Despite being small in number, app buyers are the bread and butter of the current mobile app economy, accounting for the majority of global app revenue. But their behaviour is too often simply benchmarked against that of free app users. However, it is not a binary equation. The app buyer population comprises two distinct sub-segments, which vary across many factors including scale, revenue share, demographics, app spend allocation as well as media consumption patterns. Understanding the differences of the app buying sub-segments allows for more accurate and effective marketing, targeting, and product development.

Companies mentioned in this report: King, Supercell, Glu Mobile, Zynga