Around the Net
App Stores, And Revenues, Continue To Rise
- ReadWriteWeb et al., Wednesday, March 17, 2010 2 PM
While many consumers would be hard-pressed to define an 'app,' the little mobile miracles are on track to generate $17.5 billion in revenue by 2012. That's according to independent research
conducted by Chetan Sharma Consulting for app store operator GetJar. What's more, in less than two years, the number of available apps will catapult from 7 billion in 2009 to 50 billion.
But
what can apps really do? Shortly, pretty much everything that your clunk 'ol desktop computer can do, according to Getjar founder and chief executive Ilja Laurs. As such, Laurs predicts that "mobile
apps will eclipse the traditional desktop Internet," and, in turn, "mobile devices will kill the desktop."
Think Laurs might be a little biased? Well, compare Getjar's commissioned
research to some recently released by Gartner, which estimated that mobile app stores would do $29.5 billion in business by the end of 2013. Meanwhile, another recent forecast from research2guidance
estimated the smartphone app market would grow from $1.94 billion in 2009 to $15.65 billion by 2013.
"Although these aren't exactly apples to apples comparisons, the overall trend is apparent:
app stores are growing rapidly and generating massive revenue streams," concluded ReadWriteWeb.
According to Marketing Pilgrim, "The market is growing at a
serious rate because it makes having a handheld device much more interesting than just being a phone and a way to connect to the web."
Meanwhile, "The big question is whether apps will
continue to largely be free and subsidized with advertising, or whether consumers will buy them," notes paidContent. "The report found that advertising-based revenue accounted for about
12 percent in 2009, but by 2012, advertising is expected to generate 28 percent of revenues."
TechCrunch also points out that, "according to the study, revenue opportunities in Europe are
set to soar from $1.5 billion in 2009 to $8.5 billion in 2012, while in North America the figure will rise from around $2.1 billion to around $6.7 billion in 2012."
