile app retrospectives we’ve read thus far are full of pot-of-gold data for publishers seeking revenues at the end of the rainbow — or world, as it were. Several of the broad trends that emerged over the last few years continue to pick up momentum as we move into 2014: Mobile gaming is hotter than ever, Asia dominates the international app scene and a handful of emerging markets are vying to topple the defending champion, the United States.
According to AppAnnie, Japan and South Korea are the leading countries (after the U.S.) in terms of app store revenues. Those two markets are also in the top four for downloads and revenue growth, along with China and Russia, two of the BRIC countries. Several of the most successful apps in these markets are developed in the U.S. and Europe. According to a recent report by Distimo, more and more Western developers are successfully penetrating into lucrative Asian markets via successful localization strategies.
The other top mobile app markets featured in the report include the UK, Australia, Germany, Canada and France.
In terms of business models, in-app purchase revenues are on the increase, jumping from 89 percent to 98 in Google Play and 77 percent to 92 percent in the Apple App Store (source: Distimo 2013 Year in Review). Paid apps lost ground to the freemium model, which has proven to be effective across categories but especially in the game category, generating consistent in-app purchases.
Speaking of mobile gaming, the news continues to be golden for developers with global-friendly offerings. If you’re one of them, the following data from AppAnnie and Distimo should come as no surprise:
- Mobile games top the global download charts. Around 63% of revenues in iOS are in the gaming category.
- The majority of top publishers in the three main app stores are game developers.
- Global gamers now prefer their smartphones to 3DS’s and Vitas and app store game spend overtook the handhelds’ in 2013.
Are you a mobile app publisher or game developer? Has this data incentivized you to look into mobile app translation for your English-language app? Or if you’ve already translated your app, could ASO localization enable you to better market it internationally in Google Play, the Apple App Store and the Amazon Appstore? If so, we’re here to help. Contact us today and get ready to pursue that pot of gold in both emerging and established markets around the world.
