Understanding the Kids App Market
iLearn II Study
• Sample: 200 apps in educational category• 100 are top-selling paid apps • Analysis based on –
– Age– Price– Subject/skill-set– School usage– Branding
Basic Numbers
• 39% of children 2-4 years old have touch screen device
• 52% of children 5-8 years old have touch screen device
• 25%+ of parents have downloaded an app for their child
App Numbers
• The percentage of apps for children has risen in every category, accompanied by decrease in apps for adults
• 80%+ of apps in the education category target children
• In 2009, 47% of top selling apps targeted preschool or elementary aged children
• In 2012, 72% target that age group• Apps for kids 11-14 years old saw 14% increase
App Numbers
Kids Apps Top the Charts
• 60% of the 25 top-selling apps target toddler/preschool children
• Only 20% of the overall sample targets 6-11 years old– But 50% of top sellers target this age group
Kids Apps Top the Charts
The Discovery Problem
• There 500,000 apps in Apple’s App Store• 300,000 in Android market• “You can spend a lot of time creating an
app, only to find out that the marketing is just as hard as the development.” – Lorraine Akkeman (Moms with Apps).
Marketing
• The 4 P’s– Product– Price– Promotion– Place
• Cross promotion – Think of developers as colleagues, not
competitors
Price• Average price has risen by $1
2009 – $1.13
2011 – $2.14
• Kids apps are $1 less than Apps for adults
Price• Most kids apps priced $0.99 or $1.99
• iLearn II Suggestion:
Developers should not default to lowest price
Subject & Skill-set
• Most popular: General early learning• Issue: Kids most in need of early learning
help don’t have access to apps
Subject & Skill-set
Subject & Skill-set
• STEM apps are popular– Science– Technology– Engineering– Math
• Very few literacy apps– May be underserved market
School Usage
• 14% of apps mentioned school usage• Types
– Marketed to consumer– Study aids, test prep– Aligned to standards
• Interesting trend by age
School Usage
Branding
• Of entire sample, only 2 apps based on mainstream branded characters
**Only looking at Education category, NOT Games
Device
• 46 apps in top charts on both devices– Exploiting true functionality of each device?
• More iPad apps for toddler/preschool age group than iPhone– Opposite true for kids 6-11 years old
Device
Prices by Device
• Price range –– iPad $0.99 to $4.99– iPhone $0.99 to $19.99
• Average price – – iPad $2.07– iPhone $2.76
Emerging Opportunities• Apps for 6-11 aged children
– 20% overall sample targeted this group– 50% top-sellers targeted this group– Same trend for preschoolers in 2009 study
• Although kids app prices up by $1, it’s still less than those for adults
• Very few apps target beyond general early learning