Will PWA Replace Native Mobile Apps?

ComScore’s 2018 report shows the percentage of mobile web and mobile app users.

Having said that, I don’t believe that native apps will make the mobile web disappear, and I don’t believe that offsetting the argument I’m trying to make today. If this data is meant to represent anything, it has to be that mobile users really enjoy the experience of digital interaction through an APPLICATION interface.

Web developers are also finding this preference among users, as a survey from JAXenter shows:

JAXenter Developer Survey about PWA (image credit: JAXenter) (Large Preview)

So, while mobile browsers have proven to be less popular with users, I believe that will continue to be the case for too long as more and more enterprises build PWA applications.

The PWA takes the features of a native application that users like — an application shell, offline access, phone functionality, always-present navigation bar, and so on — and gives users a much easier way to experience it.

Look at brands like Crabtree & Evelyn:

Crabtree & Evelyn PWA Example (Photo credit: Crabtree & Evelyn) (Large Preview)

The big-box retailer had the capital to build a native app similar to its website, but it didn’t make that choice. Instead, the PWA Web application offers mobile users the convenience of browsing online stores and making purchases without leaving the browser.

Or, if they are frequent users, they can add this PWA to their home screen and treat it like any other application (and more in the future).

Now, let’s look at the example of a PWA that again chose not to develop a native application. Not only that, Infobae has created a PWA that beats the mobile web experience:

Infobae PWA Example (Image source: Infobae) (Large Preview)

According to Google, the Infobae PWA has the following advantages:

• The bounce rate is 5%. The mobile network is 51%.
• The Session mechanism is 230% longer than on mobile web pages.
• The number of pages viewed per Session is three times more than on mobile.

So if you’re worried that a PWA won’t be an alternative to the mobile Web, you can stop there, but there are clear benefits to having a PWA.

Reason # 2: Native app stores are getting saturated and overloaded

Native apps there is a lot of competition in native app stores — many of them are heavyweight products that mobile users are familiar with. If your goal is to compete in an already crowded space, is the app store really the best place for it?

ComScore’s top five apps by coverage:

CcomScore’s top five apps in 2018

As you can see, the top five applications tend to be dominated by the same mobile applications, regardless of where the mobile user is in the world.

You might be thinking, “But what if my application has a unique advantage? Not enough to dominate our market?”

I can see that, especially if your app is targeted at mobile users in a specific region, you have to think about what types of apps work well with mobile users.

ComScore breaks that down:

ComScore data on total minute share of apps (photo: comScore)

Mobile apps where users spend about 70% to 80% of their time fall into four categories:

• Entertainment (e.g. YouTube)
• Social media (e.g. Facebook)
• Instant messaging (e.g. Whatsapp)
• Games (e.g. Fortnite)

If your application concept doesn’t fall into one of these categories, is putting your application in the app store worth all the work? While I recognize that these aren’t the only successful applications, I think it’s a risky and expensive game to play, especially if your customer’s business is brand new. Even so, despite having a large enough audience or customer base, there’s still plenty of competition from well-known products that aren’t in the app store.

West Elm is a good example of a retailer:

West Elm PWA (Photo by Large Preview)

If you look at the app store, you’ll see that West Elm has developed two native applications. One is for user registration. This makes sense, since mobile applications can help tag and track registry keys. It also has a gift card for West Elm. This type of application might also make sense if someone shops regularly.

That said, none of these native applications are popular with users (at least in terms of the number of comments). Therefore, it is a smart and economical move for West Elm to keep its main shopping interface within the PWA.

Reason # 3: PWA ranking in search

In a related note, PWA applications have the added benefit of ranking in search engines. You and your customers should be happy about this for several reasons:

1. Your application’s ranking in search depends on the AMOUNT of SEO work you put into it. If you already do this on your website, this should be easy!
2. You don’t have to worry about a brand new app being buried in the app Store search or being easily removed due to a lack of ratings.
3. Since a PWA can exist in a mobile user’s browser as well as in buttons on the home screen, it needs to have links. Links make it easier to share with friends, family, or colleagues, rather than telling them the name of the app and hoping they’ll find it in the store on their own.

Finally: If you only need to provide the user with an actual link to the application, you can avoid the derivative problems that often result from problems in the app store. Take micro-moments, for example.

When the user wants to do something like this:

• Studying some interesting things,
• To go somewhere,
• To make purchases,
• Or do something…

Instead of opening data-intensive applications on their devices, they open their search browsers and type or speak their queries. That’s what we’re most likely to do as users. One question? Need something? Want help choosing a restaurant? Go to Google.

If your website or app provides answers to these kinds of questions, you don’t want it hidden in the app store, and you don’t want to give them a mobile site that offers a “download app” option. It just creates an extra burden on the user.

With PWA, you can place applications directly in search results and provide your users with the answers they need in real time.

I think that’s why e-commerce businesses are particularly attracted to PWA like HobbyCraft.

HobbyCraft PWA Example (Image source: HobbyCraft) (Large Preview)

As you can see here, HobbyCraft is a retailer that sells crafts outside the UK. It doesn’t make much sense to have something like this in the app store — especially when the PWA entry is working well.

