“The new app gives grocery store employees a faster, better way to check store shelves and reorder items carried by The Chef’s Warehouse.” Unbound Commerce said in a Monday (Aug. 7) press release.
“We wanted this new tool for key strategic customers,” The Chef’s Warehouse Digital Product Manager Katie Tomechko said in the release. “We heard that employees were seeking a more efficient way to inventory and reorder our products. So we engaged our mobile app partner Unbound Commerce to build a bespoke solution, just for this purpose.”
Unbound Commerce provides custom mobile commerce solutions for both retailers and wholesalers, according to the press release.
“When employees scan items that need to be inventoried and then reordered, the scanner devices link to the new mobile scanning app by Bluetooth, and wholesale reorders are placed directly into The Chef’s Warehouse B2B eCommerce operations.” The release said. Inventory data can also be sent.
The app eliminates the need to manually tabulate items. Also, it reduces error rates and accelerates the placement of reorders, per the release.
“Chef’s Warehouse already has a powerful B2B app for wholesale ordering. This scanner app is another arrow in their digital/mobile quiver.” Unbound Commerce said in the release.
PYMNTS research has found that mobile financial transactions have quickly become part of consumers’ daily online habits.
Younger generations lead the mobile-first mindset. As a matter of fact, 71% of the members of Generation Z and 68% of millennials use smartphones for most transactions, according to “Consumer Behaviors and Perceived Security Across Devices,” a PYMNTS and Entersekt collaboration.
In another example of its custom mobile commerce solutions, Unbound Commerce announced in June 2022 that it produced an app for RadonAway, a manufacturer and distributor of equipment for radon mitigation, that makes it easier for customers to order equipment from worksites.
The app includes customer-specific pricing, quick reordering, and the provision of details about individual products.
“By launching the B2B app, they now have a direct, always-on connection to these customers.” Unbound Commerce said at the time.
NAVIGATING UNCERTAIN TIMES: The case for Custom Mobile E-commerce Apps
NAVIGATING UNCERTAIN TIMES: The Case for Custom Mobile E-commerce Apps
What uncertain times would make me want to use custom mobile apps? The recent Silicon Valley Bank default debacle made headlines and created widespread anxiety about potential contagion. Subsequently, Signature Bank and First Republic Bank faced similar issues, undermining confidence in the banking system. Credit Suisse’s financial state of affairs was also concerning, as they had to borrow a significant amount of money, 54 billion USD, to ensure they could meet the requirements of their depositors in case of any unforeseen events. The situation has heightened fears of contagion and created a challenging environment for the banking industry.
If such large banks were to default, it could have far-reaching spillover effects, potentially damaging confidence in the global banking system. Although a consortium of large banks in the US has provided support to the struggling regional banks, this situation raises concerns about the management of banks and the effectiveness of regulatory oversight. It underscores the need for robust risk management practices and regulatory frameworks that can anticipate and address systemic risks in the banking industry.
How It Unfolded
Regional banks prospered during a period of low interest rates in the United States but did not anticipate the forthcoming era of high-interest rates, which resulted in significant cash flow strain. During the pandemic and the subsequent years, these banks received large deposits and were flush with funds. They invested these funds in long-term treasury bonds, which offered higher yields. The pandemic led to governments infusing liquidity into the market, resulting in inflation becoming more entrenched rather than transitory. Consequently, the central bank was forced to sharply increase interest rates, adversely affecting these regional banks.
Most banks are now facing losses in the billions of dollars due to the erosion in bond values caused by the high-interest rate environment. SVB, for instance, reported a loss of approximately $2 billion to meet the cash requirements of their depositors by selling bonds that had decreased in value. The banks’ disclosures resulted in depositors lining up to withdraw their investments, putting further strain on their already precarious liquidity.
Macroeconomic Impact
This banking fiasco can have significant implications for the overall economy of the United States. The banking system is the backbone of any economy and any issues faced by it can lead to a lack of confidence among investors and consumers. The situation can lead to a decline in investments and can adversely impact the stock market. This could in turn affect overall economic growth. Due to the sudden increase in interest rates to fight inflation, the value of investments has eroded.
This situation can lead to a liquidity crunch and a decrease in lending activity by banks, which can impact businesses and consumers. However, this situation can also lead to opportunities for businesses that provide alternative financing options, such as fintech companies.
A Strong Case for Custom Mobile App?
In such a challenging environment, efficiency and cost-effectiveness are the keys to tide over uncertain times, staying above the competition. Hence business needs to undertake a cost-benefit analysis of undertaking a Custom mobile e-commerce app. While generic “click to create” framed mobile apps may be cheaper and quicker to develop, they may not offer any value in such a challenging environment due to the lack of customization and functionality that a custom app can provide. Some of the benefits of custom mobile apps far outweigh the costs. With mobile commerce growing by the day makes a strong case for custom mobile app development.
1. Personalization and Customer Experience.
Custom mobile e-commerce apps can provide a seamless customer experience that leads to higher engagement, loyalty, and sales. According to a study by Salesforce, 76% of consumers expect companies to understand their needs and expectations. Custom mobile apps can meet those expectations by offering tailor-made recommendations, relevant promotions, and a smoother checkout process.
2. Faster Load Times and Improved Performance.
Custom mobile e-commerce apps can be optimized for faster load times. That is crucial for retaining customers and reducing bounce rates. According to Google, 53% of mobile users abandon sites that take longer than three seconds to load. Custom apps can also offer improved performance. This includes smoother navigation and better search functionality, leading to higher conversion rates.
3. Competitive Advantage.
Custom mobile e-commerce apps can provide a competitive advantage over rivals who rely on generic plugins or third-party solutions. According to a survey by Clutch, 62% of small businesses that invested in a custom mobile app saw an increase in sales. By offering a more seamless and personalized customer experience, custom apps can help businesses differentiate themselves from the competition.
