From Code to Checkout: Tackling the Top 5 Challenges in Crafting Your Game’s Web Store
By now, it’s no secret that a web store is the golden ticket to catapulting your mobile game revenue into the stratosphere. But the path to building a successful web store is riddled with challenges, requiring a strategic combination of skilled professionals and a carefully allocated budget.
Game developers often plunge into this venture unaware of the intricacies, only to find themselves tumbling down the rabbit hole of unforeseen costs and missed deadlines. Here’s our top list of challenges to take into consideration before you start building a web store from scratch, to ensure you’re well-prepared for the complexities that lie ahead.
1. Assembling your team
Sure, assembling a team seems like a breeze: after all, your game studio is teeming with superstar developers, product managers, designers, and analysts. But how web-savvy are they? Proficient in game app development, your team might lack the expertise required for the intricate task of building a web store.
Moreover, as a game developer, you’ll probably want to prioritize… well, game development goals, reserving your best talents for the game, and leaving a junior team grappling with a sizeable project. Balancing your team’s skill set is crucial to the success of your web store venture.
2. Doubling your effort (and then some)
Building a web store is not a one-off event; it’s an ongoing endeavor. Unfortunately, we often see gaming companies launch a basic web store only to let it gather dust due to the costs of maintenance. Ensuring the commitment of your entire team, from marketing to LiveOps, increases the workload for everyone involved in terms of development as well as maintenance, but is also essential.
3. Being your own Merchant of Record
Launching a direct-to-player platform and avoiding the usual 30% transaction fees is (oh so) enticing, but what does it mean to handle your own transactions? How expensive is it? In case you decided to build both a web store and a checkout system, you are now not only delving into the web development sphere, but also embarking on a journey into the complex world of payments.
Becoming your own Merchant of Record means grappling with local taxes, currencies, exchange rates, invoicing, billing and fraud prevention. This newfound responsibility introduces the risk of exceeding chargeback limits, potentially resulting in penalties or even the blocking of your game by payment providers. If managing these financial intricacies seems overwhelming, opting for a third-party payment solution is a prudent choice.
4. Getting players to your store
Bringing players to your store is a challenge in itself. Due to legal constraints, advertising your store within your game is impossible. You’ll need a creative approach to user acquisition, including retargeting campaigns, direct messaging your whales, and leveraging online communities on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, or Discord, depending on where your audience is.
Training your community and account managers to navigate this uncharted territory is essential. Opting for an out-of-the-box store via a dedicated platform can be helpful, as the supplier can offer best practices and insights based on player behavior patterns across the industry. While you’re at it, be sure to also ask them for business strategy recommendations regarding which monetization tools are best to use for your particular game.
5. Keeping up with industry trends
The gaming industry moves at breakneck speed. New monetization tools emerge daily, promising unprecedented revenue increases. Amidst the daily grind of game maintenance, player management, and team oversight, keeping pace with these innovations becomes a formidable task. Developing and introducing new web store monetization tools to your audience requires vigilance, dedication, and of course, a substantial part of your budget.
Embarking on the journey of building a web store is undoubtedly an ambitious undertaking. But with meticulous planning, the right team, a decent budget and a clear understanding of the challenges, you can transform this endeavor into a lucrative opportunity for your game.
Making your web store a gold mine for revenue isn’t just wishful thinking—it’s totally doable. This article is your go-to guide, packed with smart moves and insider tips specifically crafted for mobile game publishers.
We’re talking about turning up the fun with gamification, placing those offers just right to catch eyes, tweaking prices to feel like a local no matter where your players are, smoothing out the checkout process until it’s slicker than your game’s graphics, and giving your web store that personal touch to make it feel like an extension of the game world.
These aren’t just strategies; they’re your playbook for creating a web store experience that players will love coming back to, boosting those sales numbers as they dive deeper into your game. Perfect for game publishers looking to notch up their game’s direct-to-player strategy, this guide is all about making your mobile game’s web store the place to be.
1. Harness the Power of Gamification Mechanics
Integrating gamification features into your web store can be a game-changer for revenue generation. Daily bonuses, progress bars, and loyalty programs not only boost player retention but also generate repeating, powerful marketing touchpoints. Your web store shouldn’t just be a place to spend; it’s a dynamic hub where your most engaged players can’t resist coming back for more, leveling up their experience and your revenue.
2. Use Segmentation and Place Your Offers Strategically
Make sure you’re giving your players the most relevant experience and content when they enter your store. To do this, leverage segmentation tools, such as those available in Appcharge’s web store dashboard. For instance, you can provide especially irresistible deals to players who are yet to make their first purchase.
When it comes to offers, it’s not just about what you offer but where you put it. Choosing and positioning offers in sync with your game’s theme can significantly impact revenue. Temporary, event-related offers, like holiday promotions, should steal the limelight at the top of your store (a calendar of all major national holidays is your best friend here). Permanent deals? Keep them cool below, creating a hierarchy that guides players through the journey of tempting offerings.
