Adoption of Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) is expected to rapidly grow in the near future, with 24% of merchants in the process of exploring this new approach to web development. The findings come from Corra’s report The Future of Mobile Commerce, published in partnership with Klarna and Yotpo.
The research includes the results of a survey conducted amongst 268 online retailers and wholesalers, in addition to a variety of qualitative and quantitative insights collected by the ecommerce agency and its partners.
As the next evolution of online commerce, PWAs combine traditional website functionalities with the best features of mobile apps. Unlike native apps, they are built utilizing a single codebase and don’t need to be downloaded from a store. As visitors browse the online experience, they receive a simple prompt to add the PWA site to their home screen. Once they accept, they are able to access the PWA as if it was a native app.
A full 58% of survey respondents shared that they are “very familiar” with PWAs, and 24% stated that they’ve already explored them or considered implementing one. When asked to pinpoint the single most important PWA capability, the majority of respondents indicated the ability for returning users to browse offline.
“The data in our report challenges the widespread assumption that PWAs are still too new and immature to be considered by the early majority,” said Erica Mazzucato, Senior Product Marketing Manager at Corra. “Conversion rates on mobile remain lower than desktop and, clearly, merchants have identified PWAs as a solution to optimize their mobile traffic. This increased awareness comes at a time when SEO rankings are increasingly being impacted by the performance, speed, and stability of mobile storefronts.”
“It is no wonder that what started as a trickle of early adopting merchants has now become a stampede,” added Michael Harvey, Chief Strategy Officer at Corra. “While it may seem like PWAs are a recent technological innovation, they actually represent a well-established approach to architecting a modern website. What is true is that, until relatively recently, PWAs were not optimized for handling the dynamic data needs of transactional systems like ecommerce. Those challenges have now been addressed.”
The report also included a ranking of respondents’ top mobile aspirations, an overview of their most successful mobile optimization tactics, and a breakdown of the new mobile trends they are exploring.
About Corra
Corra is the global digital agency that brands trust to accelerate their growth. Working at the intersection of commerce technology and customer experience strategy, we deliver complex digital solutions to leading B2C and B2B retailers.
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