Posts tagged venture beat

As the popularity of social gaming continues to grow, the marketplace for virtual products is now offering consumers more options than ever before. Today gamers can purchase nearly any type of virtual object – from elephants to guns – nothing seems to be off limits. According to a recent report conducted by market researcher VGMarket, roughly 75 percent of online gamers are using their cold, hard-earned cash to purchase virtual goods. But how and where are these consumers spending their money?

Dean Takahashi took a look at the habits of these online spenders and broke it down in an interesting article for VentureBeat. In his piece, Takahashi highlights that not only are gamers buying, they are buying often! According to the 2010 Digital Goods Report, roughly 64 percent of users make at least one purchase a month and 9 percent buy virtual goods daily. And there seems to be no buyer’s remorse here, with half of these online shoppers reporting that they plan on spending the same amount on digital goods over the next 12 months.

And there’s no shortage of sites offering virtual goods. Currently, social networks dominate the online marketplace with users reporting that they spend an average of $50 per year on digital goods through these platforms. Trailing shortly behind  social networks, consumers in the multiplayer and causal gaming markets, shell out nearly $40 per year for digital goods ranging from weapons to puppets.

Surprisingly, while men play more online games and are the primary purchasers of virtual goods, women over the age of 24 report spending disproportionately large sums of money on certain products. Women surveyed in the study, reported spending an average of $55 dollars on social networks per year compared to males who only spent about $30 dollars per year. Similarly, women reported spending twice as much as their male counterparts when buying in-game currency.

It seems there is no end in sight. It will be interesting to see where this market will expand and what digital goods will emerge as a result. For now, we here at Plimus will continue to focus on making this buying experience as immersive, seamless, and enjoyable as possible for all.

Charles Born,

Head of Marketing