Transforming Selco’s B2B experience through PWA
By 2021, it’s estimated that 50% of online shopping will come from mobile; in some markets that number is already over 80%.
As an agency, we’ve been working partially remote for nearly ten years, offering our staff the ability to work from home each week. Some of our staff already work permanently from home as part of our existing policies, so we were well prepared with great advice for the rest of our team to help out.
However, the so-called “mobile conversion gap” remains a key challenge for eCommerce. The continued adoption of mobile technologies has caused consumer behaviours and expectations to evolve. If we are to close that gap, then our eCommerce experiences must evolve too.
Combining the features of native apps with the reach of websites, Progressive Web Apps are that evolution. PWA is now the future of eCommerce, and where all sites will be investing in the very near future. We like to think of PWA as the next revolution in the web following its predecessor; Responsive Web Design.
“PWA is now the future of eCommerce, and where all sites will be investing in the very near future.”
Joseph Russel, Head of Design at JH
There is a multitude of benefits that merchants should be considered as a reason to be an early adopter of this technology. As an agency that has deployed a multitude of successful PWA projects for our clients (including the first-ever PWA on Magento!), we wanted to highlight the fact that PWA’s are not just for the consideration of B2C merchants.
Selco supplies building materials to tradespeople and construction companies, becoming one of the most established in their industry, with 68 branches nationwide. But 7 years ago, prior to working with JH, Selco had little to no online presence.
Over the 7 years, we have been working with Selco, we have seen the customer experience transform entirely from a site that was only able to take simple bookings for products, to a complete eCommerce experience.
Last year, after seeing exponential growth and success with Magento Commerce over the years, Selco made the decision to migrate to Magento Commerce Edition 2.3 (2.3.3) and utilise its PWA, PageBuilder and GraphQL capabilities. The focus of the project was to replace the legacy Magento 1 architecture, but also drastically improve the customer experience even further in terms of speed, efficiency and responsiveness.
The latest update to Selco’s website is the FIRST-EVER Progressive Web App to be deployed for a B2B merchant on the Magento Commerce platform. The site offers the following functionalities to customers:
- Click & Collect
- Building Materials Calculator
- Real-Time Stock Checking
- Project List Functionality
Launched in January 2020, the first-ever B2B PWA on Magento is showing very impressive results. Selco has enjoyed:
- 300% faster site speed
- 82% increase in revenue
- 94% increase in transactions
- 23% increase in conversions
If you’re interested in learning more about how a Magento PWA could transform your eCommerce business, visit: wearejh.com/pwa