u.s. itunes app store: sellers

Ben LoricaO’Reilly Research

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U.S. iTunes App Store: SellersApril 26, 2009

Data Description

U.S. iTunes App Store

Data from 7/27/2008 - present

Source: iTunes

Data Description - Definition of Seller

Seller Data from iTunes App Store

Seller

Unique Apps

36K unique apps appeared over most recent week- Paid (78%), Free (22%)

Unique Apps Per Seller

Number of Apps per Seller has been steadily increasing- 3.42 apps per seller during most recent week

Distribution of Unique Apps Per Seller

- 52% of sellers have 1 app- 80% of sellers have 3 or fewer apps- 91% of sellers have 6 or fewer apps- 95% of sellers have 9 or fewer apps

Unique Apps in each Category

Fastest-growing category is Books

(An app can be in multiple categories)

Unique Apps Per Seller - By Category

Relatively easy to launch a new Book App

Unique PAID Apps Per Seller - By Category

PAID Apps - Most Recent WeekShare of Unique Paid Apps

iTunes Category

Apps per Seller

Source: O’Reilly Research

Unique FREE Apps Per Seller - By Category

FREE Apps - Most Recent WeekShare of Unique Free Apps

iTunes Category

Apps per Seller

Source: O’Reilly Research

An app’s Launch date is the day it first appears on iTunes

The Age of an App is the number of days since the Launch date.

We compare the Age of Apps across the three largest categories: Books, Entertainment, Games

Age of Apps - App Freshness

Age of Apps - All Apps in the Category

AGE IN DAYSSource: O’Reilly Research

BOOKSENTERTAINMENT

GAMES

ALL APPS: The typical Game app is 3 months old (92 days). 25% of Game apps are 43 days old or younger.

Age of Apps - Limited to each Seller’s NEWEST App NEWEST APPS: The typical “New” Game app is 2 months old (63 days). 25% of “New” Game apps are 25 days old or younger.

AGE IN DAYSSource: O’Reilly Research

BOOKSENTERTAINMENT

GAMES

Top PAID Apps

Sellers and Top-Selling PAID Apps

Do a few sellers account for most of the top-selling apps?

6.3% of all sellers (or 1 in 16) have had at least one app appear on the TOP PAID APPS list

Refer to apps that have appeared on the TOP PAID APPS list as Hits, and the sellers who produced them as Hitmakers.

Apps That Appear on the Top 100 Paid Apps List

Average of 1.1 apps per seller, over last 4 weeks

Top Sellers & Top Paid Apps List

Hitmakers with most number of Hits (5 or more).

Sellers who have appeared on TOP PAID APPS list- Top 23 in terms of

number of apps on TOP PAID APPS list

- They account for 16% of all apps that have appeared on TOP PAID APPS list

Top Sellers & Top Paid Apps List

Sellers who have appeared on TOP PAID APPS list- 80% of such sellers

have had only 1 app on the TOP PAID APPS list

- 95% of such sellers have had 3 or fewer apps on the TOP PAID APPS list

80% of Hitmakers are “One-Hit Wonders”

Top Sellers & Top Paid Apps List

75% of Hits appear on the TOP PAID APPS LIST on 34 (different) days or fewer.

On average, a Hit appears on the list on 13 different days.

Games

Unique Apps in each Game Category

1 in 4 Game apps is a Puzzle

Unique Apps Per Seller - Game Categories

Games - Top Paid Apps

“Games” category has its own TOP PAID APPS list

Apps that have appeared on the

TOP PAID GAME APPS

list.

All Game 449Categories

Top Sellers & Top Paid Games Apps List

- Top 27 (out of 449 sellers) in terms of number of apps on TOP PAID GAME APPS list

- They account for 28% of all apps that have appeared on TOP PAID GAME APPS list

Hitmakers with most number of Hits (5 or more).

Top Sellers & Top Paid Games Apps List

Sellers who have appeared on TOP PAID GAME APPS list- 72% of such sellers have

had only 1 app on the TOP PAID GAME APPS list

- 95% of such sellers have had 5 or fewer apps on the TOP PAID GAME APPS list

72% of Hitmakers are “One-Hit Wonders”

Top Sellers & Top Paid Apps List

75% of Hits appear on the TOP PAID GAME APPS LIST on 43 (different) days or fewer.

On average, a Hit appears on the list on 16 different days.

DAYS ON LISTSource: O’Reilly Research

TOP PAID APPS LISTTOP PAID GAME APPS LIST

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