Research findings on virtual goods purchases

For those who want to cash in on microtransactions, our research suggests the following:

1. Provide a lot of virtual goods so that players can customize their game space and avatar.
2. Limit your amount of free virtual goods.
3. Encourage multiple types of exchange behavior between players; this is the second study we’ve done that implies that social players spend more
4. Incentivize having friends. Friends can increase playing time, encourage social interaction, and create competitive elements that contribute to spending.

Findings reported on a guest post at Inside Social Games. These are from the data of a Korean game, so some reservations regarding other markets are in order, but the above general principles seem sound across social game genres and markets.