Return on Ad Spend Reimagined: How Native Shopping Apps Increase ROAS — And Create “Return on Ad Savings” for Fashion & Cosmetics Brands

The paid advertising landscape has become more competitive than ever. Fashion and cosmetics brands, in particular, face rising CPMs, shrinking margins, and shifting algorithms. Achieving profitable Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) is increasingly difficult, especially on mobile — where over 70% of traffic enters, but conversion rates on mobile web often remain painfully low.

The challenge is simple:
Brands are paying more for traffic while converting fewer users.

That’s why forward-thinking e-commerce brands are investing in native shopping apps as a strategic performance channel. A mobile app doesn’t just increase ROAS — it fundamentally changes the economics of paid acquisition.

And it introduces a new, more powerful metric:

Why ROAS Is Falling (Especially in Fashion & Beauty)

The downward pressure on paid efficiency is no secret:

• Rising CPMs due to increased competition
• Tracking limitations (iOS privacy updates)
• Weaker retargeting performance
• Lower mobile web conversion rates
• High dependency on paid re-engagement
• Customers who browse often but rarely return organically

Fashion and beauty brands feel this more acutely because they depend on:

• Inspiration
• Visual storytelling
• Impulse buying
• Repeat purchase cycles

Mobile web simply isn’t designed to support this behavior at scale — but apps are.

A native app transforms the behavior of both new and existing customers. It increases conversion, engagement, and repeat purchases — the three biggest levers of ROAS.

Here’s how:

1. Conversion rates in apps are 2–3x higher than mobile web

Fashion and beauty apps regularly see 6–12% conversion rates, compared to 1.5–3% on mobile web.

Why apps convert better:

• 1-tap checkout (Apple Pay, Google Pay)
• Always-logged-in users
• Faster load times
• Personalized product feeds
• Zero browser distractions
• Richer browsing experience (lookbooks, inspiration feeds, AR try-on, etc.)
• Higher conversion = fewer clicks needed per purchase = higher ROAS.

2. Apps increase Average Order Value (AOV)

Shoppers inside an app tend to:

• Add more items to cart
• Buy matching sets, bundles, and routines
• Respond more to AI-driven recommendations
• Purchase more impulsively
• AOV lift of 10–25% is common.
• More revenue per purchase amplifies ROAS for every ad you run.

3. Apps reduce your paid retargeting dependence

Here’s the biggest financial unlock:

In a shopping app, you can re-engage customers for free through:

• Push notifications
• Back-in-stock alerts
• Price-drop alerts
• Personalized in-app campaigns
• Instead of paying €3–€7 for a retargeting click, you pay €0.

This is where Return on Ad Savings (ROAS²) begins to stack up.

4. Push notifications replace expensive retargeting

Push notifications deliver metrics advertisers dream of:

• 30–60% open rate
• 12–20% CTR
• Instant traffic spikes
• Personalized messaging

No ad platform comes close in efficiency. Every push you send is a retargeting ad you didn’t pay Meta or TikTok for.

5. Apps feed first-party data back into your ad platforms

Apps collect cleaner, richer engagement data:

• Browsing behavior
• Wishlist items
• In-app preferences
• Purchase frequency
• Product affinity

This strengthens your ad algorithms, lowers your cost per purchase, and improves lookalike audiences. The result: lower CAC, higher ROAS.

Traditionally, ROAS measures:

“How much revenue do I earn for every dollar spent on ads?”

But with an app, you also save a substantial amount of money by avoiding unnecessary ad impressions, retargeting, and re-acquisition. That’s why brands should track a second metric:

ROAS² = Return on Ad Savings

This quantifies:

• The cost you didn’t spend on Meta/TikTok retargeting
• The customers you didn’t have to reacquire
• The repeat purchases generated organically
• The higher margins created by increased conversion rate
• The incremental revenue from app-only engagement

ROAS² is especially valuable for fashion and cosmetics brands that live and die by repeat purchase behavior.

Why fashion & cosmetics brands benefit the most

These industries rely on:

• Visual discovery
• High SKU turnover
• Personalization (size, skin type, color match)
• Impulse buying
• High repeat purchase cycles
• Shopping apps enhance all of these:
• Personalized home feed
• Faster browsing & discovery
• Wishlist + back-in-stock flows
• In-app lookbooks
• Replenishment reminders
• AI-powered push notifications

It’s no surprise fashion and beauty brands have the highest mobile app revenue share across retail.

Conclusion: A native app isn’t just a sales channel, it’s a ROAS engine

Paid advertising is getting more expensive. Competition is rising. Algorithms are unpredictable.

But brands that launch native shopping apps gain:

✓ Higher conversion
✓ Higher AOV
✓ Higher retention
✓ Lower paid retargeting costs
✓ Lower CAC
✓ More first-party data
✓ Higher ROAS
✓ Higher Return on Ad Savings (ROAS²)

For fashion and cosmetics brands, a native app isn’t a “nice-to-have” anymore, it’s the future of profitable growth.