How to use in-app purchasing effectively as an app developer

In recent years the rise of in-app purchasing strategies has led to increased revenue figures across the mobile app industry. In fact, research has shown that by the end of 2017, the total global sales figure for in-app purchases will reach a mammoth $37 billion.

Many critics of in-app purchasing say that the concept has resulted in an industry aimed towards making money over quality content. It is possible to find a middle ground though. Here are some of the ways you can incorporate in-app purchasing as an app developer without diminishing the quality of your final product.

The type of app developed will often determine how effective your purchasing strategy will be or whether it makes sense to even have one. The majority of apps that incorporate in-app purchasing are games. Games that include levels or currency systems best lend themselves to in-app purchasing systems but other apps (such as the language learning app, Duolingo) have also utilised an effective levelling system.

It can be tempting to implement a paywall on every level of your app or game but this can often do more harm than good to your revenue stream. Users are often discouraged by apps that only allow for minimal play time before requiring payment. An ideal tactic is to offer in-app purchases for content that is not essential to completing the core aim of the app but offers added extras that improve the experience.

Statistics have shown that IOS users are 2.5 times more likely to spend money on in-app purchases. This means that by releasing your product on the App Store you will be looking at an average purchase-per-user figure of $1.08 instead as opposed to $0.43 on Google’s Play Store.

A great way to maintain the integrity of your app is to offer an ad removal option for users willing to pay extra. It has been shown that the amount of revenue that ads produce has fallen to 14%, while in-app purchases generate 48.2%. This means that app developers and companies can retain a higher percentage of the total revenue without basing their product around in-app purchasing and potentially compromising its quality or appeal.

There are many ways to implement in-app purchasing but it seems that striking a balance between quality and price will result in a winning scenario for both developers and users.