An Exploratory Study on the Determinants of Smartphone App Purchase

Along with the growth of the smartphone market, the furnishing of diverse and plentiful mobile Apps is surfacing as the key competitiveness of smartphones. The mobile App market has been appraised as a competitive new market carrying huge potential. Although many users download and use paid and free Apps from App Store and App Market, relevant research regarding consumer app buying is virtually non-existent. This study aims to examine the key determinants in deciding the purchase of Smartphone Apps. Because customers may have different consideration factors in deciding the purchase depending on the App type, we first classified Apps into 4 types: Productivity, Entertainment, Information, and Networking, With interviews with 30 App buyers, we identified the antecedents in the purchase of App in each type and compared them across the four types. This study has several implications for research and practice. Especially, the findings provide guidance to App developers and marketers in promoting the sales of App.