Positive Side Effects of In-App Reward Advertising: Free Items Boost Sales—A Focus on Sampling Effects

Giving free game items to mobile users through in-app reward advertisements could generate a sampling effect and increase the probability of users making in-app purchases.
Lee and Shin

MANAGEMENT SLANT

  • Direct experience with free game items increases users’ likelihood of purchasing game items.
  • The number of purchases and the purchase amount both increase after users experience the free game item.
  • Effectiveness of free-product sampling is higher for more engaged users.
  • For users without previous game-item purchase activity, offering free game items increases the likelihood of subsequent purchases.

INTRODUCTION

Most mobile users prefer free apps over paid apps, even if the latter offer higher quality content or freedom from advertisements. Consequently, mobile apps continue to go free.1After examining pricing information for approximately 350,000 apps...

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