The craze for mobile applications appears to be waning with new figures suggesting a drop in the number of new downloads by users in the UK.

Research by accountancy firm Deloitte shows that the average smartphone or tablet user downloaded 1.82 apps this year compared with 2.32 in 2013.

The figures also revealed that the number of users failing to access any apps at all increased from less than 20 per cent to 31 per cent during the same timeframe.

Deloitte analyst Paul Lee said: "We are reaching a limit in the UK in the volume of app store downloads. Each additional new smartphone [owner] has less inclination to download apps."

The market adjustment is partly due to the better quality of apps on the market, meaning users are retaining them longer and not feeling the need to upgrade.

An earlier Deloitte report also pointed to increasing smartphone penetration into the over-55 market, which is less inclined to use the full scope of handsets and is sceptical about spending money on websites.