Web push notifications used to sit in an awkward middle ground. Not essential. Not useless. Just something teams planned to revisit later.

That’s changing.

The web push advertising market is expected to reach $3.51 billion by 2029, according to Statista. The growth isn’t coming from hype. It’s coming from teams finding practical ways to use web push as part of their everyday engagement mix.

What web push does well

At its core, web push is simple: short, clickable messages shown to users while they are actively browsing your site. That real-time, on-site visibility is its main advantage. Unlike email, web push doesn’t compete for inbox placement. Messages appear directly in the browser while users are already engaged with your site, making them timely and contextually relevant.

Where it tends to work best

The strongest use cases are familiar:

• Promotions and offers
  Time-sensitive messages like limited discounts or reminders tied to prior interest.
• Updates and announcements
  Product updates, new content or service changes that do not warrant a full email.
• Reminders and nudges
  Cart recovery, unfinished actions, expiring trials or upcoming events.

None of this is new. What has changed is how precisely teams can decide who gets these messages and when.

Where things go wrong

Web push gets a bad reputation when it is overused. The usual problems are: 

• too many messages
• generic, one-size-fits-all copy
• trying to use push as a replacement for every other channel

When that happens, opt-out rates rise quickly. Used sparingly and with context, performance looks very different.

Why it matters now

For many organisations, web push has settled into a supporting role alongside email and in-app messaging. It fills the space between saying nothing and saying too much, especially when timing matters.

If you are already working across multiple channels, it is worth asking one simple question:

Is there a message we are forcing into email that would work better as a short, well-timed push instead?

Learn more about how web push works and how to use it effectively in our Web Push Expertise article. Reach out to your CSM to add this channel to your account.