Amazon Brings In-App Purchases to Its Appstore

By Stephen Schenck | April 10, 2012 12:13 PM

In-app purchases sound like an app developer’s dream-come-true; instead of having to keep exposing more and more smartphone users to your app in order to generate sales, you can also turn those existing users into new revenue streams. Then again, the reality of the situation isn’t always as lucrative as it sounds. Developers interested in designing apps featuring in-app purchase opportunities have their pick of platforms, but even then there are some limitations they face. Amazon’s Appstore, for instance, the closest thing to a direct competitor Google faces in the Android app ecosystem, has been around for over a year without supporting such purchases. That’s all about to change, thanks to Amazon finally announcing in-app purchases for its Appstore.

Amazon has reportedly been testing the system for several weeks now, offering developers the possibility to add both one-off purchases and ongoing subscriptions in their apps. The company’s patented 1-Click ordering system should help make things as smooth as possible in the eyes of customers, but this largely sounds the same as the in-app purchase arrangements from other app store providers.

API support for the new purchases is in place, and now it’s just up to developers to start releasing apps featuring such content.