Juniper Research is out with a new report titled “Mobile App Stores: Business Models, Strategies & Market Segmentation 2010-2015,” forecasting that the combined revenues from apps funded by pay-per-download (PPD), value-added services (including freemium and subscription) and advertising is expected to rise from just under $10 billion last year to $32 billion in 2015!
The research company points to Apple’s astonishing success with the AppStore, but also warns brands not to forget feature phone users, as there are not that many smartphones sold in developing markets. According to the report author, Dr Windsor Holden, if the mobile industry wishes to introduce a model based on applications, then it “must ensure that those applications are accessible by a wide range of handsets ranging from smartphones to mass market devices.”
Furthermore, Juniper says that the uplift in download volumes does not necessarily equate to an uplift in industry revenues. The majority of downloads from most mobile app stores out there are free, thus building a business model aimed at maximizing both consumer adoption of applications and content revenues can be extremely problematic…
As usual, you can get more information from Juniper Research’s website.