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Lackluster sales on Chrome Web Store continue; are people ready to pay for browser-specific Web apps?
At the time of writing, the top paid app on the Chrome Web Store has 65 weekly installs. The top game fares a little better, with a few hundred weekly installs. After months of hype from Google and a delayed launch, those figures seem a little -- how can I say this -- weak?The fact is, paid-for Web apps might be taking things just a little too far. If the Web has proven one thing, other than rule 34, it's that surfers will always opt for the free option if there is one. That's not to say that users won't pay for Web apps, but in most cases Web apps are so similar to free websites that paying for them seems rather counterintuitive. It's a bit like paying for brand-name toilet paper: it might feel a little softer, but ultimately it's just a waste of money.
There seems to be a similar trend with smartphones, too: while games are selling well, many commercial apps that replicate basic, free, website-level functionality simply aren't selling well. Take a look at the list of top paid iPhone apps, where there are only two non-games in the top 20. It sure looks like users aren't willing to invest in non-essential, platform-specific apps.
Having said all that, it's still very early days for the Chrome Web Store, and relatively few users even know of its existence. Later this year we should see Mozilla's offering, too, and presumably it'll be very easy to port Chrome Web apps to Firefox. Finally, there's Chrome OS, an operating system that will only use websites and Web apps. If Chrome OS gains traction and Mozilla delivers on its Open Web Apps, mass adoption of Web apps will surely follow. Just a handful of big, paid-for apps from big names like Adobe and Microsoft would be more than enough to kick-start the Web as real platform for software development.
Comments
3
Subscribe to commentsEricJan 5th 2011 9:17AM
I think this type of content will start to bring in money with micro-transactions.. sort of a freemium model.
I think eventually, it's inevitable that people will warm up to the idea of paying for web apps. I think right now there is just a feeling of "if it exists outside of chrome, it's not an app".. people are clinging to the old idea of the internet, instead of moving into this newfangled, app-i-fied version of it.. for better or worse.
I thought it was a little crazy when my girlfriend spent $10 for maps and powerups for a flash tower defense game last year, but you know what? she really enjoyed that game and spent a lot of time with it.. i guess she's on the bleeding edge
kramerica5000Jan 5th 2011 10:06AM
Maybe it's because they can't spell ("thru" ... really and for a app for students? shame).
Sebastian AnthonyJan 5th 2011 10:26AM
@kramerica5000 I believe that's a valid spelling in America :(