Amazon Appstore for Android streamlines developer payouts

June 20, 2012 | By Jason Ankeny

Amazon is updating its Amazon Appstore for Android distribution terms to award developers 70 percent of the list price on each premium app sale, bringing the storefront in line with rival app marketplaces.

Appstore for Android grants Amazon the power to discount applications and games at its discretion, and in the past, the company awarded developers 70 percent of the current sale price or 20 percent of the list price (whichever was greater). Beginning July 1, Amazon will streamline the process, giving developers 70 percent of the retail price regardless of any promotional discount. In addition, Amazon is improving its software submission process to offer developers greater control over the timing of app releases and updates.

Beginning this summer, Amazon Appstore developers also can begin marketing their Android apps to consumers in the U.K., Germany, France, Italy and Spain. Amazon will offer tips and resource files to help developers localize their apps for each market. The digital retailer will allow partners to determine which specific nations they wish to target and enable pricing flexibility on a market-by-market basis. Amazon said it plans to open its Amazon Mobile App Distribution Portal to additional overseas markets in the near future.

Developers generate substantially greater revenues per user in Amazon Appstore for Android than in the rival Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) Play storefront, according to recent data published by app store analytics firm Flurry. For every $1 generated by Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) pacesetting App Store for iOS, Amazon Appstore yields an average of $0.89 per user, while Google Play earns developers just $0.23 per user, Flurry reports. It credits Amazon Appstore's success to the company's digital retail expertise, noting that Google's strengths are its search tools and advertising technologies.

Amazon Appstore for Android introduced its In-App Purchasing service in April, enabling developers to offer premium digital content and subscriptions within applications and games. The service leverages Amazon's signature 1-Click purchase technology to simplify the checkout process. Some developers have seen revenues double since In-App Purchasing went live, according to Amazon Appstore Vice President Jim Adkins.

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