gsummit sf 2014 - engagement and monetization by top-earning mobile applications by peter heinrich...
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Engagement & Monetization
by Top-Earning Mobile Applications
GSummit 2014, San Francisco
Z e r o
E n t e r t a i n m e n t
PETER HEINRICHDeveloper Evangelist, Games
@PeterDotGames PeterHeinrich
Amazon does games?
— Many People
Engagement Reports
PC / Mac Downloads
Indie Storefront
Android App Distribution
Kindle Fire
AWS
In-App Purchasing
Direct to Account
Mobile Ads
Amazon CoinsAchievements
Leaderboards
A/B/n Testing
Whispersync for Games
Login with Amazon
Amazon Device Messaging
Cross Platform
Amazon GameCircle
Android App Distribution
WHAT MOVES THE
NEEDLE?
IAP ADOPTION IS ON THE RISE
No Surprise to Anyone
Projected Total IAP Revenue
Source: Gartner, September 2013
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
What are the top-grossing
developers doing
differently?
COHORT ANALYSISDifficult to Compare Apps Directly
• Based on Behavioral Analytics
• Shared experience
• Usually limited to a specific time period
• Related individuals form "cohorts"
Examples: People who had measles at age 9
Tall pilots who flew for United in March
Customers who purchased within
one week of download
COHORT ANALYSISTop Earners vs. Everyone Else
Looking at customers who installed
a Freemium game on March 1, 2014,
Split into to two populations (cohorts):
Cohort 1: Top 50
Game was one of the Top 50
Highest-Grossing titles
Cohort 2: The RestGame was NOT one of the Top
50 Highest-Grossing titles
INSTALLED VS. ACTIVE, FIRST 30 DAYS
Normalized as a Percentage across the Appstore
Source: Amazon Appstore, March 2014
100
Installed
Active
Time
INSTALLED VS. ACTIVE, FIRST 30 DAYS
Top 50 Highest Grossing
Source: Amazon Appstore, March 2014
100
Installed
Active
Time
SESSION COUNT & LENGTH
Time In-Game
6.9
7.417.9
21.52.6
2.9
# of sessions / active
session total / active(minutes)
× =
avg. session length(minutes)
Day 0
Top 50
The RestSource: Amazon Appstore, March 2014
Source: Amazon Appstore, March 2014
6.7
7.721.4
27.03.2
3.5
# of sessions / active
session total / active(minutes)
× =
avg. session length(minutes)
Day 1
Top 50
The Rest
SESSION COUNT & LENGTH
Time In-Game
5.9
7.9
15.3
25.32.6
3.2
# of sessions / active
session total / active(minutes)
× =
avg. session length(minutes)
Day 3
Top 50
The Rest
SESSION COUNT & LENGTH
Time In-Game
Source: Amazon Appstore, March 2014
5.7
7.4
14.8
23.72.6
3.2
# of sessions / active
session total / active(minutes)
× =
avg. session length(minutes)
Day 7
Top 50
The Rest
SESSION COUNT & LENGTH
Time In-Game
Source: Amazon Appstore, March 2014
5.7
7.3
14.3
22.62.5
3.1
# of sessions / active
session total / active(minutes)
× =
avg. session length(minutes)
Day 14
Top 50
The Rest
SESSION COUNT & LENGTH
Time In-Game
Source: Amazon Appstore, March 2014
5.9
7.3
14.2
22.62.4
3.1
# of sessions / active
session total / active(minutes)
× =
avg. session length(minutes)
Day 30
Top 50
The Rest
SESSION COUNT & LENGTH
Time In-Game
Source: Amazon Appstore, March 2014
SALES & REVENUE
In-App Purchases
Day 0
112%
136%152%
100% 100% 100%
# of items / paying avg. selling price ARPPU
=×
Top 50
The Rest
Source: Amazon Appstore, March 2014
Day 1
106% 107% 113%100% 100% 100%
# of items / paying avg. selling price ARPPU
=×
SALES & REVENUE
In-App Purchases
Source: Amazon Appstore, March 2014
Top 50
The Rest
Day 3
107%122%
131%
100% 100% 100%
# of items / paying avg. selling price ARPPU
=×
SALES & REVENUE
In-App Purchases
Source: Amazon Appstore, March 2014
Top 50
The Rest
Day 7
102%
121% 123%
100% 100% 100%
# of items / paying avg. selling price ARPPU
=×
SALES & REVENUE
In-App Purchases
Source: Amazon Appstore, March 2014
Top 50
The Rest
Day 14
111% 108%120%
100% 100% 100%
# of items / paying avg. selling price ARPPU
=×
SALES & REVENUE
In-App Purchases
Source: Amazon Appstore, March 2014
Top 50
The Rest
Day 30
103%
128% 132%
100% 100% 100%
# of items / paying avg. selling price ARPPU
=×
SALES & REVENUE
In-App Purchases
Source: Amazon Appstore, March 2014
Top 50
The Rest
Does item quality alone
account for the difference in
average IAP transaction
amount?
