These days people have become heavily reliant on technology. Whether they need a cookie to get rid of their hunger, detergent powder to remove dirt from their clothes, or a PS5 to experience amplified gaming performance, just a touch of a few buttons is needed on their mobile phone to get these things delivered. Now, the question comes, how did such facilities become feasible? Well, that’s where eCommerce apps play a key role. Unfortunately, not all the eCommerce apps you see around offer excellent user experience to all visitors due to certain OS limitations. But when it comes to PWAs for eCommerce, every internet user can access them through a browser without worrying about operating system requirements, resulting in plentiful traffic, conversions, and revenue generation down the line. So, let’s see how progressive web applications are sure-shot solutions to eCommerce business growth. First, you need to understand:
What is a Progressive Web App?
A Progressive Web App is a mobile application that combines the best of both worlds, i.e., traditional web applications and native mobile applications. They are developed with the help of web-based technologies, such as HTML, CSS, Java, etc., and can be accessed through a standard web browser. The best part of PWAs for eCommerce is that they don’t force you to install a specific application from an app store and allow you to access them without an internet connection.
Progressive Web Apps have been a preferred choice for globally-known companies, like:
- Uber
- Alibaba
- Starbucks
- And many more
It takes advantage of service workers that are background running scripts utilized by PWAs to offer offline functionality and quicker downloading time.
How eCommerce and Progressive Web Apps Make the Perfect Match?
With smartphones powering a large portion of the internet traffic, offering a seamless user experience should be your top concern. For the eCommerce industry, where mobile phones supply even more traffic, relying on a mobile-first approach is the only way to go.
While your app is just limited to a particular group of loyal customers, first-time visitors access any software through the browsers most of the time. So, the crux of the matter is that it is your website that will either make or break your eCommerce business. And if you want to keep growing continuously while participating in this competitive industry, availing PWA development services for the eCommerce business is the only option to go with.
Just to let you know, several reports by some of the top companies in the world recommended that shifting to progressive web apps has resulted in considerable growth for the eCommerce business. Although you should have different apps for different operating systems and platforms, PWA frameworks-powered applications can be installed and run on almost every smartphone smoothly. This way, the eCommerce development cost for businesses can be reduced to a great extent.
What Features Make PWAs for eCommerce High in Demand?
A few of the key advantages of PWAs for eCommerce that businesses should be familiar with are:
1. Easy to add a homepage
With such outstanding functionality of eCommerce PWA, your consumers can easily add your website or app’s UI to the home screen of their device.
2. Push notifications
Push notifications are one of the finest features of progressive web app development services. It allows PWA owners to interact with buyers easily by sending them personal messages about new items, sales, and the rest of information through push notifications, straight from their store to customers’ mobile phones.
3. Offline mode
If your users ever lose access to their internet connectivity, they will still be able to browse through your website and buy interesting products or services without a web connection.
4. Fast loading speed
Your customers’ experience will never be affected because of slow loading time or network disruptions. Your PWAs for eCommerce will remain ready to deal with any situation.
Keep Reading: eCommerce Web Development Cost
How Can PWAs for eCommerce Improve the Online Shopping Experience?
Opting for PWA development services for eCommerce businesses must be considered when building a new online store or revamping an existing one. Various businesses still need to make the most of this technology, which offers an excellent opportunity to stand out from their rivals and deliver customers an unmatched shopping experience.
Statistics from the best digital data provider on the internet show that the mobile traffic market share was the largest in April 2024 with 67.36% of all traffic. Apart from that, the mobile conversion rate in the US accounts for 2%, whereas the desktop conversion rate was somewhere around 3% in the second quarter of 2022.
Thus, everything boils down to the point that a big gap in consumer satisfaction needs to be filled and PWAs for eCommerce business are the key to swiftly optimizing your website’s user experience.
