It is expected that Google will change the application fee policy of Google Play starting this year and lower the fees from `30% to 15%` for apps with subscription content. With this policy, the small app platform in the app market will lose its competitiveness and Google`s market dominance will be strengthened.

Google and Apple are each receiving transaction fees for paid app sales and in-app payments on Google Play and the App Store, respectively.

Thanks to the app marketplace platform that users have to go through to use smartphones, global app researcher App Annie said that app store sales last year totaled USD 61 billion (about KRW 65,202 billion). Among them, Apple App Store is worth USD 40 billion and Google Play is USD 21 billion. In Korea, it is estimated that Google Play earned KRW 4.6 trillion in revenue in 2016, while Apple App Store earned KRW 2.206 trillion in sales (Korea Wireless Internet Industry Association survey).

Google takes 30% of it as a commission, and it can be seen that it earns at least KRW 1 trillion in sales. There was criticism in the market that platform companies were taking over fees.

Apple has introduced a policy to lower fees for apps that have "subscription content" that users will continue to own in 2016, and Google has adopted this policy on January 1. In terms of app developers, it is also a policy that secures paid users to lower the `toll tax` to Google and secure long-term users.

However, there is a growing concern in the platform industry that this policy change will further strengthen Google`s market dominance.

Especially, platforms such as `One Store`, a native Android app marketplace launched to fight against global players, are likely to become more mobile. One store is estimated to account for W904bn in 2016, accounting for only 11.8% of the domestic app market. One store is trying to earn users by paying a part of the payment amount of the game and offering it as a coupon again. However, it is difficult to break down the wall of Google because it is `rocking with eggs` It is the explanation of the person concerned.

Meanwhile, if game apps, which are the main source of revenue for Google Play, envision a new subscription revenue model to reduce transaction fees, Google`s long-term customers earn more and more gaming app launches.

One platform industry representative said, "We are still concerned that popular apps will only be released on Google Play, and that in the long run, we will have to worry about whether the app market is completely overtaken by global companies."


By Jin Hyun Jin 2jinhj@


[ copyright ⓒ The Digitaltimes ]