Ahead of an antitrust hearing on Capitol Hill next week, Apple is fighting back against the perception that its App Store charges onerous commission rates to developer by hiring economists from the firm Analysis Group, who said the tech giant’s fees were similar to competitors. From a report: The research, published Wednesday, collected commission rates reported on or disclosed by app stores from Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Samsung and others. The company’s economists also studied ticket resale marketplaces, game stores and ride-hailing apps. Overall, the economists said the commissions charged were similar, though stores generally offered different features for consumers and developers. “The commission rates charged by digital marketplaces most similar to the App Store, such as other app stores and video game digital marketplaces, are generally around 30%,” the economists wrote in study [PDF]. The economists also broadly defended these commission rates, saying this system “lower the barriers to entry for small sellers and developers by minimizing upfront payments, and reinforce the marketplace’s incentive to promote matches that generate high long-term value.” The economists didn’t look into whether the fees stifle innovation or are fair, concerns developers have raised.
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Source:: Slashdot