As the mobile app landscape continues to reach new heights, it brings with it new challenges for developers. The two most noticeable problems that developers face are app discovery and monetization, one clearly dependent on the other. It is a lot easier to monetize an app when it has millions of downloads.
Putting aside discovery for a second, even the world of app monetization is overly fragmented. Mobile ads, virtual currency, mobile search, and more, to name a few of the mainstream solutions.
Well, there is another way to monetize apps that is beginning to show some serious traction, and it is actually the most obvious choice of all. I am referring to mobile commerce or selling physical goods via a mobile app.
Zooz, an Israeli startup that just publicly launched its SDK in March has already seen a 200% increase in developers integrating its SDK. The company supports iOS, Android, and most recently, HTML5 applications.
So what is ZooZ?
ZooZ is an in-app mobile payment solution that comes bundled in a three line SDK and enables mobile developers to sell physical goods via their apps. It is a very simple concept. You are a retail brand and you are seeing an increase in your mobile audience, but how do you reach them via a mobile phone? Well, you can send them to your site to complete the check-out process there, or you can offer them a native solution that is optimized for a mobile display.
ZooZ aims to standardize the mobile check-out process. Its solution enables developers to accept payments via PayPal as well as all major credit cards, and the best part is, as far as the user is concerned, the process is transparent, secure, and fast. Very fast!
The consumer interacts with the brand from which they are making the purchase throughout the whole process, and not with ZooZ. There is no user registration required and no need to install a third-party app, like with some other solutions. Once payment details for the first purchase have been entered, they are securely stored using sophisticated device tokenization technology (patent-pending), minimizing friction and allowing for a faster payment process in future purchases.
Yes, I know what you are thinking. How can I trust ZooZ to store my payment details? The answer is simple. Your details are stored using patent-pending bank-grade security technology that prevents leakage of sensitive details and reduces fraud.
In addition, one of ZooZ's founders Ronen Morecki was a senior manager at VeriSign, where he led the development of VeriSign's Fraud Detection Service. So security and privacy are a major part of the company's core values.
Unlike some local competition, ZooZ operates in more than 150 countries worldwide, which means developers around the globe can collect payments using ZooZ.
"OK, so what's the catch," you ask? Well there is no catch, but there is a business model. ZooZ takes 2.8% + $0.19 per transaction, which in simple terms means, ZooZ doesn't get paid unless the developer does.
The bottom line is, there are many ways to monetize a mobile app, but mobile commerce, an industry expected to reach $10 billion by 2013, is taking off with the developer community. With ZooZ, mobile developers get a robust and seamless solution that will let them focus on developing their next app, instead of getting tied up with the boring payment stuff.
To download the SDK, visit ZooZ.com