Vast majority of free-to-play users have never purchased in-app – report

Only 2.2 per cent of free-to-play users spend any money on in-app purchases, a new study has found.

Re/code reports on new research from app testing firm Swrve, with CEO Hugh Reynolds stating that the findings are a word of caution around user acquisition.”

While 2.2 per cent is surprisingly low, the fact that 46 per cent of all free-to-play revenue comes from just 10 per cent of that figure – or .22 per cent of all players polled – is even more shocking.

The report also investigates the difficulty of player retention. 66 per cent of tracked users quit playing their games within 24 hours of of downloading them, while 53 per cent of user spending happened within the first seven days after downloading an app.

Reynolds stressed that developers need to focus more on keeping users engaged after the app has been downloaded, instead of just worrying about total download numbers.