Amazon Tests In-App Purchases

Amazon is said to be testing a service that would allow tablet users to make purchases via applications. The information comes from a report by Bloomberg (via Mashable). Maria Ly who is co-founder of Skimble, which sells physical fitness programs said that she had been involved in the in-app purchase process with Amazon and that it is still in its early stages. According to Ly, they (Amazon as well as Skimble) want to attack the Kindle Fire market and although the operations are still very much in the preliminary stages, she seems confident that it will go far.

Although Amazon’s Kindle and Kindle Fire have made transactions via the company’s online retail store relatively easy in the past, in-app purchases will be opening a new door of revenue to the companies involved. According to a survey conducted by IHS, in-app purchases were a $970 million a year industry and the number will hit $5.6 billion by the year 2015. According to Ly, Amazon is planning on taking a commission of 30% for every transaction made in-app. Amazon’s move to allow in-app purchases comes after Google did the same by allowing Android developers to sell wares via their apps last March. Apple’s iOS has seen in-app purchases since 2009 so it is nothing new for them.