u.s. itunes app store: sellers
DESCRIPTION
Thousands of sellers created the 40,000 apps that have appeared in the U.S. iTunes app store. We analyze seller behavior using several metrics.TRANSCRIPT
Ben LoricaO’Reilly Research
radar.oreilly.com/researchradar.oreilly.com/ben
twitter.com/dliman
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
Interested in Creating iPhone Apps?
training.oreilly.com
Questions?
radar.oreilly.com/research/radar.oreilly.com/ben
twitter.com/dliman