4. Data Collection and Analytics.
Custom mobile e-commerce apps can provide valuable insights into customer behavior, preferences, and trends. By analyzing this data, businesses can make more informed decisions about product development, marketing strategies, and customer engagement. According to a survey by Statista, 82% of marketers believe that data analysis is important for their overall marketing strategy.
5. Revenue Generation.
Custom mobile e-commerce apps can generate more revenue by increasing conversion rates, reducing abandoned carts, and offering targeted promotions. According to a recent study, mobile commerce sales in the US are expected to reach $432 billion by 2022. That’s up from $207 billion in 2018. This presents a significant opportunity for businesses to tap into this growing market and increase their revenue. By offering a more seamless and personalized customer experience, custom apps can help businesses capture a larger share of this growing market. The revenue growth will eventually reduce the cost per order over the years.
Ultimately, the decision to invest in a custom mobile e-commerce app will depend on a business’s specific needs and goals. Overall, custom mobile e-commerce apps offer a range of benefits that can help businesses thrive in a challenging economic environment. By providing a more personalized and seamless customer experience, businesses can drive more revenue, reduce lost opportunities, and gain a competitive advantage.
Unbound Commerce has been the industry’s No.1 provider of B2C and B2B mobile app solutions for mid-market retailers since 2008. Unbound’s unique low-IT hybrid technical approach allows current e-commerce operations to be leveraged and cost-effectively extended into custom-built mobile apps. Unbound Commerce is a certified-level partner of Big Commerce and has delivered over 600 mobile solutions across multiple verticals.
Unbound Commerce makes the process easy and the first step is a free Needs Assessment call, at no obligation. We promise, no sales pitch! We specialize in customer service and have built and launched over 600 mobile solutions for our customers. Contact us today!
The benefits of extending eCommerce into a B2B app
.The benefits of extending eCommerce into a B2B app
“Apps drive deeper customer engagement, more conversions, and a higher AOV. Done right, an app can leverage and extend e-commerce and offer a new direction for your omnichannel strategy that will delight buyers.”
Paper order forms, faxes, and even old-fashioned phone calls still tend to dominate the wholesale sales process. While B2B is way behind B2C, the move to digital commerce is underway and accelerating. This is precisely why e-commerce platforms that specialize in delivering B2B tools, features, and functionality are seeing such rapid growth.
A recent Gartner report examines the rapid move toward B2B digital enablement. A key finding is that sales reps no longer drive buying decisions and actual purchases. Instead, online ordering is surging. At the time of the study, sales rep interactions only accounted for 17% of the wholesale purchase journey. 44% of millennials said they prefer no sales rep interaction at all when making buying decisions.
This quote from the report struck me as particularly important. “As baby boomers retire, and millennials mature into key decision-making positions, a digital-first buying posture will become the norm. Further, we expect the acute spike in digital buying during the COVID-19 pandemic to have a sustained influence on customer comfort with digital learning and buying.”
Covid-fueled retail ecommerce has exploded and B2B is finally starting to catch up. Innovative B2B businesses are adopting a “digital-first” stance and consider an app as a logical extension of their online wholesale ordering platforms.
The reason apps play such a big role in B2B is utility. B2B buying is very complex and e-commerce platforms usually tie into an ERP and CRM. Tools for account-based custom pricing and order list management are typically folded in.
The B2B path to purchase can be a winding one and an app can straighten this road by personalizing the online buying experience and delivering it in an always-on manner, literally in the pocket of buyers. Wholesalers considering an app typically cite reducing customer service time/expense and data entry errors as a primary goal.
After all, all wholesale buyers are consumers themselves and COVID-driven retail app adoption and use has skyrocketed in the last two years. Mobile app usage was up 40% during COVID. Another factor is that increasingly, wholesale customers expect an app to make ordering more straightforward and more personalized.
Ask yourself. When did you last login to the Amazon mobile browser? Odds are, you never have since the instantly-personalized experience of the app is far superior. With an app, there’s no need to enter payment information. There’s no need to type in your address, and order history is called up instantly. Page load times are nearly instantaneous. Plus, you get the app-only option of using push messaging to drive deeper engagement with wholesale accounts.
Chef’s Warehouse is one of our biggest B2B customers, and they recently re-platformed to Optimizely. We built their B2B app out to leverage and extend new Optimizely B2B features and functionality. The results have been fantastic. Their reps can easily access customer order history and account-specific pricing, etc. The app consistently delivers a conversion rate that is three times that of the mobile website and the majority of buyers/chefs now use the app for wholesale ordering.
Apps were once thought of as “nice to haves” but this is changing fast. Buyers demand tools to make complex wholesale ordering processes easier. As more wholesale businesses move online and the business starts to catch up to retail, the leaders in the space will be first to market with an app, so they can learn to iterate and phase in new features.
According to Digital Commerce 360, in 2021, online B2B sales grew 17.8% to $1.63 trillion from $1.39 trillion in 2020. In fact, B2B e-commerce sales grew faster than all other manufacturing and distributor sales in the U.S.
Gartner calls the successful delivery of digital, online tools to help smooth the path of the purchase “Buyer Enablement” and concludes the research with the following: “Customers are migrating decisively from in-person channels to digital alternatives…new digital channels must be purpose-built to drive sales performance, justified by a simple truth: customers learn and buy digitally.”
Apps are all we do, we make the process easy, and the ROI is typically rapid. Orders placed on the app “pour into” your current eCommerce operations. Data is seamlessly synced between the app and your eCommerce back-end.
If you are interested in a custom app to meet your specific needs, please consider visiting our site. We work with customers like Chef’s Warehouse and Binny’s Beverage Depot and can customize an app project specifically designed to meet your unique requirements.
