That's according to a study conducted by Tapjoy and the Yankee Group, which claims app-based currency spending will almost triple from its current level of $1.2 billion this year.
Up, up and away
The study indicates that a growing level of consumer comfort with virtual currency as a concept will translate to it being equated to credit card reward points or bonus airline miles.
"As expected, mature virtual currencies exhibit the highest comfort levels and are among the most used by consumers," details the report.
"Mature virtual currencies are reaching ubiquitous status across a variety of industries, helping position them as the foremost currency used by marketers.
"Looking ahead, many of these areas will see continued use and growth as marketing initiatives adapt to the mobile channel."Changing attitudesIn addition, the study also found that user willingness to engage with adverts in exchange for apps and IAPs are also increasing.
The study's numbers suggest that more than half of tablet users are happy to pay between 99c to $2.99 for an app, compared to 41 percent of smartphone users.
54 percent of smartphone owners surveyed have also paid for an app upgrade.
Interestingly, however, when looking at a percentage of those willing to engage with advertising in exchange for free in-app content upgrades, the numbers jumped to 73 percent for tablets and 67 percent for smartphones.
[source: Tapjoy (PDF)]
