Understanding PWAs: How Do Progressive Web Applications Work?

In today's digital age, mobile devices have become an essential part of our lives. With more and more customers turning to mobile devices for online purchases, businesses need to adapt and provide a mobile-friendly experience to stay relevant.

In the world of eCommerce, businesses are always looking for new ways to improve customer engagement and increase sales. That's where the combination of Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) and headless eCommerce comes in. Let's explore.

What are PWAs?

PWAs is a native app-like experience without the need to download an app. This is possible because PWAs are designed to work seamlessly across all devices and operating systems. With PWAs, customers can browse products, add them to their cart, and access their products, even without an internet connection. Additionally, PWAs can be installed on the user's home screen, providing quick access and a more personalized experience.

How PWAs can affect an eCommerce Business?

E-commerce businesses can leverage PWAs by using frameworks like Next.js and Gatsby.js, which offer built-in PWA capabilities. By implementing PWAs, businesses can offer a faster and more engaging mobile experience to customers, leading to increased conversion rates and better engagement. Main points:

Significantly Improves Website Speed

Firstly, PWAs can significantly improve website speed and performance, which can lead to better user experience and increased engagement. PWAs also offer offline functionality, allowing users to access content and make purchases even when they're not connected to the internet.

Likelihood of Repeat Business

Secondly, PWAs are mobile-friendly and offer a consistent experience across all devices, which is critical for eCommerce businesses since mobile devices make up the majority of online shopping traffic. PWAs can also be easily installed on the user's home screen, making it easier for them to access the eCommerce site and potentially increasing the likelihood of repeat business.

Fast, Engaging, and Reliable

With the help of PWAs, eCommerce businesses can significantly reduce bounce rates and boost conversion rates. This is because PWAs offer users a speedy, engaging, and dependable experience, which encourages them to stay on the site and complete their purchases. According to research, PWAs can even increase conversion rates by as much as 50%.

Benefits of PWA in headless eCommerce

Now that we understand what PWAs are and how they can be used in eCommerce, let's dive deeper into the specific benefits of integrating PWAs into headless eCommerce.

Designed to be fast and lightweight

By separating the front end and back end of an eCommerce site, developers can focus on optimizing the presentation layer to improve speed and performance. PWAs are designed to be fast and lightweight, with an emphasis on reducing load times and increasing page speed.

Offers Offline Functionality

PWAs offer offline functionality, which means that customers can continue to browse products, add them to their cart, and access their products, even without an internet connection. This feature can significantly improve accessibility to the eCommerce site and enhance the user experience, resulting in increased customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Cost-Efficient to Implement

Another advantage of PWAs is that they are cost-effective. Unlike traditional mobile apps, PWAs do not require separate development for iOS and Android devices, making them more cost-efficient to build and maintain. This makes PWAs an excellent option for eCommerce businesses looking to provide a mobile-like experience to their customers without incurring the expenses associated with mobile app development.

Implementing PWA in headless eCommerce

Implementing PWAs in headless eCommerce requires careful planning and execution to ensure seamless integration. Here are the key steps to follow:

1. Choosing the right technology

The first step in implementing a PWA in headless eCommerce is to select the right technology stack and tools. Some popular tools include React, Angular, Vuejs, and Svelte. It's crucial to choose the technology that best suits your eCommerce site's needs.

2. Creating a customized PWA solution

Once you have chosen your technology stack, the next step is to create a customized PWA solution for your eCommerce site. This includes designing a user-friendly interface, implementing features such as push notifications, and offline functionality, and integrating with third-party services.

3. Testing and optimizing the PWA

The final step is to test and optimize the PWA for optimal performance. This includes testing the PWA on different devices, browsers, and network conditions to ensure it works seamlessly. Optimization can involve reducing load times, optimizing images, and improving page speed to provide the best user experience

By following these key steps, eCommerce businesses can integrate PWAs into their site and provide a seamless and engaging shopping experience for their customers.

Success stories from companies that have implemented PWA

Several brands havesuccessfully implemented PWAs in their headless eCommerce sites, as demonstrated by the success stories of Koala, Feel Unique, Pure Formulas, and Venus. Koala used a PWA to deliver a seamless shopping experience across all devices, resulting in a remarkable 41% increase in mobile conversion rates.

Another brand, Feel Unique, leveraged a PWA to enhance their website's loading time by 2.6 seconds and increase mobile conversion rates by 37%. Similarly, Pure Formulas and Venus saw a 13% and 26% increase in conversions, respectively, after implementing PWAs in their headless eCommerce sites. These brands' success stories showcase how PWAs can improve user experience, increase engagement, and ultimately drive sales in headless eCommerce.

Apart from Alibaba and Lancôme, other companies that have seen success with PWAs in headless eCommerce include Twitter, Forbes, and The Washington Post. Twittersaw a 65% increase in pages per session and a 75% increase in tweets sent after implementing a PWA. Forbes saw a 100% increase in engagement and a 43% increase in sessions per user after implementing a PWA.

Way Forward to PWAs

In conclusion, integrating PWA into headless eCommerce has numerous benefits, including improved website speed and performance, increased mobile accessibility and user engagement, offline functionality, and decreased bounce rates leading to increased conversion rates.

As more and more users turn to mobile devices for online shopping, PWAs have become a valuable tool for eCommerce businesses looking to provide a seamless user experience across all devices.

To implement PWA successfully, it's essential to choose the right technology stack and tools, create a customized PWA solution for your eCommerce site, and test and optimize it for optimal performance.

The examples discussed in this article demonstrate the significant impact that PWA can have on a business, from increased revenue to improved customer satisfaction.

For further assistance or query on PWAs from an eCommerce business perspective. Reach out to us. Novvum leverages over 7 years of technical expertise to provide eCommerce stores with customized solutions that best fit their needs.