Figures released from Adeven have revealed that over two-thirds of apps available in Apple’s app store are hardly ever consumed by customers – if at all!
Paolo Pescatore, director of apps & media at CCS Insight said has claimed that this problem affects other operating systems as well, stating “If you’re a new developer it’s hard to get visibility for your apps in any app store. We track the top apps being downloaded from all the major app stores and it’s always the same names. We very rarely see new players breaking through. They face a monumental challenge.”
In addition to the challenges of reaching an audience once an app has reached a download site, research from eBay found that even before entering development would-be app magnates will need to think hard about the risks they are taking. eBay’s research revealed that 64% of apps that started development were never completed or ended up being by app stores. This accounted for £3.19bn of development costs globally. Development costs for even a basic app were as high as £12,000 and more advanced apps can get as high as £55,000.
Updates can add unexpected costs to developers as well. Adapting apps to adjust to new devices and OS upgrades can cost up to 42% of the original development cost, while even basic and partial updates can cost around 17% of the initial outlay.
