A question that we’re frequently asked by leads and prospects of all industries is what is the average return on investment for building a Smartphone app? The concern that pretty much always lies at the heart of these initial inquiries is “What’s in it for me?” And it should be. As a small business, we understand that nobody has unlimited financial resources or copious free time for researching the success metrics for mobile app development. Then again, the mobile web is abuzz with opportunity and we understand that nobody wants to turn away from the great potential it has to offer to companies big and small. But what kind of quantifiable response or conversion rate can we really expect to see?

Well, it depends (of course), but here are some general averages that can serve as helpful guidelines for calculating the potential return on investments in mobile development. A study conducted by a mobile app directory called Appolicious surveyed a diverse group of 96 app developers in order to obtain some high-level averages for measurable app development success and return on investment. Developers were asked how many app units were sold, how many days the app had been available, and how much the app was selling for. Across the board, the average return on investment was $554,622 over 261 days, while the average cost of building the app was $6,453. These figures are astounding, and fully justify the initial cost of development. That said, all apps did not perform equally or enjoy the same success as others.  But even when we disregard some of the most popular apps, many of them still paid out in dividends compared to the initial development costs. For example, over a third of the apps featured in the survey sold 10,000 or more copies to consumers over online casino a matter of months.

But what does that mean for businesses that aren’t looking to sell an app, but merely want to get their profile out on the mobile web? These numbers should be considered not only as proof of the popularity of apps, but furthermore as an indication of the potential that lies in mobile web development. While you may not be selling an app directly to consumers, having the opportunity to connect to the millions of Smartphone users through their own mobile devices is invaluable. Which is to say that while the value proposition may change, there is the same great potential to reach your audience, as well as convert your visitors and viewers into paying clients on the mobile web. Mobile development is a relatively new field, and for that reason it can be difficult to forecast return on investment, but as the field takes off it’s becoming clear that for many investors, there is a lot of gain to be realized on the mobile web.