Online In-Game and In-App Purchases

The business model of offering a free app that presents the possibility of making in-app purchases is based on the fact that the free downloading of apps enables consumers to try out a game or application and acquire a taste for it, and to then be induced to spend on such things as fictional currencies, additional content or bonuses, in order to “improve their experience.” For example: the Smurfs’ [...] Our research thus studies the operation of in-app and in-game purchases intended for children as well as adults, in order to identify the consumer issues raised by this business model and to identify possible solutions to the problems observed in the course of our study. [...] In a report published in 2013, The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) attributed the boom in mobile apps to the following factors: • More mobile website platforms and inducements to use them; • The availability of more affordable smartphones; • The availability of affordable high-speed Internet connections; • More subscribers with a data and voice package; 12 STATISTA, N [...] The popularity of mobile apps among consumers, and the desire of industry actors to use apps as the best way to raise their revenues, make it necessary to understand the economics underpinning the apps. [...] To better understand the various stakeholders’ respective obligations and to evaluate the effectiveness of applicable consumer protection laws, we must first understand the role of each player in the app universe.