According to a new report from App Store analytics firm Distimo (via The Next Web), Apple's App Store once again experienced a great spike in interest on Christmas day, with revenue increasing by 56 percent and the number of total downloads rising by 53 percent.
The firm tied the increase in downloads and revenue to interest from Western countries on Christmas day, and also credits developers such as Rovio Entertainment and ZeptoLab strategically releasing their titles just before Christmas to maximize product interest and profit potential.
Main contributors to this year’s Christmas spike were Western countries. For example: download volume in the United Kingdom increased by 161 percent on Christmas day. In addition, revenues in United States almost doubled with a plus of 97 percent in the Apple App Store. In the large Asian app markets like Japan and Korea this trend was hardly visible.
However, while the figures show strong App Store numbers on Christmas day this year, the report also notes that the percentages in 2013 are lower compared to the past two years. On Christmas day 2011, Distimo stated that there was a threefold growth in download volume compared to an average day in December, which was followed by near double download growth a year later.
Other notable Christmas 2013 findings from the firm include data showing that the increase in paid downloads was greater than that of free downloads, and that the growth of revenue from in-app purchases was less than that of the growth in revenue from apps charging a one-time fee.
Top Rated Comments
Hopefully developers who have been ripping people off with IAPs will learn their lesson.
I disagree. Gift cards are very nice. I'm $20K in debt right now. I need money more than anything else. But asking for money is no fun. Your thank you card would look something like, "Thank you for the $100. I'm now only $19.9K in debt." With gift cards though, you can say, "I used the $100 Cheesecake Factory gift card to take my fiancé out on our anniversary - without you, we would have had ramen noodles for dinner."
I also got $100 towards Macy's. We used it to buy stuff off our registry. $25 towards iTunes - we'll buy music for the reception.
A sweater? I have a relative who knits things for everyone ever year. Don't get me wrong - I wear the mittens all the time, but I definitely prefer my North Face to any sweater she could knit.
It's a long play. It's not like Apple will be selling iPhones on China Mobile for a couple weeks and then disappear.
No... Apple will be selling iPhones on China Mobile for the foreseeable future.
People seem to forget that the iPhone has been available on 2 major Chinese carriers for the last 4 years. Why would adding the 3rd major carrier ever be considered a bad thing?
I also remember hearing "if someone hasn't gotten an iPhone already... being on China Mobile won't persuade them"
Well with 100,000 pre-orders in the first 2 days on China Mobile... clearly there were some people who were interested. Do you think those are the only people EVER who will buy an iPhone on China Mobile? Of course not. Again... it's a long play.
Besides... these were pre-orders that you could only reserve online or by calling a hotline.
Let's see what happens when the iPhone is officially available on China Mobile January 17th.
Excuse me, but I prefer to buy my own clothing. When I get an iTunes gift card, I can use it to get exactly what I want. For the right person, it is the perfect gift.