As of early 2013, mobile device users spent 158 minutes daily on their devices, and 127 minutes using apps. Only 31 minutes were spent on a browser. Most smartphone and tablet users spend 80% of their time on apps, of which 32% is spent on games and 18% on Facebook.
You don’t have to be a business librarian to find this information interesting. If you’re developing apps or wanting to publish online games, you NEED to know this information. For example, if you want to make a living from the app you developed, you need to know that the platforms get about a 30% cut of any revenue generated from your app.
Or, you have an electronic game you want to publish. Here is some industry trend information that may be of use to you: The global electronic games industry is so vast that it already rivals the categories of adult and children’s books in terms of total 2013 revenues (at least $65 billion globally including hardware, software and subscriptions). Analysts at PWC estimated the global market for electronic gaming is $63.4 billion (2012), and projected growth to $86.9 billion for 2017. The “traditional” game segment (PlayStation, etc.) peaked, and will decline to $43 billion in 2016 (PCW), which at that point will be only about 50% of the total market.
The fastest growing segment is mobile games played on smartphones and tablets. Mobile gaming has, to a large extent, become an industry of its own, with startup firms such as Rovio and GungHo showing stunning growth. This is information you can use if you’re entering that market.
Is there a way to access this and other industry information in an easy-to-read and easy-to-understand way? Can you get the industry and market trend information free?
Yes!
All of the research and information above came from one source, Plunkett Research Online, one of the many business databases accessible from the Poudre River Libraries AnswerCache eResource collection. Plunkett Research Online tracks over 40 industries from Advertising and Branding to WiFi, Wireless and RFID industries. From Alternative Energy industry to Hotels and Hospitality industries, from Green Technology to Nanotechnolgy. Plunkett presents the total picture of an industry, including finances, markets, technologies, statistics, regulation, research and development and globalization; and provides financial and contact information for thousands of global and U.S. companies. Need gaming industry statistics? Need to know which trade associations might help you with your app development? Need to know the leading game publishing companies? Plunkett has the latest industry and market trend information.
Plunkett Research Online is only one of several industry and market research publishers accessible through the Library’s business eResources. The Library also subscribes to First Research, a collaborative publication by Hoover’s, Dun & Bradstreet and Mergent. First Research tracks industry and market trends for over 900 industries, including finances, markets, technologies, regulation, research and development, statistics and globalization. Unlike Plunkett, First Research also provides business challenges, competitive landscape and cost benchmarks comparing industry ratios.
Other industry and market trend information can be found in the Library’s Encyclopedia of American Industries which includes detailed profiles of over 1,000 manufacturing and service industries; Encyclopedia of Emerging Industries which details industries that are pioneering new technologies, and newer industries such as biometrics, risk management services, satellites, special tourism and more; and Encyclopedia of Global Industries which chronicles the history, development and current status of the world’s most lucrative and high profile industries.
Okay, back to apps: The most popular apps include games, such as Angry Birds, tools such as Google Maps, the Facebook app, and entertainment and media related apps, such as those for Pandora Internet-based radio and for leading newspapers. At the same time, important apps provide tools for business people, travelers, students, hobbyists, wine drinkers, people who like to cook, job seekers, students, children, sports fan, shoppers, car enthusiasts and myriad other special interest niches.
One problem for app developers, however, is marketing their products. Aside from “Top 10” lists on store web sites, it is difficult to reach potential consumers with new releases among the hundreds of thousands of others available. Developers are hiring “pay for install” companies that promise set numbers of installations (helping new apps to rise from obscurity to best seller lists). Costs for the service run from $1.50 per $1.80 per installation. Developers are also pre-buying a number of downloads. Analysts at venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers estimate that developers are spending between 60% and 70% of their gross income on marketing (Plunkett Games, Apps and Social Media 2013).
First, there was dial-up and Internet service providers like the original AOL.com; we were “sometimes-on.” Then, with the adoption of broadband (via DSL, cable modem or smartphone) and higher Internet access speeds, we became “always-on.” Now we’re “always-with-you.” Soon, according to industry experts, the industry trend will be “always-around-you.” We’ll be connected to, and collect data from, an astonishing array of objects ranging from automobiles to appliances and air conditioning systems to monitors that record our individual health statistics. We’ll have wearable computing devices, such as Google Glass, and embedded computing that enables rooms to recognize you when you enter and automatically configure nearby devices to your personal preferences.
You can find these and more industry trends by having the Library “always-with-you,” at home, at the office, coffee shop–anywhere you have Internet access by going to www.poudrelibraries.org eResources Business & Finance AnswerCache eResources.