‘Less than one percent of mobile gamers account for half of in-app purchases’

According to e-commerce company Swrve, a very small percentage of mobile gamers generate revenue from in-app purchases. Half of the money spent comes from 0.15 percent of the players. Overall, 1.5 percent of mobile gamers occasionally make in-app purchases.

That’s what Swrve says in a research report that the company has put online. The market researcher sampled 10 million mobile game players in January this year and looked at how much they spend on in-app purchases. It found that developers’ revenue from in-app purchases mainly comes from a very small number of players. According to Swrve, 0.15 percent of the total number of mobile gamers surveyed is responsible for half of the revenue.

In January, 1.5 percent of players bought something within an app. Most of these players bought something once. About 13.2 percent of players who made an in-app purchase made five or more purchases in the month of January. Players who made in-app purchases spent an average of $15.27, which translates to about $11.15. On average, these players make their first purchase within the first 24 hours of playing the game in question for the first time.

Swrve provides services to mobile developers, including providing in-app purchases and sending push notifications. As a result, the company can draw on self-collected data, but it is unclear how representative the sample is.