Gen Next iPhone Application Development: How crucial is in-app purchasing?
Early this month, Amazon announced that it had enabled in-app purchasing for apps on the Amazon store. The move ensures that Amazon can remain competitive with Apple and Google, both of whom have enabled in-app purchasing in their stores.
The move was first made by Apple in 2009, during the launch of its iPhone 3.0, and was met with great excitement by iPhone application developers. The truth is that in-app purchasing is crucial for successful iPhone application development, a fact that was realised by other app platforms once Apple had embraced the model.
But before we look at why in-app purchasing is so crucial to iPhone application development and for iPhone application development companies, let’s first understand what is in-app purchasing?
In-app purchasing is the sale of digital commodities and services from within an app. Examples of goods and services that can be sold via in-app purchasing include new game levels, add ons, online magazine subscriptions, ebooks, etc.
The reason this is good news for iPhone app development is because it allows developers a way to generate revenue other than mobile advertisements. After the in-app purchase feature was introduced studies found that revenues for iPhone app developers shifted from advertising to virtual goods, with virtual goods sales generating 8 times the revenues as advertising.
In-app purchasing also fosters a more long-term bond between customers and developers. Before in-app purchasing once customers bought the product from the developer their relationship ended. By developing iPhone applications with inbuilt stores and items for sale, developers can now build relationships with their customers.
Further, in-app purchasing leads to better apps and more upgrades as iPhone application developers and iPhone application development companies have more of an incentive to add features to their apps and develop more advanced versions of them. This leads to better quality of and more complex apps on the Apple Store.
As in-app purchasing continues and evolves as a feature even in later models of the iPhone, such as the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S, and as other Google and Amazon also embrace the trend, developers can cheer as apps become a way to generate long-term income even post their initial sale.
Author: The Author is a leading iPhone developer at softwaredevelopers.co.uk, with huge experience in dealing with up-and-coming iPhone Application Development genres
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