In a bid to bring a new subscription model, Google will soon allow many applications to market their subscription in the Play Store only. This means that users can subscribe to a particular Android application without even downloading it in their phones. Since the subscription may be downloaded from Play Store, there might not be in-app pop-ups every time a user opens the application, TechCrunch said in a report.
Google has earlier talked about a similar offering in its blog post. According to Google’s blogspot, “Billing Library version 3 unlocks the ability for users to discover and purchase items outside of your app, such as across the Play store.” It further said that when promo code for subscription free trials are offered, users can also redeem those even if the application has not been installed. While Google hinted at bringing such features, it did not reveal much details about how it will work for applications.
The report said when this will be implemented, it is much likely that a ‘Free trial & install’ button besides ‘Install’ can be seen in the app listing page. Once the user clicks on this, Play Store will allow the customers to purchase the subscriptions early. The listing below these two options will then show the features of the application and details of the subscription model.
Google’s push to this new marketing move is expected to make the process more transparent and is likely to help developers get a customer base that is more valuable. Usually, when users download some applications, many tend to delete after looking at the subscription model. Therefore, with the subscription plan mentioned in the Play Store via downloading, it is likely that users who download will mainly be those who want subscriptions and will not uninstall the application later.
