Developers are trying different models to monetize their applications in app stores. There are many possibilities: one-off paid apps, subscriptions, trials, add-ons, advertising, and combinations of those. Since there are so many options, we decided to take a look at one example of an application that is trying different models.

Shozu, an application to share media, is one of the applications that went from free to a one-off paid model. At first, the application was available free of charge in the social networking category in the Apple App Store. On the 6th of June, the company decided to make the app paid and charge a one-off fee of $4.99.

To analyze the impact of this change, we made an overview of the rank Shozu had in the social networking category in both US and UK. In both countries, the app had a stable rank around 30:

Shozu rank in Apple App Store US & UK

Then, on the 6th of June, Shozu started to charge for the application. This is how their rank developed in the paid section from this moment:

Shozu rank in Apple App Store US & UK

Not surprisingly, the app got a lower rank in the US app store from the moment the $4.99 charge went live. From a rank around 30, it is now the number 59 ranked paid social networking app in the US. Interestingly enough, this decrease in rank was not as big in the UK at all. From a rank around 30, it is now the number 32 ranked paid social networking app in the UK.

We identified the same trend in other European countries. So what does this mean? Roughly, we think there are two options that are quite contradicting:

1. European iPhone users are more willing to pay for an app like Shozu than US users, so Shozu was able to maintain a high ranking;
2. European iPhone users buy less applications than US users, so it is easier to obtain a high paid ranking here.

We haven’t got the answer yet on this, and it’s also too limited to judge on just one example. Nevertheless, it’s very interesting to figure out if there are differences in the buying behavior of US and European consumers in the different app stores. We are working on detailed reports to provide more insights on this in the coming months.

Update: Shozu also started to use Apple’s In App Billing for its application today.