Got app? If not, you should be considering the potential benefits to your wholesale business.
Surviving A Recession: Developing a Custom Mobile App Can Help Businesses Stay Competitive and Increase Revenue
Surviving A Recession: Developing a Custom Mobile App Can Help Businesses Stay Competitive and Increase Revenue
March 8, 2023
In today’s fast-paced world, mobile commerce is becoming increasingly popular. Businesses need to adapt to this trend to stay competitive. With the fear of recession looming, it’s understandable that businesses are becoming cautious with their investments.
Despite the fear of a possible recession, macroeconomic indicators such as Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE), consumer spending, and the labor market are very strong at the moment. The PCE index, which is a measure of inflation and consumer spending, increased by 0.7% in December 2022. That is the largest increase since June 2021. Consumer spending accounts for two-thirds of the U.S. economy. It rose by 1.1% in December 2022, indicating a strong demand for goods and services. The labor market is also robust, with the unemployment rate falling to 3.9% in January 2023.
The interest rate increases the Fed has undertaken to keep inflation under check have not found the desired results. It’s expected that Fed may resort to further rate increases, which may harm the economy. That could trigger a recession. The kind of strong macroeconomic numbers that the market throws up month on month and quarter on quarter gives a sense that the market may be in for a soft landing. Many experts believe that the market may be in for a longer high-interest rate regime during 2023 and the market will only adversely react when the numbers turn negative. However, it’s crucial to recognize that there’s always an opportunity in uncertain times and every crisis.
According to a recent study, mobile commerce sales in the US are expected to reach $432 billion by 2022. That’s up from $207 billion in 2018. This presents a significant opportunity for businesses to tap into this growing market and increase their revenue. Market fears should not deter businesses from investing in custom mobile e-commerce app development. It could be argued that now is the perfect time to invest in custom mobile e-commerce app development, as it can help businesses stay competitive in a market where consumers are increasingly shopping online.
While websites and mobile web are still important, developing a custom mobile app can provide businesses with several advantages. First and foremost, mobile apps provide a more personalized shopping experience. By using data analytics, businesses can offer targeted promotions and recommendations to customers. This is great for increasing customer loyalty and driving sales. Additionally, mobile apps allow businesses to send push notifications. You can use those to remind customers about sales, new products, and other promotions, increasing the likelihood of a purchase.
Mobile apps can offer a faster and more streamlined checkout process. This reduces cart abandonment rates and increases conversion rates. According to a study by the Baymard Institute, the average cart abandonment rate for mobile web is 70.91%, compared to 57.43% for desktop and 41.18% for mobile apps. This suggests that businesses can potentially increase their revenue by up to 29% by developing a custom mobile e-commerce app.
Developing a custom mobile e-commerce app may involve some upfront costs, but the potential return on investment can be significant. Businesses that invest in mobile app development can see a significant increase in revenue. According to a Clutch report, businesses that have mobile apps can expect to see an average revenue increase of 28%. Additionally, a report by Salesforce suggests that businesses that use mobile apps to engage with customers can see an average revenue increase of 33%.
Moreover, the lack of a mobile app can result in lost sales. Customers may prefer to shop on mobile apps rather than websites or mobile web. A study by Google found that 61% of users are unlikely to return to a mobile site they had trouble accessing and 40% would visit a competitor’s site instead.
In conclusion, the fear of recession is understandable. Developing a custom mobile e-commerce app can help businesses stay competitive and increase their revenue. With strong macroeconomic indicators and the increasing demand for online shopping, developing a custom mobile e-commerce app can help businesses stay competitive and thrive in an uncertain market. Businesses can potentially increase their revenue by up to 29%. They can do this by providing a more personalized shopping experience, streamlining the checkout process, and reducing cart abandonment rates. Moreover, the lack of a mobile app can result in lost sales. This makes it even more important for businesses to invest in custom mobile e-commerce app development.
Unbound Commerce has the expertise and experience to develop a custom mobile e-commerce app that meets your specific business needs and requirements. Unbound Commerce is a certified-level partner of BigCommerce and has delivered over 600 mobile solutions for online retailers.
Did you know that 50% of online retailers cite mobile apps as a top priority for their 2019 omnichannel strategy (source)?
Are you aware that apps generated 66% of all online mobile revenue in Q4 2017 and that apps converted sales 3X better than mobile websites (source)?
The case for an app has never been stronger. Yet many retailers remain hesitant and wonder if consumers will download their app. They wonder if new app revenue will give them a solid Return On Investment (ROI).
In this article, I will do three things. 1) Set the stage with usage and conversion growth stats for retail apps. 2) Cover the 3 most common ways retail apps are built. 3) Describe how retailers can calculate ROI for an app build.
Note: When I use the term “app” in this piece, I am really talking about TWO apps (iOS and Android).
App Usage Stats
Before we talk about ROI, it’s important to look at some app usage statistics. Stats show that consumers strongly prefer apps over mobile sites, and apps outperform mobile websites, regarding conversions and revenue generation.
According to Comscore, apps accounted for 87% of all US mobile traffic measured in 2017 and that number is accelerating (chart below). Year-over-year “Shopping” mobile app usage grew 54% in 2017- the biggest jump of all categories measured (source)
Consumers are using shopping apps like never before and we can look to the recent 2018 Holiday Season for proof. According to Internet Retailer, consumers downloaded nearly 10M shopping apps on the 5 days of the 2018 Black Friday weekend.
While mobile commerce continues to skyrocket, app adoption stands out. Retail app usage by consumers doubled in 2018 (source).
The vast majority of time spent on mobile is spent on apps. According to a report by Criteo, native retail apps generated 66% of all mobile commerce revenue. That’s twice as much revenue as mobile websites. Apps even outperformed desktop eCommerce sites. Apps account for 44% of all online sales in Q4 2017, versus just 33% for desktop in the same period.
