App analytics and market data company Distimo released its 2012 year-in-review report this morning, revealing that while Google Play is bringing in about $3.5 million daily in its 20 largest markets, the Apple app store is bringing in more than four times the revenue: over $15 million each and every day. And while Google Play is growing faster — 43 percent versus the iOS app store’s 21 percent — the growth in iOS revenue alone is greater than the total Google Play revenue.
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App consolidation increasing
The Distimo report also revealed increasing winner-take-all behavior in the app stores.
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In the iOS app store in January 2012, 11 iPhone applications earned 10 percent of all iPhone revenue, and eight iPad apps earned 10 percent of all iPad revenue. In November, those numbers shrank, as only 7 iPhone apps earned 10 percent of the app store revenue for iPhone, and only 6 iPad apps accounted for the same fraction of total dollars.
For Google Play, the concentration is even more significant, with only 4 applications accounting for 10 percent of all Google Play revenues in November 2012.
In-app purchases still rising
In addition, in-app purchases are still rising. While prices of apps have declined over the past few years, Distimo says, in-app purchases have vastly increased.
In 2012, the proportion of revenue that publishers achieved via in-app purchases moved from 53 percent in January to 69 percent in November — a 30 percent increase in less than a year.
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Top publishers
Unsurprisingly, Apple is the top publisher on the iOS app store, and Google is the top publisher on Google Play. That’s both due to the big boys making great applications that people want (such as YouTube and Google Translate for Google, and GarageBand and iWork for Apple), as well as potentially preferential treatment on their own app stores.
The top 10 grossing publishers across both app stores, all of which publish on both iOS and Android except for Apple and Supercell, are as follows. (They are ranked by revenue, and app numbers are approximate).
- Electronic Arts (350 apps)
- Zynga (90 apps)
- Gameloft (270 apps)
- Apple (13 apps)
- Gree (230 apps)
- Platika (8 apps)
- TeamLava (74 apps)
- Rovio Entertainment (45 apps)
- Backflip Studios (80 apps)
- Supercell (4 apps)
For more information, get the report, or check the key graphics here:
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