App on sale for a limited time
FutureTap, who acquired the travel guide and virtual-reality app Where To? two and a half years ago from original publisher TapTapTap, have published a graphical blog entry (reproduced below) that features unusually candid details about the sales and changes to the app over the course of its life. The app, which locates nearby establishments in map view or can present information in an “augmented reality” view, is on sale for a limited time.
The series of charts in a long tableaux reveals that so far the app has sold over 328,000 copies and earned $431,370 in revenue (the amount of profit from that revenue was not revealed). It also reveals that FutureTap paid $70,000 for the app in 2008, after TapTapTap had already sold 66,000 copies.
Along with some “fun facts” like the most popular day and hour people use the app, the stats also revealed some interesting insights into the marketing and growth of the app. Ads augmented the app’s revenue in the first couple of years, but decreased in 2009 and were eliminated entirely in 2010, which has enabled FutureTap to keep more of the profit by shifting to straight sales and in-app purchases for revenue — and although Apple still gets its cut, it’s percentage of revenue share went down when the advertising was eliminated.
The chart teases the fact that another update is expected before the end of the year, but notes the update on its timeline with a simple question mark. Since its acquisition, FutureTap has augmented the app with more local-language localizations, including country-specific business names and native-language search. This has helped the program gain a wider non-U.S. audience, growing international purchases from roughly one-sixth of sales to just over half.
Where To?’s only in-app purchase at present is a 3D “augmented reality” option that allows users to point the iOS device’s camera in a direction and see business names, locations and points of interest in the camera’s range of view. One quarter of all buyers eventually opt for the $1 in-app purchase, but more interestingly FutureTap’s innovative option of a free trial built into the app is seen to help spur sales; 58 percent of those who test the 3D option end up buying it.
To celebrate its third year in existence, FutureTap has put Where To? on sale for $1 from its normal $3 price until Sunday, August 21st.
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