Web Push

Email Marketing

Also: Web Push Notifications · Browser Push Notifications

What it isBrowser notifications, no app needed

Best forTimely nudges, not long messages

Watch forOpt-in fatigue and browser policy shifts

Reality checkOpt-in rates decay fast without a reason

Quick definition

Web push is a notification that appears on a subscriber's device straight from their browser, without needing an app or an email inbox. A visitor opts in once on a website, then the business can send short alerts directly to their desktop or phone lock screen.

How it varies across Australia

Web push opt-in rates vary widely by industry and by how the prompt is framed. Australian ecommerce sites that ask for permission after a clear value exchange see meaningfully higher opt-in than sites that prompt on page load. Retention from web push also decays faster than email retention if sends aren't kept relevant.

See retention channel performance across Australian industries →

What it actually means

Web push sits in an odd spot between email marketing and SMS marketing. It's free to send, doesn't need a phone number or a verified email address, and lands somewhere more urgent than an inbox: the device itself.

That urgency is the whole appeal and the whole risk. A subscriber opts in once, usually through a browser permission prompt, and from then on the business can interrupt them directly. There's no unsubscribe friction the way there is with churn on a paid subscription. There's just a mute button and a permission the browser can silently revoke if the sender abuses it.

Web push works best for short, time-sensitive messages: a price drop, a restock, an abandoned cart nudge, a flash sale closing in an hour. It works poorly for anything that needs explanation, because the format caps you at a headline and a line of body text.

The channel also depends heavily on segmentation. Blast every subscriber the same generic message and opt-out rates climb fast. Segment by behaviour, browsing history or purchase stage and web push starts to behave like a lightweight, real-time layer on top of your existing marketing automation.

Web push is the fire alarm of your channel mix. Loud, immediate, and useless if you pull it for no reason.

How it shows up

Web push shows up as a small banner or lock-screen alert, separate from email and separate from any app. It shows up in your marketing stack as a subscriber list distinct from your email list and your SMS marketing list, usually managed through a dedicated push provider or bundled into your email service provider (ESP). It also shows up as an opt-in prompt, often mistimed, asking a first-time visitor for permission before they've seen any reason to say yes.

The Australian context

Australian mobile browsers behave differently to desktop for web push. iOS Safari only added web push support in 2023, well after Chrome and Android, so a meaningful share of Australian mobile subscribers were invisible to this channel until recently. Businesses running web push should check their subscriber base skews desktop or Android-heavy unless they've refreshed their opt-in prompts since iOS caught up.

Where people get this wrong

Prompting for permission the moment a visitor lands.Nobody grants permission to a stranger. Opt-in rates climb when the prompt appears after a visitor has taken an action that shows intent, like adding to cart or reading past the fold.

Sending the same message to every subscriber.Web push has no inbox to bury a bad message in. An irrelevant send is seen immediately and unsubscribed immediately. Segmentation matters more here than in email.

Ignoring the difference between subscribed and reachable.Browsers can silently revoke permission or subscribers can uninstall the browser without unsubscribing. Reported list size and actual deliverability drift apart over time if you don't monitor delivery rate, not just opt-in count.

Common questions

Do I need an app to send web push notifications?

No. Web push works entirely through the browser. A visitor grants permission once on your website and you can send notifications from then on, whether or not they have an app installed or return to your site.

How is web push different from SMS marketing?

SMS marketing needs a phone number and usually costs per message. Web push needs only a browser permission and is typically free to send. SMS tends to feel more personal but web push is faster to set up and has no per-message cost.

Why do web push opt-in rates decline over time?

Subscribers who get irrelevant or too-frequent messages mute or revoke permission. Browsers have also tightened prompt rules, making it harder for low-quality prompts to convert. Opt-in rates hold up better when sends stay segmented and infrequent.

Can web push replace email marketing?

Not for anything detailed. Web push is built for short urgent alerts, not for nurture sequences, storytelling or complex offers. Most businesses run it alongside email marketing as a fast layer for time-sensitive moments, not as a replacement.

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About New Rebellion

New Rebellion is a marketing intelligence consultancy. We build tools, score Australian businesses on how their marketing actually performs, and publish Debrief every day. This dictionary is part of how we work in the open.

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