And consumers like using apps. According to Business Insider, the app millennials rated as “Most Essential” was Amazon (35%), beating out all social media apps (chart below).
As compared to older mobile users, millennials are 3X more likely to embrace apps and be excited about new features added to apps they already use (ComScore). Most millennials are looking for new apps and wish they could better utilize the apps they have on their phones
Options For Building Retail Apps
Now that we have looked at the stats, let’s shift gears. Let’s take a look at the three most common approaches for building native mobile apps. One option I do NOT cover here is an “app wrapper” approach. That’s one where your current mobile web experience is simply “framed” inside an app. This is not a real app experience and offers few of the benefits.
Note: Shopping apps must be integrated with the e-commerce platform a retailer is already using (Magento, Shopify, BigCommerce, etc.) Using a solution provider that has experience in this regard is key.
The three most common approaches for building a native app are:
The Agency Model.
This typically means hiring a design agency to create the UI and then having the code written. These projects are typically in the $100K+ range and require the retailer to support the app code (for both apps). Remember, most agencies do not have deep e-commerce integration experience. So, while they might deliver stunning designs, their lack of e-commerce platform integration experience might come back to haunt you.
The In-House Model.
A retailer staffs up and has the resources to design build, and maintain both apps, in-house. This may be the right choice for big retailers who want their native app experience to be a core competency. Specifically one they want to strategically invest in, via resources and infrastructure they own.
The SaaS Platform Model
A retailer works with a third-party Software As A Service (SaaS) platform that already integrates with the published APIs from most major e-commerce platforms. The solution provider delivers custom designs on top of this proven “foundation” for both iOS and Android. The partner builds and hosts the apps and provides a secure control panel to the retailer, for changing imagery, sending push messaging, etc.
So, as you consider these three approaches, keep the Total Cost Of Ownership (TCO) in mind, over the long term. Both Google and Apple introduce new device platforms and software updates quite often. A big part of having an app is supporting that app and keeping things smoothly integrated with your e-commerce platform and generally up-to-date.
Calculating ROI – Conversions, Conversions, Conversions
ROI is simply a matter of generating enough revenue to pay back the investment on a net basis. This can be calculated via pure math, but there should also be a value placed on a better user experience. While the latter is harder to quantify, the former is literally a matter of tracking app sales and applying the net upside (after margin) to the cost of the project. With proper GA tagging, this is as easy as looking at your analytics dashboard.
Native mobile apps convert sales at a rate significantly higher than mobile sites served via a browser. This all-important conversion rate metric is the first place to look when considering how to calculate app-build ROI.
Online retailers should start by knowing their current mobile website conversion rate. Put simply, this is the number of people who had a chance to buy (site visitors) and then did so (transactions) and Google Analytics breaks this out. Typically, mobile sites offer conversion rates stuck in the 1.5-2.0% range (about half that of the desktop conversion rate). Native mobile apps, on the other hand, boast conversion rates averaging 6%, according to Forrester.
While this conversion rate lift should be reason alone to build a native app, here are some more stats to further the case:
App users browse more products (22 on average vs. 5.7 for mobile web).
App users add more to the cart (24% vs. 13% for mobile web).
App users complete more purchases, once they add an item to their cart (54% for apps vs. 44% for mobile web).
So, if your conversion rate from mobile traffic to your responsive website is stagnant (and you should find out), a native app can turbocharge this all-important conversion rate stat and allow you to reap the rewards in terms of additional revenue.
Calculating ROI – Personalized Engagement With Your Best Customers
But more revenue from higher conversion rates is just PART of the reason to build an app. Statistically- speaking just 10% of your customers generate a whopping 40%+ of your sales and these are the VIP customers that are most likely to download and use your app. An app provides important engagement benefits for these customers and here are some specific ways an app can help you take personalized customer engagement to a deeper level:
Push Notifications:
Unlike email blasts that you lose in the clutter, specific calls to action delivered via in-app push messages only render to opt-in customers who have your app. These being the very customers most likely to act upon the offer presented. Click-through rates for push messages averaged 7.8% in 2018 (source).
In-Store Engagement:
App features like location awareness, barcode scanning, product image recognition, AR, beacons, and buy online and pick-up in-store (BOPIS) can all be used to drive app users to physical stores. This cross-channel appeal is key to understanding.
Loyalty:
Apps are perfectly suited to incorporate Loyalty Programs because the interaction with the app is inherently personalized. When the app is opened, the user is ALREADY logged in. The experience is tailored to them, including the display of points earned, discounts awarded, etc. Treating your app-download customer base as a special subset of your loyal customer base can generate big rewards.
Augmented Reality/Visual Search:
Apps can activate the camera on the phone and then overlay real products into a scene, by way of Augmented Reality. Apps can also trigger visual search via image recognition to allow in-store interactions to drive sales. More and more retailers are experimenting with these app add-ons and the results are impressive. After all, 83% of consumers ages 18 to 44 used a mobile device in stores in 2018 (source).
These examples of app-based interactions add personalized, deep engagement to the mobile shopping experience which can, in turn, drive more sales. They also link the digital and physical worlds so an app can support retail locations, as well as better online sales metrics.
Calculating ROI – Faster Checkout, Less Cart Abandonment
Cart abandonment is a BIG problem on the mobile web, with over 85% of all mobile website carts abandoned (source).
Retail apps can help combat this in a number of ways. The first is that, by simply opening an app, the consumer is already logged in. This means no need to enter a password, address, or credit card data. This greatly reduces checkout friction, boosts conversion rates, and lowers cart abandonment rates. Apps also typically feature mobile wallets at checkout like PayPal, MasterPass, and GooglePay which further speed up the checkout process.
