Sub Club by RevenueCat · 2025-03-11

How to Unlock Revenue Growth on Google Play — Tammy Taw, Google

Short episode for RevenueCat's State of Subscription Apps report. Tammy Taw (Google Play business growth consultant) shares Play-wide data: in Asia, Africa and the Middle East almost half of buyers purchase consumable IAPs rather than subscriptions; hybrid buyers are ~7% of buyers but ~25% of revenue and spend ~3x more. Her advice: optimize subscriptions first (payment methods such as installments, intro offers, prices localized for emerging markets ~40% cheaper), then add consumables, and sequence offers by user signals to avoid decision paralysis.

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3 tactics

Practitioner pattern · Tammy Taw (Works at Google Play; recommends Play Store features such as installment payments, Play Console benchmarking and Play Academy)

Once subscriptions plateau, sell repeatable one-off packs like credits, boosts or class bundles

Hybrid buyers: ~7% of buyers, ~25% of revenue, spend ~3x more (Play-wide data)

First optimize the subscription business; once most remaining users won't pay recurring, add consumable IAPs that can be bought again and again: tips/gifts in social apps, boosts or 'send flowers' in dating, packs of classes in fitness, AI generation credits or message quotas, higher video quality tiers. Prefer repeat-purchase consumables over one-time lifetime unlocks ('this paintbrush for a lifetime'), which leave nothing more to sell. Think in buyer cohorts and wallet sizes to limit cannibalization; accept that average revenue per paying user may drop while buyer percentage rises, and check LTV, acquisition and operating costs before deciding. Strongest in comics, dating, social and tools, and in Asia, Africa and the Middle East where almost half of buyers purchase consumables.

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Sub Club by RevenueCat · 2025-03-11

Practitioner pattern · Tammy Taw (Works at Google Play; recommends Play Store features such as installment payments, Play Console benchmarking and Play Academy)

Set cheaper local prices in fast-growing emerging markets, about 40% below US/Europe

No app results given; Play says local pricing lifts conversion and revenue

In top markets, especially those with rapid new-user growth, fit prices to the market instead of reusing US/Europe prices. Base the price on local willingness to pay, cultural differences and the price of alternatives and substitutes. Emerging-market prices on Play average about 40% lower than developed markets. Pair with the Play Console benchmarks to compare against peers.

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Sub Club by RevenueCat · 2025-03-11

Practitioner pattern · Tammy Taw (Works at Google Play; recommends Play Store features such as installment payments, Play Console benchmarking and Play Academy)

Let people buy the cheaper yearly plan but pay for it month by month

Add payment methods beyond credit card. Google Play offers installment subscriptions: the user commits to a full year at the (cheaper) yearly price but is billed monthly. Also test the intro offer type (trial vs discount, discount size, trial length).

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Sub Club by RevenueCat · 2025-03-11

Numbers mentioned

Who	Metric	Value	Context	When
aggregateGoogle Play buyers in eastern/emerging markets (Asia, Africa, Middle East)	share	50% approximate	Share of users buying consumable IAPs rather than subscriptions ('almost half'); they also buy repeatedly	3:02
aggregateGoogle Play hybrid buyers (subscription plus IAP) vs subscription-only buyers	arpu	3 x/year approximate	Annual spend of hybrid buyers relative to subscription-only buyers; also ~3x IAP-only buyers. Dating is an exception	8:58
aggregateGoogle Play hybrid buyers (subscription plus IAP)	share	7% approximate	Hybrid buyers as a share of total buyers (average)	11:47
aggregateGoogle Play hybrid buyers (subscription plus IAP)	share	25% approximate	Hybrid buyers' share of revenue ('a quarter')	11:47
marketApp prices in emerging markets vs developed markets (Google Play)	price	+-40% approximate	Emerging-market prices are about 40% lower than developed-market prices	10:41