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Definition of Return on Investment - ROI

By Barbara Farfan, About.com

Definition: Return on Investment is the amount of profit or cost saving that will be realized in return for a specific expenditure of money, usually express as a percentage of the original monetary outlay. The ROI ratio compares the net benefits of a project to its total costs.
Examples: After a 30-day test, it was estimated that the average ROI for digital signage in a 20,000 square foot grocery store would be 29%.
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