What are App Store In-App Purchases?
App Store in-app purchases are the extra features, benefits, and/or content users buy inside iOS apps.
Not every app offers in-app purchases. Those that do will state what’s offered and how much it costs in the “In-App Purchases” section of their app product pages.
For app marketers, the “App Store In-App Purchases” metric calculates the number of in-app purchases made on Apple devices running macOS 10.14.1, iOS 8, or tvOS 9, and beyond. It’s important to note that both introductory price subscriptions and subscription renewals are included in this metric. But restored in-app purchases, even ones that come from different devices than the device originally used to make the in-app purchase, are not included.
There are three kinds of in-app purchases you should be aware of: subscriptions, non-consumable in-app purchases, and consumable in-app purchases.
- “Subscriptions” refer to content that users can pay to access for specific amounts of time. A monthly subscription to Spotify is a good example.
- “Non-consumable in-app purchases” are items users buy once and can use continually, even if they change devices, as the in-app purchase is tied to their Apple ID. Bonus levels in a game are a good example.
- “Consumable in-app purchases” are items that need to be repurchased on a regular basis. Coins and other forms of currency in games are a good example.
