The document discusses how the top 50 grossing apps on the Amazon Appstore perform differently than other freemium apps in key metrics like installs, active users, retention, engagement, and monetization over time. It shows the top apps have higher conversion rates and average revenue per paying user through tactics like optimizing in-app purchases, social features, and game difficulty. The document also introduces Amazon Underground as an alternative monetization method that pays developers based on total user engagement time with an app.

1. WHAT THE TOP 50 APPS DO WITH IAP THAT THE
REST OF US DON’T
Reach  Engage  Earn
MIKE HINES
DEVELOPER EVANGELIST, AMAZON
@MikeFHines mikehines45
mihines@amazon.com

2. Who is
Mike Hines
Founder @ 2 Financial Services Startups
Founder @ 2 Software Startups
QA Engineer @ Now Software
QA Manager, Product Manager @ Microsoft
Evangelist @ Amazon.com
Mentor @ GameFounders, Dev Bootcamp
Games Judge @Casual Connect Indie Prize, White
Nights, and Pocket Gamer Very Big Indie Pitch
Speaker @ GDC, GDCE, Casual Connect, Pocket
Gamer Connects, AnDevCon, White Nights, CES, PAX
Dev

3. CREDIBLY INNOVATE PHOTO
HERE
Amazon Appstore
TODAY’S AGENDA
How the Top 50 Did
What They Do Differently – Selling
What They Do Differently – Engagement

4. SELL IN 236 COUNTRIES AND TERRITORIES

5. Android
Devs
iOS devs Amazon
Fire OS
41%
48%
60%
%DevelopersabovePovertyLine
Source: Developer Economics Q3 2014 © VisionMobile, All Rights Reserved
HOW DO WE GET MORE
DEVELOPERS EARNING
MORE REVENUE
An app must make more than $500 per
month if it is to fund future app
development and marketing.
$500 per month is the app poverty line.

6. How the Top 50 apps did
vs. the rest of us

7. Cohort Analysis
Group A: Top-50 Grossing
Source: Amazon Appstore, March 2014
Group B: Rest of Freemium

8. Day 1: Installs
Group A: Top-50 Grossing
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
Source: Amazon Appstore, March 2014
Group B: Rest of Freemium
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
100100
installed

9. Day 1: Active Users
Group A: Top-50 Grossing
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiiii
Source: Amazon Appstore, March 2014
Group B: Rest of Freemium
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiiii
4142
In
active
5958
active

10. Day 1: Uninstalls
Group A: Top-50 Grossing
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
Source: Amazon Appstore, March 2014
Group B: Rest of Freemium
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiii1318
uninstalled
5958
active

11. Day 1: Paying Users
Group A: Top-50 Grossing
iii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
Source: Amazon Appstore, March 2014
Group B: Rest of Freemium
iii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiii1318
uninstalled
5958
active
33
paying

12. 2,6
2.9
Source: Amazon Appstore, March 2014
Day 1: Engagement
Group A: Top-50 Grossing
iii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
Group B: Rest of Freemium
iii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiii1318
uninstalled
5958
active
33
paying
# of sessions / active
session length / active
(minutes)
× =
avg. session length
(minutes)
6,9
7,4
1822

13. 6,9
7,4
2,6
2.9
Day 1: Revenue
Group A: Top-50 Grossing
iii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
Source: Amazon Appstore, March 2014
Group B: Rest of Freemium
iii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiii
=×
# of items / paying
100%
112%
avg. selling price
100%
136%
100%
154%
ARPPU
1318
uninstalled
5958
active
33
paying
# of sessions / active
session length / active
(minutes)
× =
avg. session length
(minutes)
18
22

14. Source: Amazon Appstore, March 2014
1 Day Later…
Group A: Top-50 Grossing
ii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
Group B: Rest of Freemium
ii
Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
# of sessions / active
session length / active
(minutes)
×
avg. session length
(minutes)
1725
uninstalled
3437
active
11
paying
=×
# of items / paying
100%
106%
avg. selling price
100%
107%
100%
114%
ARPPU
6,7
7.7
3.2
3.5
21
27=
# of sessions / active

15. 3 Days Later…
Group A: Top-50 Grossing
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
Source: Amazon Appstore, March 2014
Group B: Rest of Freemium
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
# of sessions / active
session length / active
(minutes)
×
avg. session length
(minutes)
1928
uninstalled
1923
active
=×
# of items / paying
100%
107%
avg. selling price
100%
122%
100%
131%
ARPPU
5,9
7,9
2.
6
3.2
15
25
=
# of sessions / active

