Why Businesses Are Investing More in App Development in 2025

Introduction

Picture your mom-and-pop shop overcoming its website from the last century, even if just a little bit ashamed of it, as it heard that “there must be a better way” whisper. That’s where an app steps in. It’s now 2025, and the trend is still growing: small businesses are increasingly building mobile or web apps, not just so they don’t miss out on being trendy. They’re doing this because the landscape has changed, and apps are actually delivering real value. I’m going to cover in this blog post why investing in app development is a good decision. As always, but particularly this year (and beyond), highlight evolving demand we’ve personally seen within our work at Debtech LLC, and share actionable takeaways for small businesses considering taking the leap.

The changing digital small-business terrain

1.    Website only → app-inclusive approach

For a long time, a business site was sufficient. But in 2025, not so much, and the user has grown accustomed to more immediacy, more interactivity, and easier access. A 2025 article states that “mobile apps play a key role in the success of businesses and help to improve customer engagement, increase sales, and streamline operations”.

For a smaller business, this of course includes competitive advantage being more than just a tidy website, now it’s also about having as much pace with your audience on their device and in the way they want to interact.

2.    Technology spending is increasing

According to Deloitte, world IT spending is anticipated to rise by about 9.3% in 2025, while the software and cloud categories will experience growth in the double digits.

And what that says to small businesses is: This is the time to invest digitally, not just survival mode. Screening off a budget and an approach for an app is also about being realistic and inclusive.

3.    Why apps like Abloh’s aren’t just for the big guys

Apps used to seem like lover or megabudget tools. Now, with accessible cross-platform tools like React Native, lower development costs, and more ubiquitous frameworks, small businesses can build apps as well. One estimate of cost indicates that basic/straightforward apps will run up to $5,000-$50,000; moderate functionality will be between $50,000-$120,000, and the price for a complex app is anywhere from £120,000 -£300,00.

For an ambitious small business, that is within reach, especially if the return on investment potential is there.

Low cost of developing mobile apps for small business owners. Reasons why small businesses are opting for app development

Key reasons small businesses are going for app development

1.    Boosting customer engagement & loyalty

One of the most powerful reasons: Apps engage in a deeper way. According to an industry blog post, one of the “10 Important Benefits Of Mobile Apps For Businesses in 2025” is “Increase Customer Engagement”.

When I was working with one of our smaller local café clients at Debtech LLC, we assisted in creating a barebones app that sent push notifications for daily specials and loyalty rewards. The result? They saw repeat visits increase in as little as a month. That type of real-world utility is useful for an app.

2.    Enhancing brand visibility and presence

An app resides on a device of the user: that little icon becomes part of their regular digital environment. This increases brand recall. The benefit in the same benefits article is "Enhance Brand Visibility" as one of the top benefits.

And for a small business, to remain visible even at times when the website would be closed is a big advantage.”

3.    Direct marketing channel & personalised experience

Apps allow for features such as push notifications, in-app messaging, geo-targeting, and loyalty programs. All of these speak directly to your customer and stand in front of your referrals, as they use third-party systems. Like one blog puts it: “As opposed to email or social networks, mobile application has instant and direct communication with customers… hence becomes a highly effective customer retention tool.”

From the work that we do in my marketing agency, we see that clients with an app are able to segment and personalize offers much more easily - leading to a greater rate of conversion.

4.      Operational efficiency & internal improvement

It’s not all just customer-facing pluses. Apps (particularly web apps) can streamline in-house workflows, automate manual processes, and even minimize the overhead. According to AgilityPR’s recent article, “By 2025, businesses are gradually moving towards web application development for improving efficiency”.

For a mom-and-pop outfit, this might mean less manual labor and faster service, happier clients, and lower cost per transaction.

5.    Staying ahead of competitors

In the crowded digital market, an app can be a differentiator. With so many small businesses still running on their website and social media, having an app says “we’re modern, we care about your experience”. "Stand Out from Competitors" is also featured in the "10 Key Benefits" piece.

If you are a small business and not using app development, while others in your industry are, then there is a good chance that you will miss out.

Trends and features driving app investment in 2025

1.    Cross-platform and progressive web apps (PWAs)

The cost and complexity barrier for apps is coming down with tools that make it easy to build once, then release on platforms (iOS, Android, web). “Cross-platform solutions” apparently feature large on the list of mobile app development trends by 2025.

If you are a small business, this is music to your ears: you can now reach more users on different devices without having separate code-bases.

2.  AI, immersive experiences, and smart features

Tendencies are proving the inclusion of immersive technologies (AR), smarter functions (AI/ML based customization) into apps.

For instance, a retail company can provide AR try-before-you-buy or an app could identify user behavior and show them relevant offers. Small businesses can even develop niche features that separate.

3.   Data and insights for marketing & growth

Apps have access to more detailed information about the behaviour of users than websites. You get actionable insights, to make better marketing decisions. The “10 Key Benefits” page reads that you can “Gather actionable customer insights”.

App development and analytics integration in particular allow us to follow on-boarding engagement, drop-off points and tailor messaging around this for our clients at Debtech LLC (all achievable via a website alone but not quite as seamlessly).

