Globally, there are 67.2 million mobile gamers who spend big on mobile games each month. In the US, 6.7 percent of all mobile gamers spend more than $25 per month on or in mobile games. Earlier this month we shared some deltaDNA data about in-app purchasing spending patterns for these mobile power users. In this follow-up post, we list four things that all developers should know about mobile power-users to help you target this elusive group more widely and successfully.
Mobile power-users are keen consumers of all types of content. Outside of playing their favorite games, they are frequently watching them. They spend vast amounts of time watching game content on Facebook, Twitch and YouTube, much more than the average mobile gamer. They are also much more likely to have Amazon Prime Streaming and Netflix; in fact, 33 percent of power-users are currently subscribed to Amazon Prime Streaming and 44 percent have a Netflix subscription. Even more interesting is that power-users also devote a lot of time to reading; 23 percent of them spend more than 15 hours per week doing so, versus 8 percent of all mobile gamers. In short, these power-users are constantly consuming content in every form, providing many outlets to reach them outside of the crowded app stores.
Power-users love participating in and viewing sports; 34 percent play soccer, 31 percent enjoy running, and 27 percent play basketball. They are far more likely to participate in sports than non-paying mobile gamers. Even more appealing from a marketing perspective is the fact that a huge amount of these power-users are also tuning into sporting events on television or online. Ninety-one percent of power-users watch sports. Considering that 43 percent of power-users in the US watch American football, Machine Zone’s estimated $4.5 million investment in 2015 and its $5 million investment in 2016 Super Bowl ads for Game of War and Mobile Strike respectively don’t seem so crazy.
Surprisingly, 84 percent of power-users have bought prepaid cards in the past. About a quarter of them buy prepaid cards at least once a week, compared to only 4 percent of all mobile gamers. For 40 percent of these power-users, prepaid cards are used for at least half of their spending on games, versus 9 percent of all mobile gamers. Developers should take note of this and consider partnering with prepaid card providers, releasing branded cards to encourage these unique users to spend money on their games.
Despite many misconceptions, power-users are the core gamer demographic we see on other traditional platforms. Globally, 71 percent of power-users are male with the majority aged 21-35. More interestingly, they spend big cross-screen, with 60 percent of them also spending big on console and 59 percent spending big on PC. This is in stark contrast with the average mobile gamer, of whom only 11 percent spend big on console and 13 percent spend big on PC. The fact that your target group is playing and interacting with video game content on other screens opens up new and exciting marketing opportunities.