ASSORTMENT BY PRICE POINT
Total Marketplace
Source: Amazon Appstore, March 2014
31%29%
7%
12% 11%
5%3%
1%
14%
11%
6%
3%
16% 16%
11%9%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
$0.99 $1.99 $2.99 $4.99 $9.99 $19.99 $49.99 $99.99
% of Assortment % of Sales
ASSORTMENT BY PRICE POINT
Top 50 Only
28%
15%
10%
13%11%
9% 9%
5%
32%
19%
7%
4%
10%12%
5% 4%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
$0.99 $1.99 $2.99 $4.99 $9.99 $19.99 $49.99 $99.99
% of Assortment % of Sales
Source: Amazon Appstore, March 2014
OTHER OBSERVATIONS
0 24 48 72 96 120 144 168 192 216 240 264 288 312
EARLY ENGAGEMENT IS CRITICAL
In-App Purchasing by Hour
Source: Amazon Appstore, March 2014
Hours since download
TIMING = MORE MONEY
Time = Money, but
Source: Amazon Appstore, March 2014
Engage customers early 37
%
of a customer’s value is
realized on the first day
Keep them in the game 48
%
of repeat purchases happen
within one hour of a previous
purchase
Give them a reason to come
back64%
of revenue comes
from 3rd order +
74%
of revenue occurs
after the first 7 days
56%
of revenue occurs
after the first 30 days
69%
100%
145%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
120%
140%
160%
1-5 Items 6-10 Items 11-15 Items
SELECTION DRIVES REPEAT ORDERS
More Is Better
Source: Amazon Appstore, March 2014
# of In-App Items for Sale
ARPPU
INDEX: Average = 100% 1.14%
of customers generate
30% of sales
80%
90%
100%
110%
120%
130%
140%
150%
160%
170%
1 4 7 10 13 16 19 22 25 28
PRICE SENSITIVITY DECLINES
As Price Increases over Time
Source: Amazon Appstore, July 2013
Days Owned
+60%
average
selling price
MANY PRICE POINTS MAY BE
CONFUSING
Offer Price Variety, but Not Too Much
Source: Amazon Appstore, March 2014
Conversion Rate
INDEX: Average = 100%
147%
101%
52%
0%
50%
100%
150%
200%
1-5 6-10 11-15
Price Points
BEST PRACTICES
WITH A TUTORIAL EXPLAINING
HOW TO PURCHASE ITEMS
Teach players to buy
The best tutorials show features and benefits of
each items so the customer can gauge value,
boosting conversion by up to 150%.
THE ITEMS CUSTOMERS HAVE
PURCHASED, IF APPROPRIATE
Explain how to redeem
Good post-purchase tutorials can have a
dramatic impact on repeat sales. The best ones
we saw showed 65% more repeat purchases.
WITH A TABULAR INTERFACE TO
ALLOW SHOPPING BY FEATURE
Make a simple store
Use tabs and tiles to allow users to shop by item
type, function, and price. Catalogs following this
format raised ARPPU 75% over the store
average.
TO BALANCE PRICES AND PRICE
POINTS, KEEP IT FRESH
Tune your catalog
Offer high-value items for your best customers,
but don't confuse the price list. Add new items to
expand catalog and renew interest.
ENGAGEMENT
MULTIPLIERS
OBSERVATIONS
Recap
1. IAP is accepted and will only grow
2. More time in game = more revenue
3. Players will pay for higher-priced items
4. Balanced catalogs monetize better
5. Repeat customers are critical
6. Selection drives repeat purchases
BEST PRACTICES
Recap
1. Make engagement your #1 priority
2. Show players how to purchase IAP items
3. Show how to redeem items after purchase
4. Create a simple, visually appealing store
5. Tune your catalog
Engagement & Monetization
by Top-Earning Mobile Applications
GSummit 2014, San Francisco
Connect on Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/groups/Amazonstudentgamedev/
Follow me: @PeterDotGames