A new report from app testing firm Swrve reveals that all the money the mobile development industry is making from in-app purchases comes from a very small group of users. In fact, half of in-app revenues come from just 0.15 percent of the user base, the so-called “whales.” In the Swrve study, only 1.5 percent of people who downloaded a free app ever spent any money on it at all.
Many mobile development firms are aware of the role the “whales” play in financing games for other users. Some have even reportedly assigned staff to address the needs and concerns of their biggest spenders.
