Practitioner pattern · Sarah Karam (Works at Google Play; recommends Play features such as Engage SDK, custom store listings, installment payments and Play Academy)
Offer 7-day passes, weekly plans or one-off packs next to your subscription
Play says hybrid apps, often from Asia, do very well even in the US; no numbers
Workedpricingupsell-expansion
What they did
Don't copy an iOS subscription-only strategy to Android, where many users are on $200 phones (the US is one of the largest mid/entry-level Android markets). Start small: test prices and tiers, weekly subscriptions (successful in some regions but rarely used by US developers), prepaid plans, and a 7-day starter pack; a music or audio app might sell a few podcasts as a consumable, then fold what sells into the premium plan. Add a virtual currency or consumables only at a more mature stage. Korean and Japanese webtoon/web-novel apps moved from subscriptions to hybrid subscriptions + virtual currency and sell extra IP to high-value users; dating apps give subscribers access to certain consumables.
What happened
Google Play sees developers from Asia-Pacific who mix subscriptions and IAP succeed in the US; webtoon/web-novel apps see 'really good success' with virtual currencies plus subscriptions. No numbers given.
- Stage
- growth
In their words
Sub Club by RevenueCat · Insider Tips for Building Better, More Profitable Android Apps — Sarah Karam, Google“the developers who are based out of Asia-Pacific and who have been more willing to experiment with subscriptions and IAP actually tend to find really good success in the US.”
“to be as open as you can to weekly subscriptions is something we see a lot of success with in some regions, but not too many developers using it, especially out of the US. In addition to prepaid plans.”
“many webtoons and web novel developers are experimenting with their own virtual currencies with a hybrid of IAP and subscriptions, and seeing really good success”
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