Data collected by popular research firm Flurry has revealed that Amazon’s decision in pursuing its own app store is paying off. The survey compared the popularity of famous apps on the three different app platforms, namely, the Apple app store, Google Play and Amazon’s own app store. Studies indicated that for every dollar spent on Apple’s app store, content worth 89 cents was downloaded from Amazon’s app store. Google Play on the other hand, finished a distant third, at just 23 cents. A total of 11 million users (based on daily activity) were observed under this study. The study lasted a total of 45 days, which commenced in January this year.
A similar study conducted by Flurry last year estimated that 24 cents were spent on Google’s app market for every dollar spent on Apple’s app store. The improvisation adopted by Amazon in the Kindle Fire seems to be working out well as they are able to generate revenue three times to what Google Play generates for its developers. Most analysts expect Apple to retain its position as the app store which generates the most revenue. Top strategy analysts predict that Apple would earn more than half the revenue generated from the smartphone and tablet market this year.
Android, Barnes & Noble and Microsoft are expected to compete for the third spot (Amazon taking the second). In December last year, Distimo concluded that Apple’s app store generates four times the revenue of what Google’s Android Market generated. Flurry ascertained that the decision to fork over Android was a wise one and a company like Samsung should adopt a similar approach if it hopes to compete against the ever strengthening Apple. The reason being Apple and Amazon are companies that focus solely on customer products and satisfaction, whereas Google’s core interest is limited to search and the internet.
The above statement was justified with a few interesting observations. For example, Apple runs the highest revenue generating firm, per square foot, in the retail sector iTunes obviously included). Amazon on the other hand, invented the one click purchase concept and continues to perfect online shopping with efficiency, enthusiasm and customer service. On the other hand Google’s strength lies in its world famous search engine and its concept of advertising policy. Google has never been efficient when it came to running a retail store or the purchase of goods online.
Curiously, data for the Windows Phone Marketplace was missing, but analysts expect the WP platform to outperform Android in terms of per unit revenue compared to Apple as well.
