Contributed by: Editor on Saturday, October 17 2009 @ 02:09 pm
Last modified on
The United States virtual goods market was worth $500 million in 2008 according InsideFacebook.com. This year it is expected to double to $1 billion and in 2010 virtual goods sales are expected to reach $1.6 billion. The huge growth in the market is due to the popularity of social networking and with more video games adding virtual goods to their online components.
With growth like this expected in the next few years, virtual gifts will be on par with the online dating industry which in 2008 was the third highest revenue grossing industry.
These are predictions from knowledgeable experts but they may not live up to expectations. In a recent Date.com press release about virtual gifts (see Story) their leading analysts estimated the revenue for the industry at $1.5 billion in 2008. This is a $1 billion difference between experts, I wonder which one is closer to the truth?
For more on this story, read Online Media Daily.