As consumers come to expect an experience tailored to them across all touch-points, apps provide a unique opportunity to not only track the buyer’s journey but enhance that journey by providing an integrated and personalized experience. While this can take many shapes and deliver various benefits, faster checkout and reduced cart abandonment rates add money to your bottom line and drive the ROI.
Calculating ROI: Speed Wins
According to a Google study, when mobile page loads get to 10 seconds, the probability of a bounce increases by 123%. The same study showed that the average mobile website loads in 9.6 seconds. In comparison, over 50% of current native iOS apps load in less than 5 seconds.
As desktop websites become more and more clogged with features, responsive design mobile sites are slipping farther behind regarding performance. Even the best responsive web design mobile sites cannot hold a candle to app speed and convenience. Put simply, apps are faster because they use on-device caching to store the data used to render the shopping experience. A native mobile app is literally always on and in the device. Your best customers interact with you for 3+ hours/day (source).
Conclusions
Retailers considering building an app should do so with ROI in mind. After all, who wants to invest in a new omnichannel mobile retail experience that does not pay for itself? Higher conversion rates are the best metric for generating this revenue. That said, there are many other reasons to offer an app. Personalized, deeper engagement with your best customers can pay off too.
Remember, you will need 2 apps (iOS and Android) and retailers should be wary of design-heavy proposals from agencies that do not include maintaining or updating your apps, once delivered. Bringing app-build capabilities in-house is always an option for retailers with deep pockets. Retailers who want to leverage a custom design AND an API integration into the e-commerce platform they are already on can consider a platform-build approach, so data and orders flow seamlessly to/from current e-commerce operations.
Retail mobile native app adoption and usage is growing. Smart retailers will offer a native app to drive deep, personalized engagement with their best customers AND yield a rapid return on investment via improved conversions, lower rates of cart abandonment, and better/faster performance. Remember, 70% of millennials are looking for new apps and 50% of retailers surveyed have prioritized an app for 2019.
In closing, ask yourself this: When did you last visit Amazon’s mobile website using a browser on your phone? You most likely never have. Why? It’s because the personalized, fast, and convenient tools Amazon adds to their native app make using the mobile site obsolete. The same logic should apply to retailers looking to win in 2019. If done right, a rapid ROI will be the result.
Have more questions about developing a native app for your business or calculating ROI? CLICK HERE
Author: Wilson Kerr, VP Business Development and Sales. February 20, 2019. Copyright Unbound Commerce.
Progressive Web Apps: What They Are and Why They Matter
ju.Published in Digital Commerce 360 by Internet Retailer May 28, 2018
The new hot thing… a lot of buzz…but what are Progressive Web Apps (PWA)? Are they an app? A website? The name is confusing, but the potential upside PWAs offer online retailers is becoming increasingly apparent. Conversion rates from mobile traffic continue to stagnate, while traffic grows.
In this post, I will shed some light on PWAs by explaining the problems they are trying to solve, and what they are. I will also explain why this new mobile technology toolkit has clear benefits for both consumers and merchants in an ever-increasingly mobile world.
The Problem
Online retailers have a big problem: stagnant mobile conversion rates. When Responsive Web Design (RWD) took the e-commerce world by storm five years ago, retailers happily jumped at the chance to offer a “one site for everyone” strategy. They simply reformatted their desktop sites to fit smaller screens. It sounded great! While there were sacrifices in page-load times, many online retailers welcomed the perceived simplicity and reduced workload that RWD promised.
When mobile was 20-30% of traffic, the benefits of not having to manage “another mobile site” might have made some sense. But, as mobile traffic surges past 50, 60, 70, or even 80% for some retailers? The fact that mobile and desktop are inextricably linked by RWD (as a single site) is starting to become a big pain point.
Remember, the mobile site is really just a reformatted version of the responsively built desktop site. As such, stagnated mobile conversion rates cannot even be addressed as a specific problem to solve.
The Numbers (Ouch)
Mobile page-load times (performance) remain the weak link for RWD sites. They are a primary contributing factor to poor conversion metrics. Report after report shows a direct correlation between page-load time increases and conversion rate decreases. One report showed a 27% lift in conversion rates, for each second of page load time improvement. Building a robust desktop retail experience is of course crucial. But trying to cram that same rich experience into a smartphone by simply re-formatting the pages is clearly not working.
As evidence of this fact consider that, according to a Monetate report, the US mobile conversion rate for retailers in the US was 1.54% in Q1 2017. That’s a DROP from Q4 2016, when it was 1.65%. Looking back even further to the quarterly reports between 2013 to 2017? We can see that mobile conversion rates stay stuck between 1 and 2%. Essentially, these numbers have been static and unimproved for 5+ years. In this same time period, the average percentage of global web pages rendered to mobile devices jumped from 16% in 2013 to over 50% in 2017.
Can Progressive Web Apps Fill The Void?
For an increasing number of retailers, commerce-enabled native apps offer some relief from this conversion problem. They do this by converting at a rate that is typically 4-6X higher than mobile web traffic. Apps load fast and sit on the consumer’s smartphone, always-on, on and ready to take orders. While you need to discover and download apps, they are a powerful way to drive deeper engagement with the statistically smaller percentage of users that drive the majority of a retailer’s business.
According to a 2017 Criteo report, app conversion rates for retailers measured at 18% in Q4 2017. According to this same report, for retailers with both an app and a mobile-optimized site, in Q4 2017, native apps were responsible for a whopping 66% of mobile sales. In Q1 2018, the conversion rate for apps increased to 20%.
Google’s Role, Google’s Solution
Google has likely been watching the move-to-apps trend with some dismay. This is because they are not very good at indexing Apple’s “walled garden” within the app store. The more traffic and transactions occurring on native apps, the less Google knows what is happening. This impacts its ability to make advertising hay from the data it extrapolates from this web activity. For Google and their AdWords bots, iOS app-based retail interactions are like a “blind spot”.
