Why alternative Android stores are incremental revenue rather than cannibalised revenue.
Alternative Android stores serve device owners, regions and payment ecosystems that Google Play either does not cover or does not convert well in. Players on these stores are largely additive: they are not choosing between your Play listing and your Amazon listing, they are on the store their device shipped with.
ChannelPrimary audienceCommercial characterAmazon AppstoreFire tablets, Windows 11 subsystem, prime householdsHigh ARPU, strong merchandising supportSamsung Galaxy StorePre-installed on every Galaxy deviceHuge reach, strong in KR/SEA/EUHuawei AppGalleryHuawei/Honor devices, no Play servicesLarge uncontested base, strong in APAC/MEARegional & carrier storesOperator-billed and market-specificCarrier billing lifts conversion
ⓘRule of thumbStudios typically see alternative-store revenue land as a percentage uplift on top of Play, not a redistribution of it.