App store analysis
Canalys' App Store Analysis service has been developed to provide intelligence and ongoing comprehensive analytical support to help executives make better decisions around investments in app stores. It addresses how to manage them and drive customer traffic, how to attract and, ultimately, how to optimize profits.
App stores have to appeal to two different groups to succeed: developers and end users. Companies running app stores must drive strategies that encourage and entice broad developer engagement, without compromising on the quality of the experience delivered to end users.
The service addresses this core challenge as well as wider issues including:
App stores: strategic choices
- Which hardware and software platforms should be supported?
- Should you build your own solution or work with partners?
- How can you deliver business value and a return on investment?
Business model, competition and differentiation
- What are the leading competitors' strategies and weaknesses?
- What is the global app store revenue opportunity for 2011, and what is the growth potential for the next five years?
- How is the revenue being generated, and how is the mix between paid downloads, in-app purchasing, advertising, etc, changing?
- What business models are proving successful?
- How can you attract and retain developers?
- Challenges around localization, billing and payments, licensing and regulation?
- How should you address browser-based applications?
App store best practice
- How can you optimize discoverability and purchase triggers?
- How can you encourage customer engagement?
- What business and technical services should you provide to developers?
- What are the growth areas?
The App Store Analysis draws on Canalys' leadership position in closely monitoring the shipments, uptake and usage of smart phones, pads, and other mobile devices. It presents a view of the total addressable market for the various stores, which is partly informed by Canalys' long-standing, highly detailed research on the devices and operating systems.
The views of the developers are, of course, a key component of the app store evolution. Our research links with developers help us to answer questions about how easy it is for developers to support multiple platforms, and how they can be attracted to a particular app store.
Coverage
- Canalys' App Store Analysis service is a global service, looking at app store trends and developments around the world for clients based all around the world.
- The service focuses on app stores across a wide range of mobile devices, from feature phones to smart phones and pads or tablets.
The App Store Analysis service focuses on the issues clients face in establishing, developing, implementing and refining their organizations' app store strategies. The service offers a range of deliverables and provides ongoing analysis and support.
Written analytical reports and pulses
The service provides a regular stream of written analysis focused on the wide range of strategic and business-oriented issues affecting those responsible for mobile app store strategies. Reports include in-depth analysis of individual stores, discussion and perspective on pertinent developments in the mobile space around applications and app stores particularly, and analysis and recommendations around business models, best practice in store design and management, and strategic decisions for prospective app store providers.
Databases and forecasts
While the service provides rich qualitative analysis, it also offers a number of deliverables providing quantitative insights into the development of mobile app stores. For example, total addressable market forecasts are provided for leading app stores, along with five-year global forecasts that size different device types. Additional supporting databases are also included.
App store experience index
To be successful, a application store has to attract and cater to two crucial constituent groups: consumers and developers. The Canalys app store experience index is a unique tool which indicates how well various leading app stores are managing to deliver excellent experiences to consumer and developers. Canalys assesses how well app stores fulfil the various requirements and engagement drivers of both groups, with analysts considering and rating more that 60 factors. These are weighed according to their relative importance and the scores are combined and plotted on the experience index quadrant.
Enquiry support
As with all Canalys services, the App Store Analysis service includes unlimited enquiry access to our responsive team of mobile analysts around the world. This provides the opportunity for clients to customize the service to their own requirements, using Canalys analysts as an external sounding board for their own app store strategies or perspectives, asking questions around trends and developments in the market, and seeking particular advice, recommendations or insight around any app store-related subject. Canalys analysts always strive to offer insightful answers to client questions wherever possible and work hard to respond within 24 hours.
Analyst workshops
In addition to the enquiry service, Canalys also includes analyst workshops in the App Store Analysis service as standard to help ensure individual clients get the most from the service. These will typically involve a face-to-face session with a Canalys analyst focused on a client's app store strategy and covering a number of issues they wish to gain on outside perspective on. These may include questions, for example, around the future and importance of web apps versus native apps, how to improve app discoverability or the merits of various business models. Analyst workshops are tailored as far as possible to the client's needs and requirements.