16. 1 Week Later…
Group A: Top-50 Grossing
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
Source: Amazon Appstore, March 2014
Group B: Rest of Freemium
iiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
# of sessions / active
session length / active
(minutes)
×
avg. session length
(minutes)
2032
uninstalled
1418
active
=×
# of items / paying
100%
102%
avg. selling price
100%
121%
100%
124%
ARPPU
5.
7
7,4
2.
6
3.2
15
24
=
# of sessions / active

17. 2 Weeks Later…
Group A: Top-50 Grossing
iiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
Source: Amazon Appstore, March 2014
Group B: Rest of Freemium
iiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
# of sessions / active
session length / active
(minutes)
×
avg. session length
(minutes)
2134
uninstalled
1014
active
=×
# of items / paying
100%
111%
avg. selling price
100%
108%
100%
120%
ARPPU
5,7
7,3
2,5
3,1
14
22=
# of sessions / active

18. 1 Month Later…
Group A: Top-50 Grossing
iiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
Source: Amazon Appstore, March 2014
Group B: Rest of Freemium
iiii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
# of sessions / active
session length / active
(minutes)
× =
avg. session length
(minutes)
2236
uninstalled
48
active
=×
# of items / paying
100%
103%
avg. selling price
100%
128%
100%
131%
ARPPU
5,9
7.3
2,4
3.1
14
23
# of sessions / active

19. Hours Since App Download
IN-APP PURCHASING BY HOUR
Source: Amazon Appstore, March 2014
0 24 48 72 96 120 144 168 192 216 240 264 288

20. PRICE INCREASES OVER TIME
Days User Owned App
80%
90%
100%
110%
120%
130%
140%
150%
160%
170%
1 4 7 10 13 16 19 22 25 28
Source: Amazon Appstore, March 2014
+60%
average
selling price

21. WHAT WE LEARNED
The top have higher average price points
You can charge more in the right place and time.
Session length and count are important
Retention is not the only important metric.

22. What the top 50 do
differently
-- Selling

23. THE TOP DEVELOPERS KNOW THE NUMBERS
?
ENGAGE
CUSTOMER
EARLY
MAKE IT
EASY TO
COME BACK
GIVE THEM A
REASON TO
COME BACK
37% of users who will purchase, purchase
on the first day
48% of repeat purchases happen within one
hour of a previous purchase
64% of revenue comes from 3rd order +
74% of revenue occurs after first 7 days
56% of revenue occurs after first 30 days

24. Apps with tutorials that introduce IAP
items
HAVE A 2.5x HIGHER
CONVERSION RATESource: Amazon Appstore, July 2013

25. Apps showing users how to “consume”
GET MORE REPEAT
ORDERS
Games that providing a post-purchasing tutorial
generated 65% more repeat orders than the
market average.
Source: Amazon Appstore, March 2014

26. Games with bigger selection
RECEIVE MORE
ORDERS PER
CUSTOMER
Developers that add new items regularly are able to
re-engage their paying customers. 1.14% of the
customers generate 30% of sales.
Source: Amazon Appstore, March 2014
69%
100%
145%
1-5 Items 6-10
Items
11-15
Items
ARPPU by # of IAP items for sale

27. Conversion Rate
INDEX: Average = 100%
Don’t confuse your customer
OFFER VARIETY,
BUT NOT TOO
MUCH
Source: Amazon Appstore, March 2014
147%
101%
52%
0%
50%
100%
150%
200%
1-5
Price
Points
6-10
Price
Points
11-15
Price
Points

28. Where do apps
GENERATE
THE MOST
REVENUE
A 2016 study by Swrve
shows that disproportional
revenue is generated from
higher end price points.
© Swrve 2016 Mobile Monetization Report – used with permission

29. To sell more IAP items,
BE CLEAR
ABOUT VALUE
Make it obvious what the
benefit is for buying different
price items. Confused
customers don’t buy anything.

30. WHAT WE LEARNED
Games with bigger selection
RECEIVE MORE ORDERS
Tutorials that introduce in-app items
HAVE HIGHER CONVERSION
Showing users how to “consume”
GETS REPEAT ORDERS
Treating in-app items like a catalogue
MAKES IT EASY TO SHOP
1.14%
of paying customers generate
30% of sales

31. What the top 50 do differently
-- Engagement

32. REDUCE BARRIERS TO FREQUENT
USE

33. Tuning Game Difficulty
WILL ENCOURAGE
LONGER SESSIONS
Too hard, and users will abandon. Too
easy, and they can get bored. Just right,
and it becomes addictive!

34. Engaging Community
CAN CREATE BUZZ
AND KEEP USERS
ENGAGED
This will result in more friend-to-friend marketing
as players share their achievements and ranks.
Players will also compete with friends and leaders
and stay engaged.

