Case Study Alibaba PWA Increases Conversions By 76 Percent

Alibaba is the world's largest business-to-business trading platform. They have reaped the benefits of their recent change to a Progressive Web App (PWA). After the upgrade, Alibaba saw an incredible 76% increase in total conversions across browsers.

Alibaba found that they had a particular challenge. They were trying to use their mobile web as a platform to direct users to the native app. However, users were not following the predicted path. Users tended to prefer to stay on a mobile browser.

“Users consider having to download an app to browse or complete a transaction an unnecessary barrier, compared to the quick, easy solution of browsing directly from their mobile browser” Zou Yu, director of Alibaba.com’s mobile team.

Conversions

Users are unlikely to make several big decisions in a row. When asking a user to convert, you need to make the request as simple as possible. If users need to download an app before they can use your services, they are unlikely to make quick decisions. A PWA offers a unique solution. It provides the functionality of an app with the usability of a website.

Mobile experience

Alibaba recognized that they needed to prioritize their mobile experience. Through developing the PWA, they gained a fast, effective, and reliable mobile web experience. Overall, this resulted in a 76% increase in conversion rate across all browsers. Conversions are money, and such an impressive increase in conversions is priceless.

Re-engagement

Another incredible improvement that Alibaba gained from their switch to PWA is the ability to re-engage users more effectively. The implementation of an add to home screen prompt resulted in users re-engaging 4x more often than other mobile users. A constant reminder like an icon on the home screen is useful for brands. Customers are subliminally made aware of your brand, and you do not have to do anything extra.

The open rate for push notifications from the PWA was the same as that from the native app. Although one may think that native apps may have the upper hand in terms of user retention, Alibaba's case shows differently.

Overall experience

Overall, the new strategy gave users a much better experience across all platforms. Monthly user rates on iOS shot up by 14%. On Android devices with the additional push notifications and add to home screen functionality, active user rates increased by 30%.

“Delivering a mobile-first, user-centric mobile site that harnesses the best of the native app, with the path to better conversions”. Zou Yu

Learn more

To read about how a Progressive Web App impacted Flipkart, a similar business, click here. If you would like to know more about how a PWA could benefit your business, get in touch!