When it comes to prices, speaking the player’s language adds a personal touch to the shopping experience. Presenting prices in familiar currency terms eliminates the confusion that might act as a roadblock to spending. It’s not just about simplifying the transaction; it’s about empowering the player with a clear understanding of the value they’re about to unlock. When choosing a white-label web store solution, make sure it automatically localizes the currency for users. This will save you time and effort.
4. Streamline Checkout for a Seamless Experience
A straightforward and efficient checkout process is non-negotiable for increasing revenue (nobody has time for a clunky checkout process). Players should be able to complete transactions with minimal clicks, ensuring a hassle-free experience.
Yet, the real magic lies in the familiarity factor – integrating payment solutions that players already know and trust. For instance, providing options like Apple Pay instills a sense of security, boosting the player’s confidence in making transactions. It’s the secret sauce to a positive user experience that translates to cold, hard revenue.
5. Customize Your Web Store Design
One of the key factors influencing player spending is the environment in which they make purchases. By customizing your web store to align with the theme of your game, you create a familiar and trustworthy space for players, a space they feel at home spending their hard-earned cash.
If you’re using a white-label web store solution, customizing your store’s design is straightforward. Simply upload your art and assets, head to your settings, select your template, logo, background image, font style and colors, and more. The ease of this process enables you to frequently tinker with your artwork and store design to see what maximizes purchases.
Web Stores for Mobile Games: Dynamite for your Revenue
A deep understanding of player psychology and strategic implementation of user-friendly features can create a compelling environment that not only aligns with player preferences but also maximizes revenue potential. With each click, each thematic alignment, and each gamified interaction, you’re not just offering a product – you’re orchestrating an experience that resonates with players.
The proposal, if enacted, would enable developers who provide options for both Google Pay and alternative billing to have Google’s revenue cut reduced by 4% to a 26% share (or 11% on their first $1 million)—if users pay through a different payment service provider (PSP). However, if developers do not offer Google Pay as an option, they will be penalised and the standard platform fee would only be cut by 3% to 27% (or 12% on their first $1 million).
Should users choose to pay with Google Pay, the revenue share will remain at a 70/30 split.
The changes would be rolled out for non-gaming apps first, before eventually allowing games developers to be eligible for the new billing rates and options “no later than October 2023”.
Google claims this would help ensure a “smooth transition for developers and to allow for the necessary changes to be made to our systems”. For context: In Q1 2023, data.ai estimates a large majority of worldwide consumer spending on Google Play came from the games category. It’s effectively a cash cow that is often treated differently by mobile platform holders than other categories.
The proposed changes would only impact in-app purchases in the UK, though similar actions have been taken in other countries.
Why Proposes Third-Party Payments Now?
Google’s announcement comes in response to an investigation by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which began in June 2022, to look into “suspected anti-competitive conduct” by the tech giant. A particular focus of the ongoing investigation concerns Google Play’s rules which “oblige app developers offering digital content to use Google Play’s own billing system for in-app purchases”.
At present, the CMA’s position is that it believes the new commitments from Google are “sufficient to address the competition concerns”. While no final decision has been made, pending consultation, the CMA has proposed to accept the changes.
What Do the Changes Really Mean?
Any climbdown from the standard 30% revenue share should be considered significant, as Apple and Google fight tooth and nail to retain the status quo. This latest proposal is another example of platform holders making as small a concession as possible to retain their lucrative cash cows.
But while it may seem like a concession, for developers, the reality is that it will not make a notable difference to their businesses on the current terms. A reduction of 3% to 4% will not cover the costs of using an alternative billing system, where the revenue share is often 5% or more (AppCharge takes a 5% cut per transaction).
PSPs charge such fees to cover the costs of billing, invoicing, fraud, chargeback cover, etc. Such a small reduction in Google’s share means that, should customers use another payment system, it would actually cost developers a greater share of their revenue, not reduce it.
These terms mean that Google Pay keeps its position as the preferential payment method, while creating a challenging environment for alternative options. And of course, in any event, Google will continue to maintain its standard 30% share on all Google Pay transactions, thus effectively retaining the status quo. Of course, if you’d like to discuss potential alternative PSPs for an both in-app and out-of-app solution, you can speak to the AppCharge team.
Rick VanMeter, executive director of advocacy group The Coalition for App Fairness, which champions app store reform, told TechCrunch he believes the proposals would enable Google to “continue taking a massive cut on services they do not even provide”. He added: “This solution will not create meaningful competition and is a bad deal for developers and consumers.”
It remains to be seen whether the CMA will ultimately accept or reject Google’s proposals, and what the future of third-party payments will look like on the marketplace in the UK.
Regulatory Pressure
Apple and Google have both come under increasing pressure around the world over concerns about anti-competitive practices, namely over the exclusive use of their own payment systems in their app stores.
The UK proposal is now following suit with its previous successful negotiations with regulators.