4.   Security, scalability and modern tech stack

Building apps is getting easier, but you still need to ensure they are secure and scalable. Sources on the web claim app development could be less expensive with a single code base and scale more efficiently.

And more than that, as expectations rise, making sure user data is safe, performance is high and UX is good are all super important.

What this means for a small business

1.     Building a clear business case
Before small businesses can jump into app development, they should consider: What is the purpose? Increase repeat purchases? Improve brand interaction? Improve internal efficiency? Knowing what you're aiming for helps you to build the right app – for the right reasons. And here at Debtech LLC, we always ask our small-business clients: What problem will this app solve for you and your clients?

2.    Align app development with marketing strategy & budget

You’re making an investment to develop an app; it isn’t free. With a little guidance from our cost chart earlier, you can expect anything between $5k and $300k for the basic to advanced functionality.

or a small business, you could aim for an MVP with the essential functionality. Then build marketing and growth features around it: the app launch, your push-notification strategy, onboarding process, and retention features.

3.    Ensure strong user experience (UX)

It doesn’t matter if you have an app — if it’s clunky, slow, that’s not well-designed, people will walk away. While UX Design is nice to have in order to keep users around and turning them into customers, research shows it's also essential for retention and conversion.

In practice: clean navigation, speed in performance, personalization, and meaningful onboarding. Our company advised one client to simplify new-user onboarding in their app from 8 steps to 3, and user drop-off decreased by ~30% week over week.

4.    Measure, iterate, and grow

An app is not “set and forget”. Use analytics now to see what features users use, where they drop off, and what they ignore. For instance, you might discover that your loyalty notifications are performing better when you send them at a certain time, or perhaps uncover that new functionality needs to be added in future releases. An app becomes a hub of never-ending improvement, not a static investment.

5.    Consider integration and future-proofing

Today, many features are “nice to have” but become an expectation: offline access, personalization — push notification’s etc, cross platform access, cloud back end. Selecting the right stack, and designing for scalability can help you future-proof your investment. The trending apps article includes cloud, IoT, microservices – which all of these small businesses might not employ today, but think to for tomorrow.

My personal experience from working with small-business clients

When I began consulting with small businesses through my company Debtech LLC, I frequently encountered reluctance: “We don’t need an app, we’re too small”, “All is well with our website”, “It will cost more than it’s worth”. We ended up coaching a few clients on app development, Going Lean, Doing Core Value. One small retailer created an app that included a customer-loyalty module and push notification notifying users about flash sales. After 3 months they claimed that repeat visitors grew by 15 per cent. The development of the app was not just tech-expense for them — it created an entirely new channel of interacting with customers. 

Pitfalls and things to watch out for

a.    Not defining clear goals

Build your app simply because "everyone else is"and you could have very little takers. Make sure you’ve researched your audience, studied your business data and decided what success means for you.

b.  Underestimating budget & time

App development involves design, development, testing, launch, marketing, maintenance. The cost estimate earlier ($5k–$300k) should caution you not to treat this like a cheap website.

c.   Ignoring UX or performance

Retention is dead for an app with poor experience. As we’ve seen, usability (info architecture, UI design, performance) are all strong levers.

d.  Skipping analytics and iteration

Getting your app into the world is only step one. Without tracking, you're not going to understand how your users are using, engaging and then miss the opportunity to optimise.

e.    Building features nobody uses

Stick to your core value. Use data or pilot versions to validate feature needs. Avoid “wishlist bloat”.

How to get started (step-by-step for a small business)

a.   Determine your goal – What do you hope to achieve with your business? More repeat customers? Faster service? Better brand recall?

b.    Making a survey – Reach out to your audience or customers asking what would they gain from using an app.

c.    Sketch key features – Identify the 2-3 critical functions or requirements.

d.    Decide on your path to build – Native vs cross-platform vs PWA. Small budget PWA, crossplatform can work.

e.    Design for UX & performance – Rank your designers higher, test the prototype against user testing and make sure to keep onboard simple.

f.     Build & launch MVP – As minimal of a product as possible, then iterate.

g.    Promote your app – Drive downloads: in-store signage, website cta, email marketing promo, reward for loyalty.

h.    Measure & iterate – Analyze with analytics—monitor how people are using the app, keep a close eye on retention & drop-off; adjust for it.

i.    Factor in support & update - Apps are not fire and forget: Platform updates, Bug fixes, Feature enhancements.

j.   Scale when ready – When usage has solidified, there is now room to increase features and deeper integrations (CRM, loyalty programme, AR etc).

Conclusion

For small business in 2025, investing in app development, it won’t be so much a question of following the novel as identifying opportunity that you want to control. These days, the digital expectations of customers combined with the availability of low-cost development tools and access to strategic benefits (engagement, brand awareness, loyalty, internal efficiency) have made apps a viable business decision. That’s certainly been my own experience, with clients of Debtech LLC — when done correctly, an app is a growth engine, not just a cost center.

If you’ve been on the fence about whether your business should build an app, now is the time to act. Begin with a crystal clear goal, create something lean, stay focussed on creating value and then scale as needed.

Call to action:

If you’d like to explore app development for your business, feel free to reach out. At Debtech LLC, we specialize in turning small-business ideas into apps that genuinely serve customers and grow brands. Let’s chat about your goals and chart a roadmap together.