Report · January 1, 2024

Mobile Gaming Spender Report: Decoding Today’s Mobile IAP Spenders to Understand Motivations, Engagement

Published by Mistplay

Summary

The 2024 Mobile Gaming Spender Report by Mistplay examines the evolving motivations, behaviors, and shifting financial priorities of mobile in-app purchase (IAP) spenders. The analysis is based on a survey of approximately 2,000 active spenders in the United States and Canada conducted between December 2023 and January 2024, supplemented by behavioral data from millions of users on the Mistplay platform from Q2 2023 through Q1 2024. The report segments players into high-value ($100+), mid-value ($10–$99), and low-value (<$10) cohorts to provide granular insights into the current market maturity. A primary thesis of the research is that mobile spenders are becoming increasingly discerning due to economic headwinds. Findings indicate that 32% of all spenders—and 41% of high-value spenders—plan to reduce their in-game expenditures in 2024. To combat this, the data suggests a shift toward hyper-personalization and loyalty-driven retention. Approximately 40% of spenders are influenced by personalized offers, and 79% engage with loyalty programs. Furthermore, 51% of respondents indicate they would spend more if they earned tangible rewards or points for their purchases, highlighting a demand for value-driven discretionary spending. The report also identifies distinct genre-based personas: "Casual Candace" (Puzzle/Simulation), "Midcore Mike" (RPG/Strategy), and "Lucky Lucy" (Social Casino). While social factors and referrals are effective for top-of-funnel discovery—with 73% of spenders installing a game via referral in the past year—they rarely drive actual spending, as 69% of respondents claim social influence does not affect their financial decisions. Ultimately, the findings conclude that sustainable growth in 2024 will require publishers to move beyond traditional user acquisition toward sophisticated lifecycle marketing, direct-to-consumer web stores, and transparent ad creative that accurately reflects gameplay.

From the report

# Mobile Gaming Spender Report Decoding today's mobile IAP spenders to understand motivations, engagement dynamics, and behavioral shifts on the horizon.

# Foreword We are entering a new phase of mobile gamer mindsets and behaviors, and a new reality that requires game publishers to develop a deeper understanding of user motivations, spending behavior, and how to create games that have the right product-market fit to capture their share of the IAP wallet. In this new market maturity, there will be a disproportionate skew of winners and losers over time, as sustainable user acquisition becomes even more challenging and expensive, and the competition for a more discerning consumer wallet share intensifies. Understanding the intricacies of spender behavior to drive LTV has therefore become essential as we all navigate this landscape. As the behavior of modern mobile gamers continues to adapt with the world around us, unraveling the motivations and preferences driving in-game spend becomes more crucial than ever – to not only deliver gaming experiences players will enjoy and invest in but also to consider new strategies for 2024 and beyond as spenders consider cutting back and concentrating discretionary spend. Additionally, the rising trend of publishers shifting focus towards first-party web stores – to preserve margins and better engage core audiences – unlocks an opportunity to re-evaluate engagement and monetization strategies for further impact. This first edition of Mistplay's annual Mobile Gaming Spender Report provides fresh insights into IAP spender behavior to help publishers push their thinking to create a competitive advantage and capitalize on an evolving market. Our 2024 Mobile Gaming Spender Report is comprised of an analysis of millions of users within the Mistplay platform and a survey of nearly 2,000 IAP spenders to dive into why they spend, how that spend may change in the future, and what factors may influence further investments. With these findings, we aim to equip product, monetization, and acquisition teams with a comprehensive understanding of the modern mobile game spender across cohorts, geographies, and genre-based persona. The report is designed to inform publishers' strategic problem-solving and capability development to build long-term player loyalty and stay ahead of market challenges and new user behavior. JASON HELLER, CEO

# The Mistplay platform Mistplay is the #1 loyalty app for mobile gamers. Our community of millions of engaged mobile gamers use Mistplay to discover new games to play and spend in to earn rewards. Headquartered in Montreal and launched in 2016, Mistplay has climbed the ranks as a media source for game publishers, most recently achieving #8 overall on the Appsflyer Performance Index for Android Retention and Top 10 for ROI and Retention on the 2024 Singular ROI Index. - A growing community of over 2 million monthly gamers means developers can reach a massive audience of engaged players looking for their next favorite game. - AI-driven recommendation engine suggests games based on player habits, ensuring Mistplay users play and spend in games they're most likely to enjoy. - Play-and-earn fosters increased user retention and LTV, as users redeem loyalty points for tangible rewards like gift cards from top brands. To learn more, visit www.mistplay.com/advertising.

# Key findings # 1. Mobile spenders will be more discerning with their spend in 2024 The landscape of mobile game spending may witness a discernible shift this year, with $32\%$ of spenders – and $41\%$ of High-value spenders – planning to reduce their in-game spending and shift towards more budget-conscious decisions for discretionary spend. Learn more about future behavior changes >> # 2. A good (personalized) offer goes a long way Optimizing the usage of IAP offers and discounts can be a viable strategic approach to encourage investment, given that $33\%$ of spenders indicate they will spend if they encounter a deal too good to pass up, and $40\%$ would be influenced to spend more if given personalized offers. Learn more about offers >> # 3. Social factors influence installs, not always spend Community is a powerful lever at the top of the funnel, with mobile spenders ranking word-of-mouth recommendations as a top-3 discovery channel and $31\%$ downloading three or more games from referrals in the past year, but it may lose importance further down the funnel, as a majority of spenders $(69\%)$ report that social factors don’t influence their spending decisions at all. Learn more about social factors >> # 4. Loyalty bonuses are powerful tools to engage spenders Spenders are looking for ways to make their discretionary spend go further and will engage with brands that help them do so, as a majority (79%) not only engage with a variety of loyalty programs but will also spend more in-game if doing so earns them extra points or monetary rewards (51%). Learn more about loyalty programs >> # 5. Engagement with ads relies on relevant, real gameplay A majority of spenders will download a new game after seeing ad impressions for a few days or less – and while $72 \%$ of mobile spenders will be interested in ads that have appealing gameplay, they are often frustrated with misleading gameplay. Learn more about ad engagement >>

# Table of contents # Foreword 1 # The Mistplay platform 2 # Key findings 3 # Chapter 1: Understanding mobile spenders 5 Uncovering key spender traits 5 Acquiring spenders 11 # Chapter 2: Increasing player LTV 15 Encouraging spenders to invest 15 Engaging and retaining spenders 20 # Chapter 3: The state of mobile game spending today 25 # Chapter 4: The future of mobile game spending 28 # Methodology 31 # SPENDER COHORTS IN THIS REPORT - High-value spender: $100 USD+ - Mid-value spender: $10-99 USD - Low-value spender: <\\(10 USD For more information on how we segmented respondents, please refer to the methodology.

# 1 Understanding mobile spenders # Uncovering key spender traits # SPENDER PERSONAS By recognizing the unique traits and behaviors of three key genre-based mobile spender personas, publishers can tailor their marketing and IAP strategies to better resonate with specific demographics and refine game monetization, ultimately enhancing engagement and maximizing revenue potential. The three main personas are grouped by survey respondents that regularly spend money on IAP in specific genres. # Casual Candace Spends in Match, Puzzle, and Simulation # Midcore Mike Spends in Strategy, Action, Shooter, and RPG # Lucky Lucy Spends in Social Casino "For us at Jam City, with such a broad portfolio of games, there's an importance to understanding our players and ensuring they have an engaging long term experience. We cannot stress enough the importance of layered targeting focused on player behaviours and traits." # JON CHEW Director - User Acquisition, Jam City

Pages: 33
Words: 4,360
Format: PDF
Type: Report

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