Out-of-App Solutions
While it’s a positive step for Google to introduce alternative billing systems on its UK Play store, the current proposals aren’t a particularly attractive proposition. For developers really looking to take advantage of the $30 billion opportunity in the mobile games market – which is the amount of revenue the App Store and Google Play took last year from in-app purchases – the best solution still remains in utilising web stores.
By bringing your community of players to a web store, developers can offer better deals to players, all while retaining a higher share of revenue. Regulators continue to chip away at the app store monopolies, but the industry is a long way off from a fairer deal for all.
The Mobile Game Web Store Designer’s Playbook
There’s a monumental shift happening in the mobile games industry. Since Epic Games’ lawsuit against Apple centering around a dispute over the right to use its own payment system in Fortnite on the App Store—rather than being forced to use Apple Pay—governments and regulators around the world have increased their scrutiny over potentially monopolistic app store practices.
Specifically, their concerns have focused on the 70/30 revenue split, whether it’s fair, and whether companies should be able to integrate their own or other third-party payment systems. There has been resistance from Apple and Google so far, but that hasn’t stopped publishers from opening their own web stores to skirt around the app store tax. The clock appears to be ticking on the established revenue share model and moving in favour of the creators, not the platform holders.
Web stores for mobile games represent a $30 billion+ opportunity for developers and publishers—the market generated an estimated $110 billion from global player spending in 2022, according to data.ai, with approximately 30% sucked up by platform fees.
But it’s not a simple case of ‘build it and they will come’. Creating a successful web store and getting players to use it requires a thoughtful strategy—but the Appcharge team has you covered. We’ve put together a list of top tips to help you build the best web store possible so you can unlock a new, potentially lucrative revenue stream that’s free of the 30% app store tax (in fact, Appcharge only takes about 5% for powering your transactions).
Web Store Monetization: Best Practices
Price IAPs Differently
For web stores to fulfil their potential, they must differentiate their offers to those available in the in-game store.
On a web store, purchases such as currency, boosters, cosmetics, season passes—anything you have to sell—can and should be priced differently. Without having to worry about losing 30% of each in-app purchase off the bat, developers can give players better deals reflective of a transaction’s true value, which can lead to better engagement and a more enjoyable spending experience.
Developers can also price outside the parameters of the app stores. Previously the App Store capped in-app purchases at $1,000, though these rules have since been relaxed.
Leverage Personalization and Segmentation
One of the best methods of making a shop successful is to surface personalized deals to your players, segmenting them based on their playing habits, their progress, and personal profile.
Everything can be personalized for different user segments: a user’s first time visit experience, prices, types of offers and items, accumulation bar size, and so on.
This creates a better experience for players, who receive only the most relevant offers. In turn, you can maximize conversions and user LTV.
Integrate Gamification Mechanics
To really maximise their potential, web stores should provide a similar experience to what players have in-game. Making purchases should be part of the fun, not just a bland experience for the simple purpose of making a transaction.
Gamification mechanics such as Stamp Cards, Accumulation Bars, Daily Rewards, Coupons, and Loyalty Programs should be incorporated to ensure users don’t just visit your web store once, but make it part of their gaming routine.
Build a Community
As of April 2024, it is not possible for U.S developers to directly link to an external store from inside their app. It recently became possible for EU developers to link out to web stores, however this will lead them to lose 17% should a user click the link and complete a purchase within seven calendar days from the token issue date (plus another 3% if they’re using Apple’s payment tech).
To bypass these taxes and drive players to your web store, an out-of-app community is crucial.
Many of the world’s top publishers excel at building communities around their top games. Perhaps the best example is Niantic, whose Instagram page for Pokemon Go has 2.2 million followers, and whose in-person Pokemon Go events drew almost 300,000 players in 2023.
Few publishers will be able to reach this level of community, but every publisher can begin building en engaged community outside of theirs app, whether on Discord, social media, email newsletters, and/or dedicated websites.
Going direct-to-player with web stores is all about owning your audience. And having a thriving, owned community is an integral part of this. Bringing your most loyal players into a close-knit community outside of the game can not only improve their enjoyment of it, but it provides a chance for you to engage directly with them.
This could come in the form of getting feedback on the latest updates, or having the ability to direct them to special deals on your web store that could get them more bang for their buck thanks to the lack of store fees.
Capitalize on the Shift to Web Stores
Web stores help you design your game economy differently, in a way that offers players better deals and puts more of the revenue generated to where it should go: you, the developer. By implementing the tips in this article—offering better deals, personalizing offers, gamifying the experience, and building a community—developers are well placed to take advantage of this opportunity.
The world’s biggest mobile games companies, including Clash of Clans developer Supercell, Star Trek: Fleet Command publisher Scopely, and RAID: Shadow Legends’ Plarium, are all doing it. Now’s your chance to join them.
Appcharge is helping some of the biggest publishers in the world create and manage powerful D2C web stores, supported by comprehensive Merchant of Record services.
