People often say 'the discoverability [in the App Store] is horrible', which, I believe is inexact wording, but largely results in the outcome you raise. It's

People often say 'the discoverability [in the App Store] is horrible', which, I believe is inexact wording, but largely results in the outcome you raise. It's not so much discoverability as in 'stumbling upon an arbitrary app', but more of learning about what that app does, and why it's something you want. Once you learn about a solution to a problem you may not even realize you had, you'll be a lot more likely to make a purchase. This is why app makers jump to be featured in compilations like 'top 5 note taking apps for iOS'; other options are word-of-mouth, bundling, or being promoted somehow out-of-band.