Google is a smart company, with smart people working for them. So, in 2015, Google saw its trend toward apps coming and introduced a solution to the mobile website conversion problem. They called them Progressive Web Apps (PWAs). This is an odd choice in a name since this is really a toolkit for increasing browser-based mobile site performance by mimicking on-device caching of data. (Why they put the word “apps” in the name is beyond me… but I digress).
Progressive Web Apps Are Not Apps
Despite the word “app” on the name, PWAs are not apps. They are a methodology. A set of guidelines. A toolkit. A list of rules to follow for developers. They allow them to build and render mobile sites in ways that significantly improve their page load times/performance. They do this by merging the best of what apps offer (speed) and the best of the mobile web. (Easy access by anyone). And, because the PWA “shell” is separated from the content that is served within it, the experience just “feels” more app-like. It’s on-device, fast, and removed the “disconnect” that slow page load speeds can impart.
The Need For Speed: Caching and Service Workers
Google launched PWAs by using its Android operating system as a sort of Trojan Horse. They did this by adding something called Service Workers to it. Service Workers are pieces of code (Javascript files) that are built into the operating system. They facilitate the input of data from one API (in this case the retail e-commerce platform) and another API. Then store (cache) that data separately, on the device.
The reason this has a massive impact on performance is that the data used to render the mobile commerce experience does not need to be called up each time. It is already there, cached/stored on the phone, so page load times are nearly instantaneous. Remember that statistic about each second of page load time being linked to a 27% increase in conversion rates…?
Web-Based Push
Another benefit of PWAs is that they mimic one of the big native app differentiators: push notifications. Again, since the “shell” of the PWA is “downloaded” and stored on the user’s home screen, like a native app, a retailer can send messages that pop up. But only to customers who choose to add the icon to their phone. Since it’s likely that this message is going to a very dedicated customer, it is also highly likely they will act upon that call to action in the message and buy something. This helps drive increased conversion rates.
Compliance Measurement and the “SEO Carrot”
Google has wisely created a tool for measuring PWA compliance called Lighthouse. They are pushing the advantages of compliance while continuing to educate the developer community and court big retailers.
Google has a seriously valuable carrot to dangle for retailers considering adopting the PWA standards. They can promise preferential SEO page rank. Reaping the rewards of turbo-charging their Google page rank might be reason alone to move to a PWA (regarding ROI) for some.
Adoption: Slow Start, But Apple Finally On-Board
For a while, Google and its Android OS were alone in supporting Service Workers. But, as developers started using the PWA toolkit and seeing results, a lot of pressure was put on Apple. Finally, they introduced support for Service Workers in its latest iOS version release. Translation: PWAs (and the Service Workers so key to their advantage) now work on iPhones! For many retailers we work with, this was cited as a reason they were staying in wait-and-see mode on PWAs.
While Google is getting some PWA traction among content-serving websites, retailers in the US have been slow to jump on board. Even with Apple supporting Service Workers, many retailers are so deeply entrenched with their (slow on mobile) RWD sites. The notion of going “back to the future” and launching a dedicated “m-dot” site causes them angst.
Currently, there are only a few US retailers with live PWA mobile sites. One worth mentioning is Lancôme. We currently have several large PWA projects underway and are starting to get requests for more information. If a PWA is on your radar or if you have questions, please reach out.
Conclusions
A PWA is a powerful new solution to poor performance. Retailers should be researching and considering them, in direct proportion to their awareness that having a poor (and static) mobile traffic conversion rate is not sustainable in the face of ever-increasing mobile traffic numbers.
I should probably note here that PWAs are not just for mobile. They can improve desktop site performance too. But, for retailers, mobile is where the pain point is. As such, that is where PWAs have the most potential to move the bar.
For mobile shoppers, It’s solely an upside. As they will still browse retail websites. When they do, they will experience nearly instantaneous page loads. Not to mention, have the ability to “download” or pin an icon to their device’s home screen, like an app. If they choose to, they can receive special web-served offers that pop-up on their smartphone, just like native in-app push notifications. But, importantly, they never had to go to an app store and download a native app to their phone.
For merchants with repeat buyers and a dedicated customer base, PWAs offer a powerful new way to deliver a browser-based mobile experience. One that offers the speed of an app and will boost their Google SEO page rank. Even if a plan to build and launch a native app is in place, it’s time to think about treating mobile browser traffic as unique and worthy of an experience that can finally move the needle and improve long-stagnant conversion rates.
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To learn more about PWAs and/or to discuss how progressive web apps can help you increase mobile page-load times and lift mobile conversions, please reach out to Wilson Kerr via [email protected] or click here.
The best part of our job at Unbound is seeing our customers having astounding success with the mobile solutions we did together.
FitMama, a fitness apparel retailer, deployed a new mobile app for their customers. Unbound Commerce designed the app to not simply sell clothing but to help promote the healthy lifestyle that customers associate with FitMama. The merchant targeted their top customers to download the app. Within 4 months, 35% of FitMama’s total sales were coming through the app. Not all retailers are the perfect fit for a mobile app. But for those who have, or want to cultivate a loyal and engaged customer base, apps can be a breakthrough. According to Erika Boom, Owner, FitMama Apparel, “The combination of push notifications with one-touch checkout makes this a killer app for us. It’s a great way for Unbound to engage our loyal customers. And it makes it super easy for them to buy from us.”
Sports Unlimited struggled with a low conversion rate on mobile. As their mobile traffic grew, the problem became acute. Since they started working with Unbound, the retailer has seen dramatic results. “Since we’ve deployed our mobile site, not only have visitors greatly increased. But mobile conversion rates have gone up 500% and AOV increased by 27%,” according to Mike Neff, e-commerce director. Reflecting after the project, Neff commented: “It’s been really easy. It’s clear that Unbound has done all the leg work for us. This is one of the easiest e-commerce initiatives we’ve ever done.”
