Quick answer. The sticker price of a loyalty app — design and development — is the smallest part of its cost. The hidden costs are ongoing: maintaining and updating the app across iOS and Android, app-store fees and review cycles, security and privacy upkeep, and — the biggest one — the perpetual marketing spend required to convince customers to download it and the lost value of every member who never does. When most of your base never installs the app, you’re paying to build and run a channel that reaches a minority.
There’s also an opportunity cost. Rewards that members can’t easily see or redeem expire unclaimed — an estimated $10 billion a year in the US — which represents engagement (and revenue) a brand paid to create and never captured. An app that few people open quietly contributes to that pile.
RCS changes the cost structure: there’s no app to build or maintain, no download to fund, and no install barrier between a member and their rewards. The brand pays per message at carrier rates and reaches the whole base — turning fixed app overhead into a measurable, variable channel.
Key facts
- Beyond build cost: ongoing maintenance, app-store fees, security/privacy upkeep, and continuous user-acquisition spend to drive installs.
- ~$10 billion in US loyalty rewards goes unredeemed annually (Antavo, 2026) — value created but not captured.
- App-only reach is capped by install and retention rates (~71% abandon within 90 days).