There are 2 common paths that consumers take to installing your app

The consumer interaction that leads to the decision to download your app has 2 common paths:

• Discovery
• Referral

Discovery is by far the most common route for consumers to lead to an install of your app. Currently, more than 65% of all app downloads are the result of consumers navigating through the store in search of apps that fit their needs. A lot of this discovery happens through perusing the category and featured lists, which explains why so many developers are focused on getting their apps featured. Some of this discovery occurs through Search, but our studies indicate this is much less common than simple tap-based navigation.

Referral, on the other hand, is what happens when a trusted source (someone's friend, an app review site, an influential blogger or journalist) points your app to consumers and influences them to visit your app and download it.

The difference in behavior between these two paths is an important distinction to make when thinking about how to influence the installation numbers for your business.

Consumers who follow the referral path are generally visiting your app's detail page in the app store with the intent to install your app. They've already been convinced by someone they trust to take a look at your app and give it a try.

Discovery-driven consumers, on the other hand, are engaging in the age-old practice of window-shopping - they're browsing through the app store and evaluating apps.

Let's break down the differences between the two installation paths in more detail and talk about how to maximize your opportunity for both.