Amazon Tests In-App Purchases [REPORT]
By Todd Wasserman on MashableAmazon is testing a service that lets tablet users buy subscriptions and individual items via apps, according to a report.
Bloomberg quotes Maria Ly, co-founder of Skimble, which sells physical fitness programs, in the report.
Ly told the news service that she’s been involved in Amazon’s pilot program for about a month. “We really wanted to attack the Kindle Fire market, but also have access to the payment methods that support our business,” Ly told Bloomberg. “It’s still kind of in its early stages,” Ly said of the services being tested. “But we’re very optimistic about it.” Amazon plans to charge a 30% commission for such in-app transactions.
Reps from Amazon could not be reached for comment on the report.
Though Amazon has designed Kindle and Kindle Fire to make it easy to buy from the company’s online retail store, in-app purchases is a new type of revenue stream. In-app purchases were a $970 million and will hit $5.6 billion in revenues by 2015, according to IHS.
Amazon’s move comes after Google greenlit in-app purchases for Android developers last March. Apple implemented in-app billing for iOS in 2009.
