Verizon Wireless is closing its Verizon Apps store, stating that “we’re evolving our strategy to further simplify today’s experience and meet the needs of tomorrow”.

The store, which was opened in March 2010, offered apps for Android and BlackBerry devices, and the operator said that “most apps existing on Verizon Apps are already available on multiple storefronts, such as Google Play, Amazon and BlackBerry App World”.

The closure will not affect business apps bought from Verizon’s Private Applications Store for Business, which targets its enterprise customer base.

The company will start removing the Verizon Apps icon from Android and BlackBerry devices in January 2013, and the process is expected to be complete by the end of March 2013.

Apps which use a subscription business model – and therefore require a “licence check” with Verizon – will no longer work once the client is removed, and so these titles will be delisted from the catalogue imminently.

Verizon also said it is “introducing new merchandising strategies, starting with AppLuvr, an app that can help get your Android app discovered by millions of Verizon customers”.

The operator revamped Verizon Apps a little over twelve months ago, having admitted that the process of bringing apps to users had been slow.