Apps make the smartphone into that universal tool that many people no longer want to do without. And they are ready to pay more and more money for it …
In 2021, Germans are spending more on mobile phone apps than ever before! A total of 2.9 billion euros in sales should be generated with smartphone programs this year. To do this, Germans download a total of 3.3 billion apps.
This is the result of a new study by the market research institute research2guidance for the digital association Bitkom. The majority of sales (74 percent) come from in-app purchases. “In-app purchases have become the absolute sales driver,” explains Dr. Sebastian Klöß, Head of Consumer Technology at Bitkom.
In-app purchases could be worthwhile for consumers, according to Klöß. “Unlocking selected content for a small fee can be significantly cheaper than buying a more expensive complete package.”
The classic app purchase, on the other hand, is clearly on the decline. Only every tenth euro is converted from the purchase of a mobile phone program that is generally subject to a charge. For comparison: In 2011, more than half (53 percent) of the total of 242 million euros in sales at that time was made with paid downloads.
One of the sales drivers in recent months has been the corona pandemic. “Especially during the Corona crisis, people spent more time with their smartphones. They tried out new apps and also spent more money in the process – for example, to stay fit with paid online courses, to pass the time with games or to learn new languages, ”explains Klöß.
By the way: The costs for subscriptions – for example for video or audio streaming with Netflix or Spotify – are even excluded from the record sales figures.
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