Google has lowered the minimum cost of Android apps and in-app purchases in a range of emerging markets following a trial period in India earlier this summer.
The price cuts are taking effect in 17 countries including Brazil, Vietnam, Russia, Indonesia and Turkey. The new lower options are exactly that — optional — but Google believes that pricing content lower could make it more appealing to users in some cases, and thus actually drive higher revenue and return for developers.
“Every market has its own unique challenges and opportunities. Purchasing behavior, in particular, varies significantly between markets. So to provide developers with more flexibility, we’ve worked to adapt Google Play pricing options to better suit local consumers and make content more accessible,” it said in a statement.
The full list of countries and new minimum prices is below:
- Brazil: R$ 0.99 (was R$2.00)
- Chile: CLP $200.00 (was CLP $500.00)
- Colombia: COP$ 800.00 (was COP$ 2000.00)
- Hungary: Ft 125.00 (was Ft 225.00)
- Indonesia: Rp 3,000.00 (was Rp 12,000.00)
- Malaysia: RM 1.00 (was RM 3.50)
- Mexico: MXN$ 5.00 (was MXN$ 9.90)
- Peru: S/. 0.99 (was S/. 3.00)
- Philippines: ₱15.00 (was ₱43.00)
- Poland: zł1.79 (was zł2.99)
- Russia: руб 15.00 (was руб 30.00)
- Saudi Arabia:﷼ 0.99 (was 4.00﷼)
- South Africa: R3.99 (was R10.00)
- Thailand: ฿10.00 (was ฿32.00)
- Turkey: ₺0.59 (was ₺2.00)
- Ukraine: ₴5.00 (was ₴8.00)
- Vietnam: ₫6,000 (was ₫21,000.00)
Earlier this year, Google pulled a major move when it enabled developers in China to monetize their Android apps in international markets. The Google Play store is, of course, still blocked in China. There’s been speculation that the company is working to reopen it in some capacity, but, as today’s news shows, the company is very keen on growing its app revenue potential in developing markets, where Android devices tend to account for the majority of smartphones in the market.