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The Importance of App Store Search

The search feature of Apple’s App Store was returning incorrect results for just a few hours during the morning of 5 May 2016, but the impact was enormous. According to app analytics firm Tune, 65 percent of all apps saw their downloads drop by more than 10 percent, and 15 percent of apps lost more than half of their regular downloads. These numbers give a sense of how significant the App Store business is, since some top-tier apps might have lost nearly 2500 new customers during those few hours. The glitch affected only search results, not the Top Charts or Featured placements, showing the importance of search for finding apps. If Apple improved discoverability in the App Store, users might not have to rely so much on search and might be more likely to discover lesser known apps.

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