What you need to know
- Google introduces new tools to help developers showcase their apps on the Play Store.
- Custom Store Listings will enable up to 50 different listings targeted to various regions and languages.
- Developers can take advantage of the LiveOps beta to feature their apps on the Play Store for offers, events, and more.
Google has been working to make it easier for developers to get the most out of the Play Store to foster app adoption, and the company has highlighted its latest efforts at Google I/O 2022 on Wednesday.
One of the most significant announcements for Google Play is the ability for developers to create up to 50 customer play store listings for their apps. This allows them to tailor their listings based on the region and showcase different screenshots or even icon colors. This can even be tailored to users based on specific ads for the app, which can link to a custom listing based on the ad's contents. Developers will be able to view analytics for these custom listings to optimize performance.
Google is also releasing a beta of LiveOps for developers to further improve app visibility. This allows them to submit content such as offers, events, and updates to be featured on the Play Store. This includes the new Offers tab that rolled out earlier this year on the best Android phones.
According to Google, LiveOps drives "5% more 28-day active users and 4% higher revenue for developers" than those that don't utilize the feature. Interested Play Store developers can express interest in the beta today.
In addition to showcasing apps, Google introduces new ways to pay by lowering its limit and expanding subscription options. Now, developers can take advantage of "ultra-low price points" and price their items as low as 5 cents, or the regional equivalent.
In addition, new subscription capabilities mean developers will be able to update their subscription prices for new customers without affecting the old prices for existing subscribers. Google is also giving developers the ability to offer multiple base plans and offers per subscription, which should simplify the process of selling subscriptions.
Finally, app developers will be able to offer prepaid plans so that users don't have to worry about subscription renewals if they would rather pay for a fixed period. Users will be able to top up their plan via the Play Store subscriptions page or within the app itself.
Google also highlighted other Play Store changes, such as a new Google Play SDK Index, Play Integrity API, In-App Messaging API, the new Data Safety section, and much more in its Whats New in Google Play session. You can watch the video below for more details.