35. Leaderboards and
Achievements are
THE MINIMUM BAR
FOR SOCIAL
ENGAGEMENT

36. User
Acquisition
Alternate
Revenue
Content
Creation
Influencers
Monetization
Loop
Game
Loop
BUILD A
COMMUNITY OF
FANS
The Top apps
A fan base creates:
• Influencers
• Content Creators
• Revenue Opportunities

37. BUILDING ADVOCATES IN YOUR COMMUNITY
Example of streaming during development

38. FAN CREATED CONTENT IN YOUR COMMUNITY

39. Communities help you
TAKE CARE OF
YOUR BEST
CUSTOMERS
The top apps communicate directly
with their top customers to keep them
happy and engaged.
© Swrve 2016 Mobile Monetization Report – used with permission

40. To be in control,
HAVE A LOT
OF LEVERS
Measure with Analytics, and
use A|B Testing to fine-tune
everything from game
difficulty to IAP menu
choices.

41. Design IAP into the
fabric of your game
MAKE IT
EASY TO BUY
Offering ways to buy your IAP
items when they are needed
will increase conversion.
Apps that made it easy to shop
INCREASED REVENUE 75% (ARPPU)
Source: Amazon Appstore, March 2014

42. WHAT WE LEARNED
Add social and tweak game difficulty to
INCREASE TIME AND COUNT OF
SESSIONS
Cater to your best and longest customers with clear value
DIFFERENTIATE YOUR IAP CATALOG
Give yourself control of your game in the wild
IMPLEMENT A|B TESTING

43. IF YOU ONLY DO ONE THING…
Cater to your best and longest customers
DIFFERENTIATE YOUR IAP CATALOG

44. IF YOU ONLY DO TWO THINGS…
Cater to your best and longest customers
DIFFERENTIATE YOUR IAP CATALOG
Make sure your IAP catalogs are
CLEAR ABOUT VALUE

45. An alternative to IAP
-- Amazon Underground

47. A new shopping app distributing
#ActuallyFree APPS
Turn 100% of your Android users into
revenue-generating customers
Developers waive fees on apps
and In App Purchase items.
Customers get #ActuallyFree
apps!
Amazon pays developers for
cumulative minutes customers
spend in an Amazon Underground
app.

48. Amazon Underground
HOW IT WORKS
• Customers go to Amazon and
download the Amazon
Underground shopping app
• Customers download your app
from Amazon Underground
• Total user minutes are multiplied by
our payout ratio
• Developer is paid

49. Underground
In an average week:
10K Users (@9
min/day)
Amazon Underground
HOW IT WORKS

50. 6,9
7,4
2,6
2.9
Day 1: Revenue
Group A: Top-50 Grossing
iii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
Group B: Rest of Freemium
iii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiii
=×
# of items / paying
100%
112%
avg. selling price
100%
136%
100%
154%
ARPPU
1318
uninstalled
5958
active
33
paying
# of sessions / active
session length / active
(minutes)
× =
avg. session length
(minutes)
18
22

51. Underground
In an average week:
10K Users (@9
min/day)
630K Minutes/week
630K x $0.002 = $1260
$1260 x 100% = $1260
Amazon Underground
HOW IT WORKS

52. Underground
In an average week:
10K Users (@9
min/day)
630K Minutes/week
630K x $0.002 = $1260
$1260 x 100% = $1260
IAP
In an average week:
10K Users (@3%
convert)
= 300 Paying Users/week
Amazon Underground
HOW IT WORKS

53. 6,9
7,4
2,6
2.9
Day 1: Revenue
Group A: Top-50 Grossing
iii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
Group B: Rest of Freemium
iii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiii
=×
# of items / paying
100%
112%
avg. selling price
100%
136%
100%
154%
ARPPU
1318
uninstalled
5958
active
33
paying
# of sessions / active
session length / active
(minutes)
× =
avg. session length
(minutes)
18
22

54. Underground
In an average week:
10K Users (@9
min/day)
630K Minutes/week
630K x $0.002 = $1260
$1260 x 100% = $1260
IAP
In an average week:
10K Users (@3%
convert)
= 300 Paying Users/week
300 x $6.00 ARPPU/week
= $1800
Amazon Underground
HOW IT WORKS

55. Getting Started
• Android
• Premium or IAP in another
store
• Open to Devs worldwide
• For customers in US, UK,
Germany and France
Qualifications
developer.amazon.com/underground

56. Learn more:
http://bit.ly/top50iap
http://bit.ly/indieunderground
http://bit.ly/marketingtips4apps
Follow us:
@MikeFHines
developer.amazon.com/blog