Prevalent Business Models for the Apple App Store

Mobile applications, commonly known as apps, have become a significant line of business for IS commerce. There is an App for that! With this slogan Apple suggests that there is app out there for many uses and indeed for every circumstance within our everyday life. However, there is a lack of knowledge of what business models prevail in successfully developing and capitalizing an app. This paper aims to investigate prevalent business models. For this purpose, approximately 300 successful apps from the Apple App Store were analysed. Moreover, 10 semi-structured interviews were carried out with app developers who have successfully placed an app within the top charts of the Apple App Store. It is notable that content-driven apps entertaining users in combination with a ‘freemium’ or ‘in-app’ revenue model dominate the Apple app market. App developers clearly define their target group, specify their market cultivation, and try to avoid free apps.