Consult with one of our product experts at Unbound to see what your numbers could be.
We’re often asked by merchants whether a mobile app would be good for their business. One of the top predictors is whether they have a strong base of repeat customers. Mattress firms are probably not a good example of a product category, whereas hot apparel companies would be great candidates.
Many merchants we speak with are struggling to understand the rapidly evolving mobile commerce trends and do not know the size and shop/purchase frequency for their top customers. For this reason, the graphic shown here is a useful metric to use. An Adobe study across retail channels found that 8% of customers make up 41% of sales for a typical merchant. The graphic rounds off these numbers to 10% / 40%, to make it more memorable and to connect it to the familiar “80/20” rule.
For most retailers, the average customer who buys once or twice a year is probably not going to download their app — unless there’s more than shopping involved here, which is the subject of an upcoming post. Instead, the app should focus on the top 10% of customers who are frequent shoppers, who generate the most sales and who – if you can move the needle – can generate the greatest ROI.
Does your company have a strong base of repeat customers?
Or are you interested in building a strategy to deliver elite service to your special customers?
If so, we’d be glad to help you assess what an app could do for your business.
The Great Debate: Responsive Web Design (RWD) vs Dedicated Mobile Commerce.
Responsive Web Design (RWD) is a hot topic. On one hand, the appeal of “one site fits all” is understandable. But retailers should take a careful, deeper look before jumping on this bandwagon.
We speak with retailers every day and the two most common claims we hear in favor of responsive are:
1) Google recommends it, and
2) One, single site displayed on all devices will be easier to manage.
In this post, we’ll address these two points head-on.
1) The Google SEO Recommendation Fallacy
Advocates and solution providers that sell RWD happily spread the claim that Google recommends it. It’s true that Google once stated that it recommends responsive, but they’ve never connected this to a negative implication regarding SEO rankings and they certainly have never called out the profound differences between content sites and commerce sites. Google makes its billions off advertising and it’s easy to see how responsive makes THEIR job easier. But, obviously, the real question is what is right for you, as a merchant.
Plus, Google almost immediately backtracked from this recommendation. Maile Ohye, SEO lead at Google, clarified that Google is neutral among the 3 different approaches: responsive, dynamic content, or a dedicated mobile site. What he said, regarding best practices from the perspective of Google crawlers & algorithms, was, “All three options work well for users and for Google, so use the best implementation based on your infrastructure, content, and audience”.
Again, retail sites and content sites are NOT the same. You can read more about this in The Definitive Guide To Technical Mobile SEO from SearchEngineLand, a major authority in this space. The key to understanding here is the use of alternate/canonical tags on the desktop & mobile sites respectively, as recommended by Google.
Of course, Unbound follows this best practice, while delivering a custom mobile experience built from “whole cloth” specifically structured for maximum mobile conversion rates, delivered to a (growing) mobile audience.
In fact, there are times when RWD actually hurts SEO rankings, as noted in this article, titled “When Responsive Web Design Is Bad For SEO”.
“The one URL argument for dynamic serving and responsive design’s superiority is moot with the introduction of switchboard tags, as Google can now understand which site should appear when regardless of URL structure.”
2) The One-Site-Fits-All Fallacy
The promise of RWD is that a single set of HTML codes can serve all device sizes. This is possible because the site is able to adjust itself for that screen size.
While it’s a neat trick and an easy, quick sell, we assert that this approach is actually a significant disadvantage, especially for retailers. And top e-commerce retailers seem to agree. Amazon, Walmart, Staples, Zappos, (and Google). All of them could employ any approach they want and have decided that responsive is not for them. Why not? Here are some key reasons:
RWD sites are slow.
All the code (for mobile & desktop) is delivered to the browser. The browser has the responsibility to sort it all out based on what kind of device is using it. This takes time and every second a page loads kills conversion rates.
Mobile is so much more than just a difference in screen size.
Mobile is personal, and it is always on. Mobile commerce is conducted in different ways for different reasons, at different times. Mobile consumers behave differently, so why offer them the same experience as desktops, shrunken down? Mobile is FAR too important to be thought of this way. And will only become more so.
Is RWD really simpler?
Rather than being simpler, responsive is actually more complex in many ways. If you want to make a change to the desktop experience, you need to test it on ALL leading mobile devices too. This is because mobile & desktop are inextricably entangled.
RWD costs more.
Retailers that investigate quickly find out that the site build costs for responsive far exceed the cost of a typical dedicated mobile site. And for the reasons stated above, the long-term implications add even more. Content and visual assets are often built twice. This adds unexpected time, effort, and… cost.
Mobile is trapped.
The requirement for using the same code base for mobile and desktop is really a limitation, not an advantage. Mobile is “trapped” and sentenced to always be a “necessary derivative” of e-commerce.
Simply put, if you want to create a distinctly mobile experience for your growing mobile customer base, designed for maximum conversions and fast page load times? RWD is NOT the right choice.
Summary
RWD has no SEO advantage. It’s clearly more expensive up front, and we don’t think there’s any ongoing cost of ownership advantages. And in our view, it’s not really mobile optimization. Because it’s dependent on the desktop site code, it’s more of a mobile compromise, rather than any advantage.
At Unbound, we employ RWD in select circumstances (usually in the checkout flow, when required). But we don’t think that merely resizing a website based on screen size is a sufficient methodology for mobile optimization. Very different settings use mobile. This leads to different use cases and priorities. Maintaining the ability to cater specifically to this rapidly growing audience is KEY.
The mobile experience needs to be much more than the shrunken version of your desktop retail offering. We think the best way to achieve that is by using distinct, mobile-optimized templates and built-in mobile features. We can design & develop them for the mobile user, to achieve maximum page load times and conversion rates.
