#245: The future of web-to-app funnels for app growth with Andrey Shakhtin, Founder & CEO of FunnelFox

Business of Apps Podcast

September rolls on—Apple’s big reveal is behind us, and the tech world is still catching its breath. With the unveiling of the iPhone Air, Apple has once again raised the bar in mobile innovation.

But while hardware dominates headlines, we’re zooming in on a quieter, yet equally game-changing shift: the migration of payments from app stores to the web.

This week’s episode of The Business of Apps Podcast features another App Talk special—conducted by David Murphy with Andrey Shakhtin, Founder & CEO of FunnelFox. The topic? The future of web-to-app funnels for app growth.

Andrey brings a wealth of insight from helping leading apps optimize their revenue stacks. He explains why the move to web payments isn’t just about saving fees—it introduces new friction points in refunds, compliance, and orchestration that many teams overlook. You’ll also hear how performance, UX, and product-led strategies are becoming central to making the transition stick.

If your team is exploring app-to-web monetization—or already deep in the trenches—this episode is your playbook for avoiding costly missteps.
Let’s dive in: here’s Andrey Shakhtin, CEO at FunnelFox

Today’s topics include:

• More app developers are shifting payments from in-app to web to gain control and increase revenue, but the shift comes with serious operational complexity.
• Web-to-app transitions often neglect the payment flow, leading to revenue leakage and conversion drop-offs due to poor infrastructure or oversight.
• Optimizing the payment stack is now critical, and requires orchestration tools and performance visibility similar to what’s used in user funnels.
• Many apps make the mistake of treating payments as an afterthought, ignoring failure handling, tax compliance, and retry logic.
• The future lies in hybrid web–app monetization models, giving developers more flexibility and users more choice.
• Speed, clarity, and trust in the payment flow are essential, especially as users become less tolerant of friction or confusion at checkout.

Links and Resources:

• • Andrey Shakhtin on LinkedIn
  • FunnelFox website
  • Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry

Quotes from Andrey Shakhtin

“Web-to-app funnels unlock attribution, reduce payment commissions, and give developers the flexibility to design user journeys that simply aren’t possible inside the app stores.”

“The main mistake I see is teams trying to build everything in-house. It slows down experimentation, drains resources, and pulls focus away from the product itself.”

“The future of app growth will belong to the teams that experiment fast, diversify acquisition channels, and master web-based monetization.”

Host

Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry since 2012