Most Apps Mobile Users Purchase Are Free

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This piece of news will surprise absolutely no one: most smartphone and tablet applications that consumers purchase are free to download. Not free to use, necessarily, thanks to in-app purchases and upgrades, but free to download. Analysis by Statista for the Wall Street Journal shows that the consumers who spend the most on apps are iPad users, who shell out an average of fifty cents each for apps.

If that seems high, it shouldn’t: after all, apps sold by Apple start at 99 cents and prices go up from there. The analysis, based on data compiled by Flurry Analytics, shows that iPhone users spent an average of $.19 for each app downloaded, and Android users spent even less: $.06.

Naturally, users are more likely to try out an app and maybe upgrade to a “Pro” version if they find it useful. It could be that voracious consumers like retired basketball star Shaquille O’Neal mess up the average, though: he claims to spend $1,000 a week on mobile apps. Hey, every retiree needs a hobby.

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