According to a report by ABI Research, global mobile app revenues will go through the roof by 2016.

In 2011, revenues from pay-per-downloads, in-app purchases, subscriptions, and in-app advertising reached US$8.5 billion. By the time 2016 rolls around, though, revenues will soar into the US$46 billion range.

The research firm also believes that in-app purchase revenues will supersede pay-per-download revenues in 2012. However, it also warns that this trend could be short lived if more mobile app developers don't begin creating applications that are capable of in-app purchases.

"As a revenue model, in-app purchase is very limited. The vast majority of current in-app revenue is being generated by a tiny percentage of people who are highly-committed mobile game players," says Mark Beccue, Senior Analyst, Mobile Services, ABI Research. "We don't believe the percentage of mobile game players making in-app purchases will grow significantly, so for in-app purchase revenues to grow, mobile developers other than game developers must adopt it."

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