[2025] 12 PWA App Case Studies, Explained in Detail

When doing online marketing or e-commerce, it's no exaggeration to say system and app performance is a key factor in success. That's why many websites now use a new technology standard called Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) to improve their performance.

Supported by Google, web app PWAs aim to deliver high-level performance regardless of device or network conditions. With the reliable, fast, and engaging quality of native apps, PWAs are gaining strong momentum and drawing a great deal of attention.

​​Progressive Web Apps (PWA). To help you understand how a PWA differs from a traditional responsive website, here are some impressive PWA app examples across various industries.

Let's get started!

PWA App Case Study #1: The Starbucks App

Starbucks built a PWA ordering system on the web, aiming to offer online ordering that's accessible and user-friendly for every customer.

In other words, thanks to offline-mode functionality, the Starbucks PWA lets customers browse the menu, customize orders, and add items to the cart. Once online, it displays location-specific pricing and lets them place food and drink orders.

Since most PWAs work without a network connection, they're ideal for customers whose connectivity comes and goes throughout the day, or for emerging markets like rural communities with unreliable connections.

By launching the new ordering PWA, Starbucks has already seen significant results. The PWA app is 99.84% smaller than Starbucks' existing iOS app, making the web app a favorite among all users (app, web, and PWA). As a result, the number of web users placing daily orders doubled, and desktop users ordered at almost the same rate as mobile users.

Starbucks PWA app — mobile view

Starbucks PWA app — desktop view

PWA App Case Study #2: Online Shopping — Debenhams

When talking about brands transforming the shopping experience in fashion, Debenhams is impossible to overlook.

The famous British brand noticed that although its old website was increasing mobile traffic, mobile conversion rates weren't rising. Debenhams concluded it was time for digital transformation — otherwise its digital and overall growth would soon slow down. The brand looked for a solution that could give users a smooth experience, especially on mobile devices.

PWA was the Debenhams team's answer. After turning the old website into a PWA, their efforts truly paid off. By removing blockers in the customer journey, they improved the experience around slow pages, hard-to-navigate structure, and a complex checkout process. Overall, Debenhams saw a 40% increase in mobile revenue and a 20% increase in conversions.

Debenhams PWA — mobile view

Debenhams PWA — desktop view

PWA App Case Study #3: BMW

As a pioneering brand in the automotive industry, BMW proves it never shies away from new technology, whether in its cars or its website. To improve customer experience, the brand sought to deliver quality and engaging content that reflects its values.

BMW's new PWA app definitely delivers a “wow” experience for users. What everyone notices are the high-resolution images and videos, and the site loads all these features instantly (4x faster than the old site). Their report also showed other impressive numbers after switching to the PWA app: a 4x increase in the number of people clicking from the homepage to the BMW sales site, 50% growth in mobile users, and, compared with the old site, a 49% increase in site visits.

BMW PWA — mobile view

BMW PWA — desktop view

Reference: PWA vs. Native App: Comparison and How to Choose

PWA App Case Study #4: Uber

As the company expanded into new markets, Uber Web was rebuilt from scratch as a PWA, delivering a booking experience on par with the native mobile app.

The Uber PWA is designed to make booking a ride possible even on a slow 2G network. Built around the concept of an app-like experience accessible from any modern browser, the PWA is ideal for riders on low-end devices that may not be compatible with the native Uber app.

By delivering a native-like experience through a super-lightweight web app, Uber enabled quick ride requests regardless of location, network speed, or device. With a core app of just 50kb, it can load in under 3 seconds on a 2G network.

Uber PWA app — mobile view

Uber PWA app — desktop view

PWA App Case Study #5: Pinterest

Focusing on international growth, Pinterest launched a brand-new mobile web experience as a PWA, built from scratch. The social network found that, due to poor mobile performance, only 1% of mobile users converted into sign-ups, logins, or app installs.

Recognizing the huge opportunity to improve conversion, they rebuilt the mobile web using PWA technology. Sign-ups grew 44% and core engagement increased 60%.

Pinterest PWA app — mobile view

Pinterest PWA app — desktop view

PWA App Case Study #7: Spotify

Your favorite music player is now powered by a PWA.

Given the disagreement between Spotify and Apple over Apple's 30% App Store commission, Spotify — like many other major brands — decided it was a timely opportunity to start developing a PWA version of its app.

Compared to its native app counterpart, the PWA version is extremely fast, with a unique adaptive UI that changes its background as users move through the app. As with many other PWAs, users are prompted to add Spotify PWA to their home screen, making it more accessible than other versions.

Spotify PWA — mobile view

Spotify PWA — desktop view

PWA App Case Study #8: AliExpress and Alibaba

Global online retailers looked for ways to give every web user the benefits of an app — including performance and the ability to re-engage users.

After implementing a Progressive Web App on M.Aliexpress.com, they saw incredible results:
・104% more new users across all browsers, and an 82% increase in iOS conversion rate
・2x the pages visited per session per user across all browsers
・A 74% increase in time spent per session across all browsers

AliExpress PWA app

On a related note, the Alibaba app — from the same owner, the world's largest online business-to-business (B2B) trading platform — saw total conversions increase 76% across all browsers after upgrading the site to a Progressive Web App (PWA).

・76% higher conversion across all browsers
・14% more monthly active users on iOS, and 30% more on Android
・4x the interaction rate for “Add to Homescreen”

Alibaba PWA app

PWA App Case Studies in Japan

There are also several notable examples within Japan.

PWA app case studies in Japan

These are just some of the various PWA app examples out there.

In Closing

Native apps and PWAs are two options for delivering a seamless experience to users, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. Both are well established, and which one to choose should be based on your project's goals and resources.

At Miichisoft, for mobile apps and web systems (including PWAs), we have a development team ready to handle it. We've also had an IT consulting team based in Japan since 2020, offering one-stop support from requirements definition to design, development, and operation of the system or app you want to build.

If you have needs around developing a PWA app, web system, or mobile app, please feel free to reach out. We'll be happy to put together a detailed proposal for you.
We look forward to hearing from you. Thank you.

Source: SimiCart (12 Best Examples of Progressive Web Apps)