Have you ever wondered why do iOS users buy more stuff than Android users? In fact iOS users spend more money than Android users despite the fact that the amount of Apple followers is twice smaller.
Well, there’s a few reasons why iPhone users buy more stuff than Android owners do. We suppose you might be surprised on reading some of the facts we wrote about.
In this article we’ll highlight not only the trends of mobile apps marketing, but the pros and cons of developing an ecommerce app for iOS and Android. Why wait? Let’s kick off!
#1 – iPhones cost more
It’s a well-known fact that iPhones are by no means cheap gadgets. On average iPhones cost twice more than their Android fellows with similar specifications.
You could say “But there are high-end Android devices that cost as much as iPhones” and you would be right. However, those luxurious devices make up only a small part of Android phones market.
Vast majority of Android phones are way cheaper than iPhones. Hence it’s no surprise that the purchasing power of people who spend a decent amount of money for their smartphones should be higher than of people who can’t afford it.
If you compare Android vs iPhone users, they have different habits in terms of mobile shopping. Apple adherents tend to spend more money in general. No wonder they can afford more goodies on App Store than the Google Play fellows.
#2 – Android prevails in developing countries
Android has tendency to be more popular in developing countries than in the developed ones. The reason for that is simple – iPhones cost more. So people from first world countries buy expensive gadgets more often than the second and third world inhabitants.
That’s exactly why there are more Android users (around 1 billion, not counting China) compared to iOS users (around 475 million, not counting China).
It sounds crazy, but because of the higher buying power iPhone users created $10 billion revenue for Apple as opposed to only $5 billion on Android side.
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Credit cards vs cash
The truth is many people in developing countries lack credit cards. However Google has been very slow to offer carrier billing.
On top of that people from the developing countries are much more used to paper money than credit cards. That’s one of the reasons why they tend to spend less.
On the contrary, people who use credit cards usually have lower control over their expenses. That’s why credit card holders generally spend more.
Let’s take a look at a real life example comparing two shops. It’s been proven that people usually buy more stuff they don’t really need at self-checkout shops, where they have to pay with their credit cards, as opposed to the shops where they are required to pay with cash.
Considering all written above and the fact that Android share is stronger in developed countries, Google is held back from making more money than Apple.
#3 – Apple ideology
The most important thing about Apple is that they managed to create a technology that brings the interaction between people and their devices to a whole new level.
That new kind of interaction implies spending more money on entertainment and purchasing. It’s a fact, that Apple created a brand, that makes people using iPhones feel creative. It’s also a fact that creative people on average earn and spend more.
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#4 – Developers target iOS more often
All that is kind of a circular process. Developers know well that iOS users spending power is higher. Hence they are more likely to make a free app with ads for Android, which would bring them less money than a paid one for iOS.
In fact some developers don’t even bother targeting Android because they are pretty sure that iOS will bring them more revenue.
Some of them may not have enough money to create both iOS and Android apps, so they choose the former one. This whole thing becomes circular and self-fulfilling.
Black Friday statistics
To sum it all up let’s compare iOS vs Android commerce apps by taking a look at a prominent holiday shopping statistics.
You might get surprised by percent of mobile purchases made by iPhone users. Here they are: on this year Black Friday 27.7% of all online sales came from iOS devices, and only 8.3% came from phones and tablets running Android.
According to the analytics company comScore more people in the US use Android than iOS. You would think that developers should favor Android over iOS. However, the reasons we listed before prove the opposite.
Conclusion
We recommend you consider all facts we provided when developing your own app. If you are only able to target one platform, in most cases iOS would be a better choice.
Even if you are planning on targeting both platforms, there’s a reason to start from an iOS version.
Whatever you choose – iOS or Android, feel free to contact us to make your app development easy and pixel-perfect! 😉