Plus RWD is typically more expensive to implement and negatively impacts site performance.
As mobile grows, so do the negative implications of locking yourself into a single code base that is trying to be all things to all people.
Responsive Web Design is all the rage. All of a sudden, we hear advocates asserting that “responsive is the way to develop sites.” Or “Google recommends responsive for SEO.”
Observers might think that this approach has become the de facto standard among e-commerce leaders. But a close look at the top companies in the Internet Retailer rankings, reveals a surprising reality:
Among these top 16 retailers, only 2 have gone with responsive, despite obviously having the resources to do so if they wished.
So, what’s the disconnect here? Why hasn’t this hot-trending technique taken hold among the industry leaders? Are we confusing mobile-friendly as mobile-optimized?
Pros & Cons Summary
The table below summarizes the key advantages and disadvantages of responsive and dedicated approaches to mobile.
Responsive
Dedicated
Advantages
Satisfies Google’s mobile-friendly requirement
Only 1 site to maintain leads to a low cost of ownership
The mobile experience is not tethered to the desktop experience
More cost-effective if you want to maintain mobile as a distinct experience
Disadvantages
Slow performance
Higher one-time cost
Disruptive to the desktop site
Two sites to maintain
What Is Responsive Web Design?
We can answer this from 3 vantage points:
Technical: Responsive is the use of a media query in a website’s HTML, giving formatting instructions to the browser, and instructing the browser how to reformat the page to fit the width of the screen.
Design: a design approach that allows different device types to be served by a single set of HTML pages.
Strategy: an approach of “one site fits all” for handling different types of devices.
Another way of looking at responsive is how Google positions responsive alongside the 2 other recommended approaches to mobile:
Responsive web design: Serves the same HTML code on the same URL regardless of the user’s device (desktop, tablet, mobile, non-visual browser), but can render the display differently (i.e., “respond”) based on the screen size. Responsive design is Google’s recommended design pattern.[1]
Dynamic serving[aka Adaptive]: Uses the same URL regardless of device, but generates a different version of HTML for different device types based on what the server knows about the user’s browser.
Separate URLs[aka Dedicated]: Serves different code to each device, and on separate URLs. This configuration tries to detect the users’ device, then redirects to the appropriate page using HTTP redirects] along with the Vary HTTP header.
[1] Google goes on to say that they do not favor any particular URL format as long as the page(s) and all page assets are accessible to all Googlebot user agents.
Responsive Strengths
Responsive is an elegant solution for handling small screen sizes. By reprogramming the desktop site’s HTML and redesigning the layout, site owners can deliver pages that know how to adjust for screen size via a media query, that lets the html respond to the browser’s screen width.
Responsive meets the standards Google has set for being mobile-friendly. Due to this, responsive sites, properly done, will be saved from Google’s Mobilegeddon.
And because of the “one-site-fits-all” approach, there are fewer content elements to control and therefore fewer management tasks. Advocates of responsive say this leads to a lower cost of ownership.
Responsive Weaknesses
Responsive has one glaring problem: slow page load speeds. A responsive page works by delivering more content to the smartphone, and then asking the mobile browser to sort things out based on its screen width. This performance gap was reported by Internet Retailer:
A secondary weakness is that deploying responsive is complex and can be disruptive to the main website. As a result, responsive deployments tend to be more expensive than dedicated projects.
Dedicated Strengths
Dedicated is the better choice when a retailer actually wants to have the mobile experience different than the desktop experience. The “one-site-fits-all” advocates might ask why you’d ever want to deliver different experiences. There are several compelling reasons because – as we all know – mobile is so much more than just a small screen:
Mobile UI Capabilities – Mobile brings enhanced capabilities for interaction – such as location, touch, voice, camera, fingerprint, and motion. All can add richness to the mobile experience. Today’s desktop site does not support these capabilities, nor does it need to.
Different User Circumstances – Consumers have their phones in many places and settings that the desktop site needn’t worry about: in stores; on sports fields, in the garage, where the retailer’s product is being used; or in social settings. Most retailers can find new advantages here.
Different Desired Outcomes – Because of its omnipresence, mobile is the ideal omni-channel device. We know consumers use mobile for product discovery & research, even when they complete the purchase in a different channel – online, in-store, or call center. Why wouldn’t the mobile UI help facilitate this in a way that’s different than the desktop? Different calls to action; and different ways to prioritize them.
Dedicated Weaknesses
The conventional wisdom is that a dedicated site is something else to manage and that it represents an additional cost of ownership. Conversely, the counter view is that dedicated is a more cost-effective way to manage your mobile customers.
In addition, it is often asserted that Google will give an advantage to responsive sites. But, as discussed in the What Is Responsive section above, Google states that it does not favor responsive over dedicated.
Perspective
Responsive is a good choice for adapting a desktop site for the small screen.
As a web development technique, it’s an elegant way to deliver a small screen experience.
Dedicated sites are the better choice if the retailer wants the mobile experience to take full advantage of uniquely mobile capabilities.
For retailers who want to get the most out of mobile, dedicated sites make it easier to build a mobile-specific experience — one that takes advantage of unique mobile capabilities that the desktop site isn’t geared for. And to deliver different calls-to-action that optimize across all channels.
Responsive is a very useful technique for adjusting web pages to screen size. Due to this, developers love it as a tool. Unbound uses it as one of several methods for integrating the mobile experience into the retailer’s web infrastructure.
But that doesn’t make it a good mobile strategy.
If mobile-friendly is good enough for your company, then responsive is a fine choice. Comparatively, a better choice for your company might be to take full advantage of mobile-unique capabilities and deliver a distinct mobile experience. Unbound loves working with retailers who want to make the most out of mobile.
Keith Lietzke is the Co-Founder of Unbound Commerce. You can reach him at [email protected].
