<a href="https://www.emarketer.com/content/the-majority-of-americans-mobile-time-spent-takes-place-in-apps">Statistics say</a> that mobile users prefer apps spending 88% of their time using them and only 12% on mobile websites. For some businesses, mobile apps can be beneficial and even become their competitive advantage. But for others, such apps are useless and rather a huge financial drain.&nbsp;

Since mobile app development is very expensive, it pays to think twice before undertaking it. In the case of native mobile apps, you need to develop and maintain two apps - for iOS and Android. This will require two different teams, not to mention that you’ll still need to keep your website. So let’s figure out if you really need a mobile app.

No doubt that mobile apps have a lot of advantages. They load faster than websites and improve user experience. Once downloaded, they are always available on the phone.&nbsp;

Here are additional advantages of mobile apps that you should consider:

If any of these aspects are important for your business then mobile apps can be a useful tool for you.

On the other hand, mobile apps have a high-friction. You need to first find and download them before using them, so it is not a way to get new customers.&nbsp;

To help you make a decision let’s clarify in what cases you need a mobile app and in what cases you don’t.

If you realize that you do need an app but want to cut down the expenses, consider developing a Progressive Web App (PWA). It is a web development technology that transforms a website into an app. Basically, your website turns into a mobile app adapting to the device that is currently in use, while still running in a browser.&nbsp;

PWAs don’t need to be installed or manually updated, their development is not that time-consuming, and is easy to maintain. However, they are slower than mobile apps.&nbsp;

PWA is much cheaper than creating two native apps for Android and iOS and still maintaining your website. So it is a great alternative in case you need it all at once.

Mobile apps are very useful for business. They can indeed improve conversion and retention, offer better personalization and loading speed, as well as enable functionality unavailable on websites. But not every business really needs them. Keep in mind that it is very costly to develop a mobile app (especially if you need two of them for iOS and Android) and maintain an existing website at the same time.&nbsp;

The need for a mobile app is predefined by the end-user. Think about your business goals and the interests of the target audience. Of course, your budget matters, too. If a mobile app is the only way to adopt the necessary features - then you 100% should develop it. In other cases, you can get away with your responsive website.

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Do we need a mobile app if our website is responsive?