There's no doubt that mobile is today's most transformative retail force, a trend that has been fully displayed throughout the 2018 holiday shopping season. According to the Adobe Analytics Holiday report, mobile traffic increased by more than half (51.4 percent) of traffic from smart phones alone, but only 31 percent of revenue was mobile. This is a strong reminder that many retailers still have to crack the code to improve mobile conversion rates and the complexity of building and optimizing channel-wide experiences.

Progressive Web Applications (PWA) is a suite of tools to build online stores with app - like experiences that help traders solve the dilemma of mobile conversion and provide highly personalized cross - channel experiences, as well as new innovations across the Adobe Experience Cloud that help retailers excel in CXM across physical and digital settings.

PWAs represent a seismic advance in mobile web evolution, similar in magnitude to the transition from conventional desktop sites to responsive web design five years ago. PWAs blur the lines between the mobile app and the mobile site by equipping merchants and developers with a new front-end architecture that allows them to leverage open web APIs to build "app-like" experiences directly in the browser that are fast, engaging, boost online conversions and enhance the pervasiveness of the in-store experience.

Many Challenges Solved By PWA for Retailers

If properly executed, native apps can provide a much better shopping experience than the desktop (think Apple or Amazon) without friction. The problem is that mobile apps are costly to build and maintain and consumers only use brand apps that they interact with regularly. According to Gartner, most brands can't expect even 10 percent of customers to download their app-their mobile website handles the vast majority of customer interactions.

This is where PWAs shine: They provide quick and slick "app - like" experiences in the mobile web browser, enabling retailers to tackle several challenges at once:

• Fast Browsing: PWAs interact much faster and provide smoother scrolling and transitioning of pages, as the experience "progressively" changes, thereby eliminating the need for pages to "reload." Early adopters like have seen a 100 percent increase in conversion rates since the switch and Google even provide a testing tool (Lighthouse) to measure the performance of your PWA.  
• Instant "App" Gratification: PWAs can be discovered and used immediately via the browser, eliminating the need to "download" or "install" an app before use.
• Push Notifications: An exciting proposal for online marketers is that PWAs support push notifications (on Android devices) in the browser, which allows marketers to send real - time, contextual and personalized communications directly from the PWA site with a simple "one - click" opt - in.
• Rapid Re-Engagement: Like a native app, a PWA can be "saved" on the home screen (on Android devices), allowing quick repeat access without opening the browser and typing a URL. In addition, PWAs operate in full-screen mode, hiding the URL bar of the browser at the top and the navigation tools at the bottom of the screen for a native "app-like" look and feel. 

While there is increasing general awareness of PWAs, their impact goes far beyond mobile. PWAs allow functionality such as push notifications and location to be integrated into the website architecture, aligning the playground for all brands to provide highly personalized cross-channel experiences at the right time, all at a fraction of the cost of a mobile app. For example, retailers can integrate contextual in-store capabilities into their PWA, such as native integration with the device camera, to scan barcodes and integrated payments for in-store purchases with Google and Apple Pay.

The advantage of PWA's in the store is that they are immediately accessible via the browser, fast and reliable meaning that retailers do not need to connect consumers to their Wi-Fi in the store to provide a great mobile experience with their brand.

They also have the potential to open up an entirely new world for store partners. Shoppers expect sales partners to be familiar with online products, which can be a logistical challenge. In the future, PWAs have the potential to replace legacy POS systems and retail associated platforms that provide store associates with a fast, efficient and cost-effective way to locate products online and in-store, provide self-checkout, service returns and save sales and more directly from the Smartphone of an employee.

From increased customer and in - store engagement and higher conversions to lower development costs, PWAs provide traders with unprecedented opportunities.

To learn more about PWAs and how they can help your business, visit the: “How PWA is useful for business”.

If you are also looking for PWA development services, then contact us and share your requirements with our expert team.