App Store price changes catch developers by surprise

Some up, some down, some the same. Some confusion.

On Wednesday night, Apple took the unexpected step of adjusting prices on most price tiers around the world, much to the surprise of developers, publishers and consumers alike. There had been notification that changes were being made to the App Store which could take some apps offline in some territories, but no mention of a price rise.

These were the first price adjustments since the App Store opened all the way back in 2008. The reason for the change were due to “changes in foreign exchange rates and local tax laws.” Of course exchange rates have fluctuated considerably in the last three years and this meant that in some places prices went down, such as Australia and its booming dollar, whereas others, such as the UK, prices went up.

While the price changes were changed automatically in the App Store itself, much of the pain for publishers was caused in all the out-of-date marketing collateral as copy across all media needed to be updated, with print media the real problem. Beyond the hassle of updating copy was the recalculation of budgets and hurried meetings to discuss pricing strategy particularly in the higher price tiers, with £3.99 jumping up 20% to £4.99.

And indeed there have been considerable consumer grumbles with a small jump in the lowest price tier from 59p to 69p and a larger 20% rise in the oddly priced £1.19 tier which rose to £1.49.

The one tier unaffected was £2.99, although we’re not entirely sure why. If you’d like to see the new tiers, then see the list below.

Tier 1: 59p – 69p (14% up)
Tier 2: £1.19-£1.49 (20% up)
Tier 3: £1.79-£1.99 (10% up)
Tier 4: £2.39-£2.49 (4% up)
Tier 5: £2.99-£2.99 (yay, as you were)
Tier 6: £3.49-£3.99 (13% up)
Tier 7: £3.99 – £4.99 (20% and a full pound up)
Tier 8: £4.99-£5.49 (a more modest 9%)

And of course, we’re affected to. All those app reviews and price notifications with out of date figures. Find and replace. Find and replace…