PWAs For eCommerce: Here Is What You Need To Know About

PWAs For eCommerce

Up until a few years ago, it was nearly impossible to imagine if any technology could ever replicate the overall feel and experience of a native mobile application. However, as being accessible and approachable on mobile devices is becoming increasingly vital in the eCommerce industry, the march of progression did indeed find a robust solution with the advent of Progressive Web Apps (PWAs).

Ever since its inception, PWAs have enabled businesses to deliver highly-engaging user experiences while at the same time fuelling them to reach new user bases. The most notable and triumphant use cases have come from mega-companies such as Alibaba, Walmart, Trivago, and Twitter, reporting doubled conversion rates and expanding revenues quicker than ever. 

The PWA implementation and related success stories of these business giants are logically alluring a myriad of small and mid-sized eCommerce businesses. With Progressive Web App development, merchants can now furnish the same high-converting app-like experience to a subsequently larger user base on the mobile web – making it an unmissable technology for businesses of any shape and size.

In this blog, we will elucidate the benefits of progressive web app development and how it is beneficial for eCommerce retailers. Let’s begin.

Understanding Progressive Web Apps 

A progressive web app is an intuitive technology that allows businesses to construct feature-rich web applications that typically have the look and feel of native mobile apps – all while using web technologies such as HTML, CSS, Javascript, and more. App developers can also leverage static site generators like VuePress or Gatsby to launch engaging PWA storefronts. On the backend, these can be connected to the eCommerce platforms.

PWAs essentially run in a browser, however, they provide users with the experience of a native application via core attributes such as:

• Push notifications
• Offline app access
• App access through the mobile home screen
• Lightweight & responsive

Moreover, it is predicted that progressive web apps may soon eclipse native mobile applications. This technology is predominantly gaining momentum as a popular new tech for headless commerce configurations. In essence, headless commerce means decoupling the frontend presentation layer from the eCommerce functionalities of the backend. Through progressive app development for the frontend, businesses can have a responsive, fast, and app-like experience that they need, while connecting it via the APIs to the commerce features that can drive more users through optimum conversion.

Here are some of the advantages of PWA development:

• Reduced development time and cost
• Reach a wider audience base
• Better conversion rates
• Speed and accessibility
• Faster innovation & continuous delivery
• Excellent instant performance
• Offline accessibility 

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How Progressive Web Apps Can Benefit eCommerce Businesses?

PWAs are a powerful tool to address the pervasive issues of user experience (UX). The sole merit of architecting a progressive web app is to inculcate value in the entire mobile shopping experience and make life simpler for users.

If you are like the most eCommerce brands in the market, you will probably notice that between 60% to 70% of the traffic comes from smartphones and tablets. However, according to research, it is evaluated that the desktop traffic still converts better, almost double as compared to what mobile users generally deliver. 

Here, we have enlisted some of the start highlights that will help you consider progressive app development services for your eCommerce business.

• PWAs boost conversion rates

Brands such as AliExpress, Alibaba, and Lancome have reported surged conversions after switching to PWA. Moreover, progressive web apps are also contributing to raising the amount of time that users spend on-site and the number of products that they view in their entire browsing session. For instance, eCommerce marketplace Alibaba witnessed a 76% increase in conversion. Similarly, AliExpress was successful to convert approximately 82% more shoppers whilst nearly doubling the number of page visits per session.

• PWAs make checkout painless and fast

PWA technology furnishes native mobile app-like technical capabilities that make shopping on the go feel like a breeze. Businesses can also add features such as one-tap checkout and leverage stored user information to eliminate the need for typing in payment details and addresses every time before placing an order. This ultimately shortens the steps from initial product selection to final checkout.

• PWAs can be used in offline mode

Since PWAs function similar to native mobile apps, however, you just need to ‘install’ them first. Users just need to visit the website store before disconnecting and the PWA will load automatically in the browser. This enables them to browse the application and navigate through the products without even having an active internet connection.

• PWAs are cost-effective upgrades

It is feasible to improve a mobile-responsive website, however, you will never be able to replicate the seamless and slick user experience that PWAs typically deliver. Furthermore, upgrading to a PWA is also more budget-friendly as compared to going all-out with native mobile app development services. You will get from the ideation phase to go live much faster as well.

• PWAs are lightweight and faster 

Thanks to the precaching technique, progressive web applications are lightweight and load relatively faster, even when the internet connection is weak. According to Google, PWAs load 50% faster on an average as compared to mobile-responsive websites.

• PWAs boost user engagement with push notifications

Just like a native app, PWAs provide businesses with the ability to send push notifications to mobile devices. In a very intuitive way, businesses can reach their target audience base where they are readily available: directly on their smartphones, fostering a highly engaging user experience.

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Summing Up

Mobile applications and progressive app development services are standard in the eCommerce industry. In relation to that PWAs have largely taken the place of native mobile apps, creating a  much higher engagement rate with the end-user. Progressive web apps are essentially websites that behave and look like a native application, which implies that they are tremendously fast, send push notifications, can be added to the home screen of any smartphone, and even work offline.

If you are looking for PWA development or comprehensive SaaS development services for your business, feel free to drop us a line. We will get back to you within 24 hours.