Lancome is another e-retailer that made a conscious decision to move away from native apps and keep its mobile shopping experience in PWA mode.

Lancome e-commerce PWA example (photo: Lancome)

An important design element I’ll point out in both examples is the Stores icon in the top navigation bar. For businesses with physical products, there’s no reason your application shouldn’t search locally in Google.

If you design a PWA correctly, it can be displayed in a relevant location-based query. If you provide an interface that’s reminiscent of a native app — and as secure as it is on a native app (because A PWA requires HTTPS) — you can get more mobile users to make purchases on a PWA.

Reason # 4: Native apps are hard to persist

For the type of application that has a hook, the hook encourages the user to spend time and money in the native application to further enjoy the experience, which is great. There’s a native app that can make a lot of money when you find a perfect fit. It’s just a matter of getting people willing to commit to downloading.

However, as we’ve seen recently, native applications struggle to retain users.

The initial downloads you get are irrelevant. If a mobile user doesn’t return to the app to interact with your content, buy a subscription or upgrade, or click on an AD, consider it a wasted investment. Unfortunately, this is the case for many people.

A PWA, on the other hand, does not have to download the application to a device. Heck, users don’t even have to save the PWA to their home screen if they don’t want to. It’s an overall more convenient experience.

However, you might prefer users to save it for immediate access in The future, as The Weather Channel does:

The Weather Channel app advises users to save the PWA to the device. (Credit: The Weather Channel) (Large Preview)

Really, it depends on the type of application you’re building.

The Weather Channel, to be honest, provides a service that will be used on a daily basis. Users can view the latest weather forecasts by installing a native app through the app store, but the app may consume data and battery life faster than a browser-based PWA.

For this reason, there are other types of business that should consider using a PWA. It’s like an online magazine like Forbes.

Users can add Forbes PWA to their home screen, just like a native app. (Credit: Forbes) (Large Preview)

Highly specialized publications that develop PWA for their daily readers can also have better results.

Also, it provides a more lightweight experience for their phones. In addition, PWA provides users with offline access, so they can access content at any time, regardless of where they are or whether the network is limited. The presence of a home screen entry (if they choose to put the button there) provides a nice little shortcut outside the mobile web browser.

Reason # 5: PWA generates more revenue

In addition to in-app advertising, Apple and Google take a sizable cut of the profits from your promotion through native apps. This includes paid downloads, in-app purchases or upgrades, and subscriptions. In some cases, these fees can be as high as 30% of each sale.

This is the last thing you want to hear when you want to spend money on design tweaks, much-needed development updates, and promotional ads. In other words, most of the money that starts flowing in from your native app goes straight into the pockets of the app store owner. That doesn’t seem right, especially if you have to pay for app Store ads to get search visibility in them.

PWA do not charge any fees, which means that all the revenue they generate is sent directly to you (or the business owner). This is especially true if you have an application like a local newspaper, such as The Billings Gazette, that gives you a small profit margin.

Billings Gazette PWA Monetization example (Photo credit: The Billings Gazette) (Large Preview)

This isn’t the only way you can make more money from PWA than native apps.

First, they are easier to build than native applications. In addition, it takes less time and resources to manage them after release. Yes, it still needs to be updated and maintained, just like anything else on the web, but you don’t have to deal with the hurdles that come with being in the app Store.

For example, you only need to build a PWA Web application. You don’t need to create separate applications based on instructions for different mobile devices.

Updates are also easier, especially if your PWA is based on a WordPress site. You push updates through Pipeline and it takes effect in the PWA in real time. No need to push updates to the app Store administrators and wait for their approval. Everything happens in real time, which means new features and money-making plans are released to the public faster.

This is useful for A PWA like Twitter.

Twitter Lite PWA keeps you on the cutting edge in real time (Photo: Twitter)

When faced with the many social media giants that dominate the app store, being able to keep your app up to date can be a powerful competitive advantage. This is the added bonus of developing applications in a progressive Web format.

That’s what happened after Twitter launched its PWA.

As shown in Google’s Case Study from Google, Twitter takes an incremental approach to optimizing its PWA. As a result, they were able to make significant improvements to the user experience without end user detection. In fact, their only response to the update was to use PWA more.

PWA is (mostly) the future of the Web

Visibility and searchability are common issues with native mobile applications, and user retention is another. They’re just not sustainable unless you have an idea to create a native gateway that will definitely bring in money. Mobile gaming is an example of this. I think online dating apps are another. I used to think social media fell into this category, but Twitter proved me wrong.

Based on what I’ve seen online and what I’ve heard from my developer friends and colleagues, I believe the future is in PWA.

I think the app store will slow down as developers realize the benefits of putting applications from small and medium-sized companies on PWA Web. Major players will remain the same, while companies that have outgrown the scope of the PWA may eventually move on. Otherwise, most applications will end up as a PWA.

As this trend in PWA continues to grow, users will become more accustomed to encountering it in search and knowing that this user-friendly interface can be accessed directly from their browser. Instead, they go to the app store and look for all the apps that are there: messages, games, entertainment, and some social media. This will create a clearer division between online search and app store search and further help improve the overall user experience online.

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