As marketers, we know that the best way to engage with today’s consumers is through mobile. So naturally, most people assumed that making a native mobile app was the best way for their brand to do mobile. But once these brands started to see the low performance results associated with native mobile apps, they decided to give up on apps all together. And even through we can get behind the idea of ditching your native mobile app, it doesn’t change the fact that mobile is still the best way to engage with consumers. So are brands forced to stick with their native mobile apps and suffer the low conversion rates as a result? Thankfully, no! The solution: Progressive Web Apps. What are Progressive Web Apps
In its simplest sense, aProgressive Web App (PWA) is an app-like experience delivered through the web. Thanks to some really advanced backend tech, it looks and feels just like a native app! The main difference is that there is no need to download it from an app store. It runs right in a web browser. With the help of pre-caching, the app stays up to date at all times, displaying the most recent version upon launching. And through service workers, a PWA is able to load instantly, even in areas with low connectivity! Why PWAs Are the Future of Mobile
Mobile sites and native apps both have their advantages and disadvantages, but with a PWA, you get the best of both worlds! No longer will companies will have to spend a ridiculous amounts of money to develop multiple platforms for consumers to engage with their brand. A good PWA can effectively replace your company’s mobile site, native app, and possibly even your desktop site!Brands That Switched to PWAs
From Twitter and Pinterest, to Starbucks and Lancôme, dozens of major brands have focused their mobile strategies on PWAs and are loving the results. And the list continues to grow longer and longer each day. Here are just two examples of companies that have recently switched over to PWAs and have seen massive improvements!
BookMyShow: With more than 50 million monthly visitors, BookMyShow is India’s largest ticketing firm. BookMyShow noticed that over 85 percent of transactions were happening on mobile. And even though the mobile web traffic overtook their desktop traffic, the company still encountered high bounce rates due to their slow load speed of their mobile website. In addition to their mobile web page, they also had a native app. But, because it required heavy data and memory usage, their consumers would often uninstall the app.
So with speed and efficiency in mind, BookMyShow launched their own Progressive Web App and noticed incredible results! Their PWA drove an 80 percent increase in conversion rates, which translates to more users purchasing tickets. The PWA is only 440 KB which is 54 times smaller than the Android app, and 180 times smaller that the iOS app. From start to finish, users are now able to purchase their tickets in under 30 seconds!
George.com: When UK’s leading clothing brand noticed that consumer expectations around the mobile shopping experience were at an all-time high, their team adopted a mobile-first approach in an attempt to drive mobile conversion by creating a PWA. And the company noticed the benefits immediately! The brand saw a 31 percent increase in mobile conversion, 20 percent increase in page views per visit, and a 28 percent longer average time on site for visits from home screen.
Long story short, if your company has sworn off native mobile apps, there is still another (and much better) way to engage with your consumers through mobile. Don’t let a poor experience with native apps cause your brand to miss out on the great engagement opportunities that only mobile can provide!
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