As a kid I remember flipping through the pages of the JCPenny catalog at Christmas time, hoping to find the perfect toy to have Santa cram down the chimney. Today, we have Google Catalogs — an app which aggregates digital versions of catalogs from more than a dozen brands covering everything from fashion and jewelry to gifts. With an endless stream of Android Honeycomb tablets on the market why did Google launch the app on the iPad first?
Money. Not all answers need to be complicated. Google understands that in order to play the percentage game it needs to target the largest audience. In the world of tablets, that audience owns iPads. A recent study by Nielsen found that 43 percent of tablet owners said they shared their tablet with others in the household. As of June 25th, Apple has sold more than 28 million iPads. With an average household size of 2.60, Google realized the potential of targeting over 72 million people by releasing the app on the iPad.
Landing a sizable target audience is only half the battle. Another factor to consider is that in order for the app to become successful (and Google to earn a commission off sales), users must be willing to spend. According to 2010 data supplied by IHS Screendigest, 2010 developer income from the iOS App Store was $1,782M USD compared to the Android Market’s $102M USD. Based on Apple’s reported 120 million iOS devices (as of September 2010), that boils down to iOS users speeding on average $21.22 per year (Android users spent $1.97/year).
There you have it. Google focused on the largest target audience which was willing to spend the most money. It’s nothing personal, an Android version of Catalogs is on its way. In the meantime, as AndroidGuys has pointed out, try out TheFind for your Android smartphone or tablet.
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