15 Ways to Increase Your E-commerce Conversion Rate

 

E-commerce conversion rates refer to the number of visitors to your website who finalize a purchase from your online store. The rates are calculated as a percentage of the total traffic to your website. The main benefits of increasing your conversion rates are to increase revenue, add value to your products and remarketing.

Conversion rates are a critical measurement to analyse and monitor as they are an effective way to review how your business and website is performing. E-commerce conversion rates are helpful to determine how well your website is functioning, whether you are offering an optimal user experience and they’re a great way to compare how effective your digital marketing activities. These include any search advertising, display advertising, SEO, social media activity and email marketing.

A significant factor affecting conversion rates is website performance. If your website is not functioning well, or is confusing for the visitor, it is likely they will bounce from your site before finalising a transaction.

Pricing and special offers will also affect conversion rates. Competitive pricing for highly popular brands can boost conversions significantly, however the increase is not as high for less-competitive brands; conversion rates may need to be lifted by other means.

While some industries have instant purchases, others have much longer sales cycles. Typically, retail environments have short sales cycles because people are coming to the store to buy something. A long sales cycle occurs when a product is being considered over a period of time, such as a software program for a commercial organization, or a large office fit-out. It is also the case where a trial period is used, giving the potential customer time to try before making a purchase.

 

Measuring Conversion Rates

The average e-commerce conversion rate is between 2% and 4% of your traffic - sitting at 2.42% in November 2021 ¹. Keep in mind however, that the rate varies depending on industry sector, product, location and the device your target audience prefers. So, it is important to develop your KPIs and consider market-specific nuances when analysing your e-commerce conversion rate.

Conversion rates should be assessed along with other metrics such as bounce rate, time spent on site, average order value, traffic sources and whether sales are from new or existing customers. Measuring these stats gives valuable insight into improving your business’ performance. Most websites use Google Analytics for analysing various metrics. If you use a hosting platform like Shopify, there are analytics dashboards built in that will show you your conversion rate.

There are a range of e-commerce solutions available and deciding on which to use depends on a number of factors. Consider the functionality and customization the platform offers, product complexity, your budget, necessary design requirements and user experience.

Some of the core platforms include Magento (Magento developers have created a platform with hundreds of unique features) and Adobe Commerce which is diverse and flexible. WooCommerce plugin and BigCommerce are also excellent e-commerce platforms. Continuum is a simple to use, comprehensive platform for website content management, e-marketing, reporting, SEO, analytics and more - it covers everything your business needs for successful e-commerce.

 

Increasing E-commerce Conversion Rates

There are many useful tips to increase your conversion rate. Implementing some or all of these e-commerce solutions will make a dramatic difference to your success.

 

1. Excellent Copy & Design

You need to keep visitors on your site, so it needs to be visually appealing and persuasive. Focus on keeping text to a minimum and use images and graphics to offer further information in a simple way. Include clear, easy to use call to action prompts on your pages. Let your business shine.

 

2. Make You Website User-Friendly

Ensure your pages load quickly and use simple, clear navigation so customers can easily find what they are searching for. Fix any broken pages and regularly update your site so it stays up to date. Make sure your site is mobile-friendly and keep the checkout process straightforward. Engaging e-commerce website developers will give you a platform to make this easy.

 

3. Make it Personal

Consider displaying your goods in specific groups so visitors feel like they can choose a particular collection of items. For example, a clothing store may allow visitors to shop by a particular style or fit; a bicycle retailer may offer their products in particular styles or price ranges.

 

4. Use Social Media Platforms

These days, you must have a presence on social media and e-commerce companies are not only using these platforms for advertising, but to sell directly to their followers. Have traffic directed to a designated landing page and make the path from follower to customer easy and quick.

 

5. Be Informative & Open

Buying online can be daunting if visitors don’t get all the information they are seeking, so include detailed descriptions of your products and write about the product benefits too - people can’t touch and feel your products so it’s your job to bring them to life. Be clear around fees, shipping, delivery times and payment options. Extra costs are a huge factor in visitors abandoning their shopping cart. ²

 

6. Provide Multiple Options for Payment & Delivery

Giving customers the flexibility on how to pay and have their goods delivered will go in your favour. Consumers like security too, so going with PayPal for instance, will make them feel safe when transacting. Also, offer different delivery options - for instance you may have free shipping, but provide express shipping at a cost.

 

7. Provide Reviews & Recommendations

Most consumers rely heavily on recommendations so having these clearly visible on your page is a great advantage. You want proof that what you are offering is worth buying.

 

8. Providing Special Offers

Whether you offer a discount on items or services, bonuses or free shipping, they will work to entice the customer to purchase from you. This is especially effective if someone has been hesitating over a purchase. Give before taking, in other words, giving a discount or a free sample will increase purchasing. Attracting potential customers this way can result in an increase in sales as they may browse the rest of your store before making a purchase.

 

9. Exclusivity, Urgency & Scarcity

Using strategies like labelling items that are limited in stock or the last of its kind will help influence your potential customers to make a quicker purchasing decision. Providing a limited timeframe for a discounted purchase will result in a sense of urgency and quick purchasing, as will giving last order dates for delivery by a certain time.

 

10. Upselling & Cross-selling

Make it easy for potential customers by providing recommendations for them as an alternative, or to compliment what they are browsing. Also, consider flagging items that may be cheaper - while this may reduce their spend, it will entice buyers who have a limited budget to finalize a purchase.

 

11. Allow Guest Checkout

Another reason shoppers abandon carts is if they need to create an account with the company. Let them check out as a guest so they don’t become disinterested. However, provide opportunities for them to register with your company throughout their browsing.

 

12. Re-engage Abandoned Carts

There will be instances where a shopping cart is full, only for the consumer to not finalize their purchase. So, try to re-engage them as there is obviously some interest there. Try a pop-up offering an incentive, send a follow up email or ask them to provide feedback on why they left.

 

13. Provide Security

Shoppers demand security, knowing they are susceptible to scams and cybercriminals. Make your website secure so visitors can browse and purchase happily.

 

14. Have Live Chat

Make potential customers feel at home by offering live chat support so they know customer service is instantly available, just like it would be in a physical store. It’s convenient to ask questions while they are shopping.

 

15. Have a Good Returns Policy

Giving your customers a flexible returns policy gives peace of mind and they will be more likely to purchase from you. Have a return window of at least 30 days, with different options for returning goods.

 

To have a free no obligation chat about increasing your e-commerce conversion rates, contact our team at Web Force 5. We have a team dedicated to e-commerce and will create a custom solution for you in no time.

Contact us to find out more.

 

1 https://au.oberlo.com/statistics/average-ecommerce-conversion-rate

2 https://www.coredna.com/blogs/increasing-ecommerce-conversion-rates