“A new way to deliver amazing user experiences on the web” – Google

Progressive web apps (PWA), introduced by Google in 2015 has gained popularity over the last couple of years. It has revolutionized the Mobile landscape with its plethora of benefits. PWA can add immense value to your e-commerce business if you have active mobile users.

PWAs offer an entirely new approach to web design. These mobile apps deliver an app-like experience on your browser. Progressive apps are built on the web and put mobile device users on equal terms regardless of internet connection and hardware. This emerging technology is rapidly evolving and displays identically on all devices. These mobile apps are specially designed to work offline or in areas of low network connectivity. PWA stays up to date and provides the user with the newest content automatically. The user can save it on the home screen making it easily accessible.

Prominent companies like Twitter, Washington Post, Forbes and Virgin America have adopted this technology in their respective application to provide excellent user experience and lower the data usage. It has helped to increase conversions, number mobile searches and generate more leads.

Good PWA needs considerable improvisation in the browser capabilities along with modifications across service workers, push APIs and cache data. These help users to install the app on their home screen along with provision for Push Notifications.

Some of the key characteristics of good progressive web applications are –

Browser- friendly design makes it compatible with Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Microsoft Edge and Opera.

Mobile-first design delivers value and convenience to the user. It not only makes the app look good on any mobile device but also gives smooth user experience.

PWAs are fast. A recent study revealed that 53% users would abandon a site if it takes longer than 3 seconds to load. PWAs loads almost instantly regardless of network situation. It consistently loads in the background and users do not have to wait for the content to refresh.

PWAs are not restricted by Android or iOS and are available to all.  It can be launched directly from an URL and can be shared on the social media, email, text or in an online ad.

Popular cosmetics brand Lancome launched their PWA to deliver a better app-like experience to the customers. The brand witnessed some amazing results when it came to conversions –

17% increase in conversions

18% open rate on push notifications

53% increase in mobile sessions

8% of customers who click on push notifications make a purchase.

PWA provides one of the best solutions for e-commerce companies to enhance user experience. It is responsive, progressive and gives the ability to implement native features into web apps.