#1 Improved User Engagement
Push notifications are highly useful for progressive web applications because they can communicate in a way that garners customers’ attention through their mobile phones. What else? When compared to conventional marketing methods like emails, push notifications don’t require consumers to have contact details or accounts with you, making it easy to reach your patrons directly and quickly according to top web app development companies.
#2 Optimal Instantaneous Performance
Modern users are deeply interested in leveraging faster online mobile experiences. A recent study by one of the top tech giants in the world has disclosed that after 3 seconds of page loading time, no less than 53% of visitors abandon a web page and conversion rates reduce by at least 21.8% per second. Fortunately, relying on progressive web applications makes some sense as it provides the quickest and engaging user experience in apps to visitors. That means PWAs can load under one second owing to their advantage of web speed and client-side caching.
And the best part? PWAs for eCommerce consume much slighter disk slots, resulting in faster loading duration, reduced data use, and limited storage needs, making them a suitable proposition for any business to put their money on.
#3 Enhanced SEO
Progressive web apps offer a myriad of advantages over traditional websites and native applications. Wondering how? Well, apps made using PWA frameworks are web-specific and every published content is frequently indexed by search engines. For example, Google and Bing can link any content together in order to rank it on the web. On the other side, the native applications are generally not indexed on search engines. PWA offers a myriad of advantages, such as fast loading speed, fewer data utilization, reduced bounce rate, and highly interactive experiences, all of them translate into better SEO ranking.
#4 Upsurged User Adoption
PWAs for eCommerce provide a blend of website and native application features, offering users an extremely enjoyable experience through a PWA shortcut on home screen. Some studies have revealed that Flipkart customers who uninstalled their application often re-download their PWA having a 60% success rate. In addition to that, push notifications for PWAs are opened 3X more than email notifications when getting user consent. It contributes to an improved promotional strategy for any business selling its products and services online.
#5 Increased Conversion Rate
User experiences directly influence eCommerce store conversion rates. Removing conflict and disappointment results in more engaged customers who can immediately complete their objectives.
Know the Difference: Quick-Commerce vs e-Commerce
Can You Name Some eCommerce Brands That Have Leveraged PWAs For Success?
Alibaba
One of the largest and well-known eCommerce platforms in the world, Alibaba adopted a PWA in 2016 and accomplished great success. They experienced a high conversion rate across all browsers, which upsurged by 76% for the business. The progressive web application of the company is made to be faster, dependable, and simple to use, offering its customers a seamless online buying experience and leading to massive business success with PWA.
Blibli
Indonesia’s biggest eCommerce platform in Indonesia, Blibli adopted PWAs for eCommerce business in 2019 and experienced aggressive growth. Compared to their previous mobile website, the company registered a 10x increase in income per user through their progressive web application.
Rakuten 24
A well-familiar Japanese eCommerce company Rakuten 24 is one of the several eCommerce businesses that has enjoyed PWA success. The organization’s decision to implement a progressive web application has led to more user engagement and retention. Within a month, the PWA developed by the establishment Rakuten 24 helped it to boost visitor retention rate by 450% compared to its previous mobile web flow.
Keep Reading: D2C eCommerce Strategy
What is the PWA Development Cost for eCommerce Businesses?
The creation of PWAs for eCommerce depends on several factors such as app complexity, features, tech stack, and the skill set of the app development team.
If the app is complicated with more advanced features, like offline capability, push notifications, and is developed from scratch, then it might take anywhere between 6 to 12 months and will incur PWA development cost of around $50,000 to $150,000 or more than that.
On a Concluding Note!
Finally, the discussion boils down to the point that if you want to stay ahead of your rivals and keep your customers happy, all you need to do is include PWA development in your eCommerce strategy. But there is no denying the fact that change can be scary and the chance is high to feel hesitant about trying something new. Bear in mind that PWA is not the key to all your eCommerce problems. But when it is implemented correctly, it can surely help in enhancing the user experience, decreasing bounce rates, and growing engagement. We, at Binmile, have expertise in working with PWA frameworks to develop a progressive web application for your eCommerce store based on your specific needs and preferences.
