Opinion: The case for niche and specialty mobile app stores

Betcade CEO David Chang argues why now is the time for operators to move towards specialist mobile app stores

We’ve talked a lot about the challenges of distribution on Android. What we haven’t talked about as much is arguably an even larger issue, that of app discovery. Over the past several years, there has been a lot of discussion around how to solve the discoverability problem in the app stores.

In 2009 the Apple Store hosted around 5,000 apps, and according to a report carried out by Sensor Tower, that number is now set to reach just over 2 million in 2016. Fast forward to 2020 and the forecast is set to hit a staggering 5 million. On the Google front, earlier this year an estimated 2 million apps were reported to be available on the Google Play platform according to analytical experts, Statista.

There’s no doubt that hosting so many apps in such little time indicates healthy mobile growth, but it also paves a clear direction for our future which, barring any changes, looks challenging.

And it begs another question; do you believe you’re being exposed to the content you’re interested in during app discovery across these platforms? Do you feel your needs are fulfilled as a customer? What about as an operator?

The numbers are ugly

The unfortunate truth is that 90% of apps on the App Store are completely undiscovered, having very few downloads or none at all. That number has been on the rise since the launch of the App Store and discovery has never been more challenging.

Referred to as “App Zombies”, a recent study by Adjust also indicates that the shortage of placements could be the reason for the rise of these undiscovered apps. A suggestion that it’s not just a question of quality and mass, but really about the lack of curation and opportunity within these ecosystems. For example, did you know that unless you appear in any position on one of the tens of thousands of lists for two out of three days across a one-month period, that your app is not considered as ‘discovered’? That’s a hefty requirement for any developer or publisher and when you have more than 2 million apps all gunning for success, it puts competitor analysis and user discovery into perspective.

Depending on how much marketing spend is in place, some apps might receive a few downloads upon release while some never receive any at all. Even successful apps can fall victims to a crowded marketplace which can be just as detrimental. For instance, a game might receive thousands of downloads at launch but not even reach the bottom of the games list, therefore branding it unsuccessful. As a result, it won’t be discovered organically and will only be ‘found’ by directly searching for the product by name. No matter how big or small your marketing budget, the fact you’re unable to reach your targets because of the lack of curation and opportunity is unfortunately out of your control. And the rankings don’t fluctuate much. Recent findings on both the App Store and Google Play also show that the top apps from the biggest publishers dominate these lists.

With 5 million apps set to be hosted in four years’ time, it raises plenty of questions over the future of discovery, fragmentation and equal opportunity for both users and developers. If we’re struggling now, how will we cope with another 3 million apps on top of that?

Clearly, the time for niche and specialty app stores is now.

The luxury of focus

There is a definite trend in both online and brick and mortar retailers away from big box and toward specialty stores. According to Harvard Business Review, “The appeal of the latter is an edited, or even curated, selection of goods targeted to specific customers who self-select into shopping at the store — and these smaller stores often provide superior, personalised service… As a whole, the specialty segment of retail is growing while most other sectors have been on the decline.”

We can expect that trend to manifest on mobile platforms as well. Further, an app store targeted to a particular audience and content vertical means greater efficiency and higher ROI: users are coming to that store because they are specifically interested in your apps.

I’d also argue that specialty app stores will be more secure. Their focus and smaller scale allows greater attention to the content and a closer relationship with app providers which means there’s not much chance for something bad to get through, something else we’ve seen a lot in the news lately. At Betcade, not only do we personally know all of the operators we are talking to, we are only allowing licensed apps on the store.

The narrower focus of a specialty app store also enables things like robust customer and operator support with a deep knowledge of the content and industry, active discovery and promotional campaigns on the behalf of apps in the store, and a business model and user experience that are tailored to the consumers in a particular industry.

Millions of users worldwide are already downloading hundreds of millions of apps through third party app stores. As developers and publishers see greater returns from these app stores, their importance as an integral part of app distribution strategies will continue to grow.