About Evrika Games
Alternative App Stores: An Overview
The app market is dominated by Google Play Store and Apple App Store, but alternative app stores are gaining popularity. Among them, the top five app stores are Amazon App Store, AppGallery, GetApps, RuStore, and Samsung Galaxy Store. Alternative app stores contributed 23% of the total revenue generated by mobile applications in 2022.
According to the Yandex Advertising Network, out of the 63.5 million Android users, 52% use Xiaomi or Huawei devices. This data indicates that alternative app stores have a significant user base and present a lucrative opportunity for publishers looking to expand their app monetization strategy beyond the established app stores.
Huawei claims that its app store, AppGallery, is used by 730 million Huawei devices worldwide each month, with a total of 432 billion installations outside of China. These numbers illustrate that alternative app stores might present competition to the Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store in the near future.
Business goal
Line of Words earns 95% of its total revenue from in-app advertising, with only 5% generated from in-app purchases, so optimizing the in-app monetization strategy was a top priority.
The company had two significant goals that were equally important—firstly, expanding its presence in alternative stores, specifically AppGallery, and secondly, increasing its monetization revenue across its Russian audience segment.
Solution
To find a partner that could meet its objectives, the company thoroughly analyzed multiple advertising networks in its stack. After careful consideration, they selected Yandex Advertising Network, which had consistently demonstrated the highest performance rates. As a result, the game was successfully launched on AppGallery, with Yandex Advertising Network already integrated into the mediation system.
Three advertising formats were used:
- Banner
- Rewarded
- Interstitial
The advertising waterfall incorporated 5-6 placements, with the rates based on the Google Play model.
Results
AppGallery has proven to be a lucrative platform since its launch just a year ago, contributing 10% of the total revenue, with Yandex accounting for over 60% of the monetization. The store boasts a highly engaged audience, with a 23% higher ARPDAU than Google Play. Additionally, the eCPM rate on AppGallery is comparable to or higher than the benchmark rate on Google Play.
Here’s a snapshot of the eCPM and ARPDAU comparison between AppGallery and Google Play: