While there are an estimated 52.2 million visits to Apple’s App Store in the UK each week, more than half of users do not browse any further than the top 25 applications in the charts.

According to a survey by mobile marketing company Surikate and research firm GFK, some 82 percent of iPhone users find new apps by browsing the store, while two thirds have found apps via recommendations from friends and family – highlighting the importance of the “word of mouth” effect.

A presence in the App Store charts was deemed “crucial”, because 75 percent of users will often download apps from here without any prior awareness. But a ranking and screenshot alone are not enough to drive downloads: 85 percent of App Store visitors need to see “strong reviews, screenshots or price to be convinced”.

The majority of users (86 percent) browse for apps at home, while only 23 percent of respondents shop on the move, with 22 percent doing so when at work. The average number of visits to the store is 6 per user per week.

The study was based on just under 1,600 interviews, conducted in November 2012, and weighted to be representative of the audience.