Consumers see apps as media products, not retail ones

For developers and app marketplaces, the paid app is a pretty well understood model. A consumer buys an app, the developer gets a cut and the marketplace gets a cut.

It is the retail model. Easy-peezy, everyone likes it.

Everyone, that is, except the consumer. They don’t seem to particularly like the retail model. To them, apps are increasingly a media product that is supported by a media business model; free stuff paid for by ads.

You should read the original post (link below) but here’s the money quote:

The People Have Spoken; It’s Time To Change The Conversation.

While consumers may not like in-app advertising, their behavior makes it clear that they are willing to accept it in exchange for free content, just as we have in radio, TV and online for decades. In light of that, it seems that the conversation about whether apps should have ads is largely over. Developers of some specialized apps may be able to monetize through paid downloads, and game apps sometimes generate significant revenue through in-app purchases, but since consumers are unwilling to pay for most apps, and most app developers need to make money somehow, it seems clear that ads in apps are a sure thing for the foreseeable future. Given that, we believe it’s time to shift the conversation away from whether there should be ads in apps at all, and instead determine how to make ads in apps as interesting and relevant as possible for consumers, and as efficient and effective as possible for advertisers and developers.

The History of App Pricing, And Why Most Apps Are Free.