Brits only pay for one in ten of their apps, opting for free ‘slimmed down versions’ or simply avoiding paid for apps all together.

A survey by comparison site uswitch found that we download an average of 29 apps a month, but only 11% of those actually cost us anything.

Younger people and those is London spend the most on apps, £14.43 and £11.98 respectively. Perhaps surprisingly 45 – 54 year olds also spent a comparatively large amount too, £11.45 a month.

However, reluctance to pay for apps is meaning some smartphones are becoming app graveyards. Users download things to see what they’re like and quickly get bored, find they have no use for them, or that the free versions are littered with annoying pop-up adverts or require in-app payments to unlock the majority of features. Users simply download them, get frustrated and then forget about them.Meanwhile, research from Microsoft has found inadvertent in-app purchases on smartphones and tablet are costing British parents £30.9m a month. Of the 2000 people questioned, 29% said it had affected them, with 83% of those admitting they only realised when their bill came. The issue has received some high profile press lately, with many people questioning whether app developers are doing enough to prevent accidental purchases.

Microsoft’s survey also claims children are getting up to other kinds of mischief on their parents’ devices, with 27% having updated Facebook statuses, 20% sending a tweet and 18% deleting stuff from the device without their parents knowing.

Not only is there a lesson for parents to learn here, but there’s also one for marketers too. Developing and marketing a mobile app is neither an easy nor a cheap undertaking and ensuring the longevity of an app is key. Developing an app that is free is the ideal option, however it’s worth noting that if advertising will be required in order to fund it you may find users quickly fall out of love with it. Charging a small, one-off fee instead of causing irritation through adverts may be better in the long term.

Avoiding bad press from children who happen to be using your app is paramount too, especially if you offer in-app purchasing, even mcommerce apps can be prone to this if the purchase process is too simple. Even if your mobile app isn’t targeted towards children, consider how they may use it and try to design the purchase processes in a very clear way.