Discovery of apps “continues to plague publishers,” according to independent store GetJar, citing a user survey which found that “only 25 percent discovered the apps they were looking for using actual app stores.” The company said that “nearly 50 percent” had discovered apps while browsing online, with 17 percent having found apps following recommendations from friends or through social media. According to the survey, “app usage is clearly on the rise,” indicating that almost 34 percent of consumers spend one hour or more using apps per day, compared with 49 percent who spend the same amount of time watching television. Some 50 percent of respondents use mobile apps more than once per day.

The survey also notes that “advertisers have reasons to be hopeful,” with 73 percent of respondents stating that they have downloaded an app with advertising in it, and almost 60 percent stating that they would do it again. Almost one quarter made a purchase after clicking on a mobile ad. The research also found that brand value can benefit from mobile apps, with almost 80 percent of respondents stating that “the quality of the brand’s app makes the brand more trustworthy.”

GetJar also found that gaming apps are the most popular, followed closely by social networking apps; that the amount of free apps and the ease of search topped the list of things users look for in an app store; and the cost of an app was the biggest deciding factor in whether to download an app or not.