Among them are Google’s shift to mobile-first indexing, Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMPs), Android Instant Apps and Progressive Web Apps (PWAs). Instant apps and PWAs, in particular, are blurring the line between the mobile web and the native app to create a more seamless user experience.
In one example detailed in the report, ecommerce platform Hollar found that its instant app had helped to drive sales among potential customers hesitant to download the company’s full native app.
“[The instant app] has allowed us to be more efficient in converting what I call the ‘undecided’ app user, who allows us into their device—at least temporarily—for a better experience,” said James Ho, vice president of product development at Hollar. “They get all the benefits of a highly converting, highly engaging install path, without us ever having to get in their face about trying our app.”
In other words, instead of trying to force potential customers into its native app, Hollar’s strategy was to use its instant app to provide a better experience than the one it could provide on the mobile web.
Hollar’s instant app experiment also yielded an unforeseen marketing insight. It found that much of its best converting traffic resulted from email messaging—not search, as it had expected.