A bad online shopping experience is not something anyone wants to experience. Technologies are rapidly evolving according to how consumers behave online. It’s not easy running an online eCommerce store. The slightest of issues, such as a slow page load time, can cause a spike in your bounce rate and lead to revenue loss. Fortunately, Google came up with a solution to this problem in 2015 called, Progressive Web App(PWA). The PWA Mobile App for eCommerce is highly regarded for its responsiveness, speed of loading, rapid installation, and impressive features. These characteristics could lead to its replacement as a native application.
A growing number of large enterprises utilize PWAs to increase conversion rates and grow revenues, including Twitter, Alibaba, and Walmart. Nevertheless, small and medium businesses can benefit from the same technologies by creating an app-like experience for their customers.
What Is a PWA?
Web app technology enables developers to build web applications that look and feel like native mobile applications-utilizing web technologies like JavaScript, HTML, and CSS. Using static site generators such as Gatsby and VuePress, developers can build highly engaging PWA storefronts. Platforms can then be connected to e-commerce systems on the backend.
Benefits of Progressive Web Apps
Mobile commerce is rapidly growing as a share of e-commerce. The revenue generated from mobile commerce is expected to generate 53.9% of all online retail sales by 2021. The mobile e-commerce market is a huge opportunity for businesses. It takes the right strategy to win a share of it. Formerly, businesses may have been required to have a native app for that functionality, but today some businesses may be able to get it with PWAs.
1. Reach a wider audience.
The PWA is designed to be compatible with all users, no matter the platform upon which they browse. They are also flexible in order to adapt to different screen sizes. Due to their instant accessibility to a wide audience and simple sharing, they’re more widely adopted than apps since they aren’t required to be downloaded.
2. Reduced development costs and time.
As well as development and maintenance, native apps require their own resources. If you wish to reach the same crowd, you should consider creating an Android app, an iOS app and maybe even a Windows 10 app-and make sure you manage them all as well as your website.
3. Speed and accessibility.
In a Google study, more than half of mobile users abandon a site if it takes longer than 3 seconds to load. It’s of paramount importance that the user experience is fast and smooth, and PWAs provide that with their design for fast performance. The reason why PWAs are so fast is that modern web technologies and frameworks are used. These apps even work offline and on low-bandwidth networks.
4. Better conversion.
Because of the benefits listed above, PWAs provide a better customer experience, which translates into higher conversion rates. In Alibaba’s case, introducing PWAs led to a 76% increase in conversions across different browsers.
Why e-commerce businesses must go for PWA
So what does this actually mean when it comes to e-commerce? Here are six key factors PWAs bring:
- Advanced app-like experience.
In addition to looking like native applications with excellent user experience and UX features, PWAs provide a smooth and fast website performance to users, something that most online stores lack.
- Offline functionality.
PWAs work even when your customers are offline, something that most responsive websites cannot offer. The buyer can look through their orders whenever and wherever they want.
- Zero installs.
The most important advantage is the one that matters to your customers. They no longer need to download your app from an app store – it can be added right to their home screen from a browser.
- Cheaper to develop.
Compared to the cost of creating a native application for an online store, developing a PWA costs around $15,000. Furthermore, a PWA provides not only a mobile app but also a mobile website.
- Push Notifications.
In the same way as native apps, PWAs can send push notifications to users to inform them of new product arrivals or discounts offered by your store. Having this feature encourages customers to return and purchase more merchandise.
- Compactness.
The article said that native apps consume a lot of storage space and that most people don’t use them more than twice per month. This leads to them being deleted by customers. The space issue does not arise because PWAs are downloaded and run in a browser.
Conclusion
A progressive web app can be the next major game-changer for your business. If you’re having trouble with native apps and want to provide an optimized and consistent user experience, PWAs might be the solution.
When it comes to eCommerce website development, PWAs are gaining popularity. In order to create an enhanced online store that supports PWAs, you should hire a PWA development company.