Annual mobile app revenue in North America will...

Annual mobile app revenue in North America will exceed $27 billion by 2018, Parks Associates said Thursday. That rise in annual revenue will come mainly from in-app purchases and in-app advertising revenue, the research firm said. Mobile apps are also “transforming all aspects of the connected home, and the app in a smart home system will be prime real estate for communicating with subscribers and promoting new services and features,” said Parks President Stuart Sikes. Between 57 percent and 73 percent of likely smart home buyers are interested in purchasing upgrades or additional equipment through their smart home system app, the firm said.