In a study of top-ranked applications across iOS, Amazon and Android, Flurry Analytics found that the Kindle Fire manufacturer delivers more than three times the revenue in its app store compared to what Google generates for developers.

The report compares the ability for app developers to generate revenue from in-app purchases across the major stores and found that while Apple reigns supreme, Amazon is not far behind. Android, however, lags the other two significantly.

?The issue comes down to commerce friction,? said Peter Farago, vice president of marketing at Flurry Analytics, San Francisco. ?Amazon has all consumers payment-enabled, manages a curated store and has deep merchandising understanding.

?For example, when a consumer receives a new Kindle Fire, she already has her account associated or is asked to set up an account complete with a credit card,? he said. ?The Android Market, renamed Google Play, is not on par with Amazon.

?Based on the numbers we are seeing, developers should consider building tablet form factor apps for Amazon, and marketers should encourage them.?

Expect more Kindle apps
The number of apps continues to grow thanks to robust consumer interest in apps and developers are finding new and interesting ways to engage mobile device owners. In March, Apple crossed a record 25 billion downloads from more than 550,000 available apps while Google said several months ago that it had crossed 10 billion downloads from 400,000 available apps.

With the ability to generate revenue a key factor in developers? decisions about how much to support different platforms, the new data from Flurry suggests that there could a spate of Kindle Fire app introductions this year. At the same, Google may find itself struggling to maintain developer support.

Flurry examined top-ranked apps that have a similar presence on iOS, Android and Amazon and compared the revenue generated via in-app purchasing between mid-January and the end of February. In-app purchases generate the majority of revenue for apps, per Flurry.

The mobile app research firm found that Amazon Appstore revenue per active users is 89 percent of Apple Appstore revenue while Google Play revenue per active users is 23 percent of Apple?s.

In other words, for every $1 generated by an app in the Apple Appstore, $0.89 is generated in the Amazon Appstore and $0.23 is generated in Google Play.

The results point to the early success of the Kindle Fire and suggest that an increasing number of developers will support apps for the media tablet this year.

OpenTable, Citi and Papa John?s are among the brands now offering Kindle Fire apps.

Commercial strength
One reason for Amazon?s strength in generating in-app purchases is the company?s commercial strength. Amazon invented the one-click purchase and delivers a best-in-class online shopping experience.

Apple, too, is a retail leader and known for providing a strong shopping experience for customers.

Google?s strengths, on the other hand, are in search and advertising technology. Running a digital store is not a core competency.

The results suggest Google will need to reduce commerce friction in order to maintain strong developer support.

?Many top developers have their apps available for Kindle Fire already,? Mr. Farago said. ?At this stage, in our view, it makes sense for developers to make their apps available for both Android and Amazon Kindle Fire.

?The installed base for Kindle Fire will only increase, and with strong purchase conversions, this appears to be a strong, up-and-coming market,? he said.