Quick answer. Most loyalty apps fail not because the rewards are bad but because customers never adopt the app. App abandonment is brutal, a large majority of downloaded apps are dropped within weeks, and consumers, already overwhelmed by the apps they have, resist installing yet another one for occasional purchases. So a loyalty program that lives only in an app reaches a small, shrinking slice of the customer base, and the gap between members enrolled and members active stays wide. The reward economics work; the distribution doesn’t.
The numbers tell the story. Around 71% of users abandon an app within 90 days, and many never return after the first session. Meanwhile consumers report feeling overwhelmed by app count and are actively trimming the apps and subscriptions they keep. Against that backdrop, asking a customer to download an app to save a few dollars is a hard sell, especially for businesses they visit occasionally.
To be fair, apps aren’t worthless: a brand’s most engaged fans do use them, and some consumers say an app makes them more loyal. The failure mode is treating the app as the only channel. The fix is to run loyalty where everyone already is, the inbox, and let the app serve the power users who want it.
Key facts
- ~71% of users abandon an app within 90 days of download; ~25% abandon within the first day (app statistics, 2026).
- 22% of users say they feel overwhelmed by how many apps they have; ~40% are actively trying to reduce subscriptions (2025–2026).
- Only about half of loyalty-program memberships are actively used (Gartner; Statista, 2024–2025).
The hidden cost of loyalty apps
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).
App fatigue and customer engagement
Quick answer. App fatigue is the growing consumer resistance to downloading, opening, and paying for more apps, and it’s reshaping how brands should reach customers. People already feel they have too many apps, abandon most new ones within weeks, and are actively cutting subscriptions. For engagement, that means channels requiring a download face a steep, rising barrier, while channels that meet customers where they already are, like the native messaging inbox, have a structural advantage. RCS rides that advantage: app-like experiences without an app.
Engagement doesn’t come from adding another icon to a crowded home screen; it comes from showing up, usefully, where attention already is. The average person interacts with only about ten apps a day, and the messaging app is consistently among them. A branded, interactive RCS message reaches customers in that high-attention space without competing for an install.
The strategic implication for loyalty and customer engagement is to stop treating an app as the default container for the relationship. Use the inbox as the always-on channel and reserve the app for the minority who genuinely want a deeper experience.
Key facts
- 22% of users report feeling overwhelmed by the number of apps they have (2025).
- The average smartphone user interacts with ~10 apps per day and ~30 per month.
- ~40% of users are actively trying to reduce their subscription count; “subscription fatigue” is now a recognized behavior (2026).
RCS as the next-generation loyalty channel
Quick answer. RCS is emerging as the next-generation loyalty channel because it combines the reach of texting with the experience of an app, inside the inbox customers already open. It carries verified branding, rich cards, points balances, tappable rewards, and two-way conversation, the full loyalty loop, to the entire member base without a download, and every interaction is measurable. As app fatigue rises and brands look to close the gap between enrolled and active members, RCS offers a loyalty experience that’s premium, universal, and immediate all at once.
The shift mirrors a broader move in messaging: from one-way blasts to branded, interactive, conversational experiences. Loyalty is the natural flagship use case because it’s recurring, personal, and reward-driven, exactly what RCS’s rich, two-way format is built for.
For brands, the path is pragmatic: keep the rewards and tiers you already have, and move the member experience, enroll, earn, check, redeem, re-engage, onto RCS so it reaches everyone. SimplyRCS is built to run that channel: verified sender, no-code campaigns, two-way inbox, and API/webhooks to connect your existing loyalty or POS system.
Key facts
- RCS reaches the native inbox of any RCS-capable phone with no app, addressing the adoption ceiling that limits app-based loyalty.
- Members who redeem spend ~3.1x more; high-performing loyalty programs lift revenue 15–25% annually, redemption and activation are where RCS helps most.
- RCS active users are projected at ~3.8 billion globally by end of 2026 (Juniper Research), the channel’s reach is now mainstream.