Google Play saw significant growth in app downloads and revenue in Italy throughout 2012. Downloads from Google Play increased 61% from January to October, outpacing the 11% growth of the iOS App Store. By October, Google Play downloads exceeded those from the iOS App Store for the first time. However, the App Store still generated substantially more revenue, though Google Play revenue grew more than four times over the year. The rise of Android in Italy appears likely to continue as its installed base increases.

1. GOOGLE PLAY TAKES THE
LEAD IN APP DOWNLOADS
IN ITALY
OWEN JAGO

2. October in the Italian app stores
 Free vs. paid apps
 Changes over time
 The European context
What’s driving Google Play growth?
 The Italian smartphone market
 Top app categories
 Android gaming
 Influence of new apps
 Distribution of downloads
Future of the Italian app market
 Revenue trends
OUTLINE

3. • Total of 40.4 million apps were
downloaded from Google
Play, 36.3 million from iOS App
Store.
• 1.96 million paid apps were
downloaded from the App Store
(5%).
• Google Play received 394,000
paid app downloads (1%).
PAID VS. FREE APPS
Total downloads from app stores, Italy, October 2012

4. • Revenue to iOS publishers in
October - 3.81 million. Google
Play only delivered $1.02
million.
• Significant growth in revenue
from Google Play in Italy
throughout 2012.
• Google Play revenue more
than quadrupled in 2012.
• Over the same time, revenues
from the App Store grew only
25%, but still well ahead.
Revenue per month ($)

5. • January – October 2012, app downloads from
Google Play in Italy increased by 61%, whilst iOS
app downloads increased by 11%.
• The largest growth in downloads for iOS coincides
with the release of iPhone 5 and iOS 6 (both
September 2012).
CHANGES OVER TIME
% Change in monthly app downloads

6. • At the start of the year, downloads
from Google Play were only 56% of
downloads from the App Store,
increasing to 78% in June and finally
to 110% in October.
• Given this pattern, it seems likely that
Android’s dominance of app
downloads in Italy will keep growing.
THE EUROPEAN CONTEXT
• In almost all European markets where Google Play
downloads are tracked, Android has made gains
relative to App Store downloads in 2012.
http://public.tableausoftware.com/views/iOSAndroidratioEuropeanMarkets/Sheet1?:embed=y&:display_count=no
Ratio of monthly downloads - Google Play:iOS

7. WHAT’S DRIVING THE RISE IN
ANDROID APPS?

8. THE ITALIAN SMARTPHONE MARKET
• If the current distribution of sales continues, Android will have a substantial advantage in terms of
installed user base.
• Italians listed a good operating system as the second most important factor when choosing a new
smartphone.
57%
smartphone
sales are
Android
31 million
smartphones in Italy

9. TOP APP CATEGORIES
• Every one of the top 10 Android categories in October experienced growth in 2012.
• In the App Store, most of the top categories for October experienced relatively substantial
decreases in downloads from January to October 2012.
• No single category was responsible for the relative gains for Android in Italy.
Downloads per app category, Italy, October 2012

10. ANDROID GAMING
• Games are the most used non-phone application
for smartphone users in Italy, with 52% of
smartphone owners using them for games.
• At the start of 2012, game downloads from Google
Play were only at 52% of those from the App Store.
• Android game downloads increased 73% between
January and October, while game downloads on
iOS dropped by 18%.
• Android downloads now exceed iOS game
downloads by 10% (as at October 2012).
% of total game downloads (iOS + Google Play) in each app store

11. • Strongest growth throughout 2012 has been in the casual gaming subcategory, but growth
exceeded 80% for the year in four of the six subcategories tracked.
• The cards subcategory finished with a weak October, but all others remained strong, giving a
positive signal for future growth in Android gaming.
% change in Google Play gaming subcategories, Italy 2012

12. • Worldwide, revenue from Google Play and iOS gaming is approximately 4 x gaming-
optimised handhelds.
• In Italy in October, games amassed 48% of all revenue from Google Play, despite only
making up 38% of app downloads.
• In the App Store for the same month, games comprised 40% of downloads but amassed
51% of revenue.
• Revenue from games in the app store recently made massive gains, increasing 54% in just
three months.

13. • Despite the building
momentum, Google Play games
have a significant way to go before
dethroning iOS games in revenue
generation.
• Revenue per game downloaded
grew steadily for iOS throughout the
year from $0.13 per download in
January to $0.19 per download in
October.
• This advantage is likely to dwindle
with time as downloads of Google
Play games grow more rapidly in
Italy.
Gaming revenue per month ($)

14. INFLUENCE OF NEW APPS
• In the last 8 months more new apps
made the top 100 most downloaded
apps in the App Store than in Google
Play.
• For the month of October, 282 new
apps released in the App Store had
made the top 100 downloaded apps,
compared with 250 in Google Play.
• It is not so much compelling new apps
that are driving growth in Google Play
downloads, but rather a gathering
momentum for the platform itself.
No. of apps released in 2012 reaching top 100 ranks in each month

15. INDIVIDUAL BRILLIANCE?
• Top apps by downloads indicate that the iOS App Store was more reliant on a single app.
• YouTube app on iOS was downloaded over 50% more times than WhatsApp Messenger on Google
Play.
• Apps in positions 1 to 10 in Google Play all exceeded downloads of Podcasts (position 2 in iOS).
Difference in number of downloads in top 10 ranks

16. DISTRIBUTION OF
DOWNLOADS
• The estimated daily downloads to reach the
number 1 rank in Google Play is
significantly lower than for iOS.
• Top position in the App Store required 2.2
times the number of downloads for the top
position of free apps in Google Play.
• Outside the top position, a greater
proportion of total downloads were required
in the Google Play store to reach any given
position.
Estimated daily downloads for ranking positions in Google Play
Estimated daily downloads for ranking positions in iOS
Difference between app ranking distributions

17. FUTURE OF THE ITALIAN APP MARKET
• Significant increase in revenue for all top publishers in Google Play.
• 2 of the top 3 publishers in revenue are based in Europe (although none are local to
Italy).
Top publishers by revenue, Google Play, Italy, Oct 2012

18. FUTURE OF THE ITALIAN APP MARKET
• Based on the trends over this year and around Europe, it seems likely that app downloads from
Google Play will continue to lead.
• Overall, the market is showing
positive signs for developers in the
Android market with increases in
revenue and price per download.
• iOS App Store remains well ahead
for revenue generation, so it will be
interesting to see if the situation
changes in the future.
Revenue ($) per download in 2012