What to choose: PWA or mobile app?
A plethora of articles discuss what a disservice it would be to not invest in m-commerce. More and more users equals more and more revenues in this channel. Some people are no longer wondering whether to enter this sector, but how they should do it. Having your own mobile app may be significant, but is it always justified?
Article jcommerce.pl pointed out that two years ago there was a rapid acceleration and development of e-commerce industry, the most important symptom of which is the modernization of the largest leaders. According to McKinsey, the online shopping industry grew nearly 5 times faster last year than before the pandemic. compared to pre-pandemic times. Statista is confidently predicting that by the end of next year digital trade will account for more than one fifth of total sales. We could see the development of shopkeeping methodologies and delivery logistics, with courier and shipping companies gaining in importance. Triumph in Poland began to celebrate m.inPost, though giving it full credit, this company’s growth was in spades even before the coronavirus highlights. In the face of increasing online competition, clearinghouse partners are looking for better and better offers to deliver their products to customers.
Why an app for your online store?
Poles, but not only – global citizens in general see the potential of having an app. The mobile application is, above all, a convenient form of operation for them, in which they do not have to type letters and search for appropriate categories, because from the level of the application it is enough to do it with a few taps of one finger. On smartphones, having apps is simply the most convenient. The popularity of this solution is also based on the speed and intuitiveness, which is a direct result of user experience design methods. What’s more, apps are able to use the data collected while operating the device, which better enables recording preferences and personalizing a given offer to the customer, a fact that drastically aids in-store conversions.
Website commerce.pl distinguishes five key points why it is worth having your own mobile application.
The first reason is the diversification of channels to reach customers. People more likely to use the application will have a chance to see the offer of a given company with the help of this tool. In addition, there are more and more points of contact with the brand on the customer’s path to purchase, so that the sale takes place in its favor. The voice of reason is therefore additional promotion of your services in the application.
The second indicator of the value of mobile apps is their specific use, especially by young people who can contribute to our business with their wallets. Creating a simple, good-looking and intuitive app is sure to get noticed by your audience, who will be more likely to use it. Young people are also the ones who are eager to share their experiences, so the effect of whisper marketing and increase in sales may be noticeable in younger generations of our offer recipients.
Next comes content optimization and personalization. Computers have the disadvantage that it is often used by more people than one, which disturbs the algorithmic image of the user. Phone is the thing we part with the least during the day when it comes to devices. It turns out that based on the history of visits to the application, retailers are able to more effectively personalize the offer that meets the needs and predispositions of the customer.
The fourth reason to have your own app is push marketing. – Pushe related to marketing are those with promotions, discount coupons, informing that a sale is starting. Such communication can also be connected with abandoned shopping carts. After the events in the application we check what was the last behaviour of the user in the application, then the user gets a personalized message based on his/her last actions says Mateusz Zawidzki in Mobile Trends Podcast.
As a fifth rule justifying the creation of an app for an online store is to put yourself among other owners of such a tool. More opportunity to compete not only on the sales level, but also on the image level. Mobile marketing specialists point out that releasing is a signal to consumers that you care about your store’s reputation and want to be perceived as a professional who cares above all about your customers’ convenience, reads.
Is an e-commerce app necessary!
There are many benefits to launching your own app, but there are also difficulties. Well, creating a marketable and good tool can be costly and time consuming. The promotion of the application itself is associated with additional resources. In addition, Michał Szklarski notes that although customers are willing to shop on given websites, they are not necessarily interested in installing a separate application. This procedure may be unnecessary for them because they do not shop often enough to find the application necessary.What’s more, installing an application you don’t use leads to its very quick disregard or even uninstallation, which directly translates into wasted efforts and sales people in maintaining such an application, which after all needs to be updated, supported and upgraded. According to Business Development Manager at admetrics.en – The average user spends 77% of their time in just 3 favorite apps. Additionally, over 71% of app users uninstall it after 3 months. So in order to promote the application well and keep its users we have quite a nut to crack. It is all the more difficult after the pandemic when most brands so far offline, digitize their operations – says Katarzyna Olender.
The application is not a compulsion, nor does it always have to be associated with a positive impact on customers. Fortunately, there is another solution that is sure to satisfy the innovators of their stores.
Progressive Web Applications as an alternative to mobile applications?
According to e-point, apps work well for some businesses, but there are users for whom it is not necessarily the most optimal solution, and they prefer to use the search engine on their smartphone. It is worth remembering that the application may turn out to be our bane, so it is better to make a decision about its implementation on the basis of a factual analysis. Fortunately, the world is not one-dimensional and there are different ways to take care of yourself and your users. Progressive Web Application is one of those ways.
What is a PWA?
A PWA is a web application written in JavaScript, CSS and HTML that works like a native application and offers the ability to display notifications, run in the background or use phone features such as camera, gestures or location. Progressive Web App can be used simultaneously as a website and a mobile app on any device. Looks like a regular website.This is also how it behaves. It uses the user’s browser. It is also optimized to load smoothly on all devices and offer compatible capabilities. It does not affect the speed of its operation. Sounds appealing, doesn’t it? Its advantage over apps is that there is no need to install them, and we can add it to our device’s home screen with a single click.
PWAs for e-commerce
A progressive web application reduces the time it takes for a page to load, which is good for the customer not to abandon it abruptly. More than half of online commerces are interrupted if it takes more than 3 seconds to load pages on a smartphone. The use of PWAs therefore reduces the rejection rate, thanks to the operation of certain functionalities in offline mode. The customer does not need to have a constantly good internet connection to consume content on a site. Geolocation allows the search of stationary points of store, which can help when the customer wants to try on clothes or measure the trampoline. There are also marketing issues at play here. Using progressive web, marketing messages can be precisely targeted, thanks to geofencing and push notifications.
Advantages of PWA over applications
PWAs are much more optimal than applications. For a progressive web application, we develop only one product that works on all operating systems. We can use it to send notifications to the device. However, this does not apply to iOS, so for all those who care about Apple hardware users, creating an app may be a good idea. Both solutions work offline, however applications can only be installed and found via the app store or intermediary sites. PWA does not need to be installed and provides a uniform user experience as it is the same page, which may look different in a mobile app. Particularly important advantages of PWA are the lack of additional or hidden costs and commissions. When it comes to apps, you have to rely on commissions and costs per app or transaction from intermediary app platforms. With a mobile application, you also need to involve a separate ASO. With a PWA, SEO activities calmly provide traffic to the website and guarantee the discoverability of our offer without engaging additional resources.
