Research firm Canalys said that app store direct revenue from the sale of apps, in-app purchases, and subscriptions combined will hit US$14.1 billion next year, up 92 percent from the US$7.3 billion forecast for 2011. Looking forward to 2015, this is expected to grow to US$36.7 billion, a compound annual growth rate over the four years of “just under 50 percent.”  According to the company, there is an “excellent opportunity for mobile network operators to compete with vendor app stores,” as these stakeholders have “a strong platform on which to offer an improved customer experience, leveraging their detailed subscriber data.”

According to the company, large app inventories “pose a problem” for customers, who face overwhelming choice when it comes to the most popular app categories. This will include “numerous possibilities, many of which have not yet received any user ratings or reviews.” Canalys said that “this gives operators an opening to provide an improved customer experience, by offering a narrower, yet fully vetted, choice of apps that can be tailored by user preference.

Tim Shepherd, an analyst with the company, said: “the leading stores already have hundreds of thousands of apps, so it’s hard for operators to compete with those numbers. On the other hand, too much choice brings serious problems in terms of application discovery for both developers and users, which operators can turn to their advantage.”

Mobile apps will have an impact that extends “to all aspects of the customer lifecycle, from acquisition and retention to lifetime value and profitability,” Canalys said. By building on their existing strengths, operators “can capture more of the market, while delivering a better customer experience.”

“As more content and services are delivered over their networks, many MNOs are aspiring to move up the value chain. When it comes to detailed subscriber data, operators certainly have the competitive advantage. While they must clearly be careful to respect their customers’ privacy, the data they hold leaves them well positioned to propose targeted marketing services, such as promotions and recommendations, as well as richer editorial guidance, better localisation, improved security and simpler billing processes,” Shepherd said.