iOS 11.03 is good news for Progressive Web Apps, Mobify report finds

With 61.9 per cent of mobile users and 65.1 per cent of mobile orders on ecommerce sites coming from iOS (source: Mobify) the share of mobile traffic eligible to take advantage of a wide range of Progressive Web Apps (PWA) features more than double with the recent launch of Apples iOS 11.3.

According to the 2018 Q1 Mobile Commerce Insights Report from Mobify, thats because the latest version of Safari on iOS supports service workers, a key technology that is one of the foundations of a PWA, which the company says is now widely recognized as the best way to create fast, seamless mobile web experiences.

Service workers provide greater control over caching, which enables fast subsequent page loads. According to the Mobile Commerce Insights Report, the mean subsequent page load speed increase for an iOS PWA without service workers is 4.8x, while with service workers it is predicted to be 15.6x.

“Well-crafted PWAs have always worked across iOS and Android, but with the latest Apple Safari release now supporting service workers, iOS users will gain an even better shopping experience,” said Mobify CEO Igor Faletski.

PWA features enabled by iOS 11.03 include faster subsequent page loads due to enhanced caching capabilities; full-screen, immersive launch from the home screen experience; support for the Payment Request API for Apple Pay; and the ability to browse while offline.

Such PWA features enable retailers to drive more engagement and revenue from the iOS audience through app-like experiences previously limited to downloaded native apps, Mobify believes. The company has built PWAs for retailers including Lilly Pulitzer and Lancôme and said these two companies achieved mobile revenue increases of 33 per cent and 36 per cent respectively with the apps.

With support for launches from the homescreen, PWAs give retailers an icon-based launching pad that typically generates six times more revenue per user, twice as many sessions per users, and twice as many pageviews per session, according to the Mobify report.

Also included in iOS 11.3 is support for the Payment Request API for Apple Pay. A vendor-agnostic standard that enables retailers to implement Apple Pay on iOS, the approach eliminates checkout forms by using a single API call to transfer payment information between the retailer and the end user. This reduces friction and errors in the checkout process, a factor Mobify’s early analysis shows can cut checkout abandonment rates in half and result in a 40 per cent faster time to checkout.

You can download the full report here.