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Ecommerce conversion rate optimization – 16 tips for your store

Packages
Author Mateusz Kot
Updated:
2024-08-26
Reading time:
10 minutes read
Category:
Blog

The number of visitors on your page is good, but conversion does not satisfy you? Seems like you need some Ecommerce conversion rate optimization tips!

What is conversion rate optimization (CRO)?

Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) on a website is the systematic process aimed at increasing the percentage of visitors who take a desired action. In ecommerce it is usually a purchase. The optimization process involves e.g. analyzing user behavior, identifying obstacles to conversion, and implementing changes to enhance the user experience.

What is a good conversion rate for ecommerce?

Average ecommerce conversion rate is about 2.5-3%. To reach such a level, see best practices for conversion rate optimization below.

E-commerce conversion rate optimization strategies that work

1. Take care of user experience (UX)

Enhancing user experience is one of the best conversion rate optimization practices. A poor user experience can be caused by, for example, the site’s load time. A slow site will turn visitors away, so it’s important to make sure your page loads quickly and efficiently. Another major cause of a bad user experience is an interface that is difficult or confusing to use, leading users to bounce from the site without making a purchase. It’s worth it to minimize the number of clicks needed to complete an action on your eCommerce website. This will improve conversion rates as well as reduce cart abandonment rates by making it easier for customers to complete their purchases.

Pay attention to technical issues on your website such as:

  • server responsiveness,
  • error messages,
  • broken links,
  • intuitive design,
  • optimized images, meta tags, content, and URLs (you can also optimize your eCommerce site for mobile devices).

If either of these things is happening on your site, you’re probably having trouble converting visitors into customers.

2. Be mobile-friendly

In your conversion rate optimization strategy include mobile-friendliness. A mobile-friendly site will automatically adapt to the device that is being used, providing a better user experience with less frustration and confusion for visitors. How to improve this factor? Optimize images for mobile by using the proper image formats (JPG, GIF, PNG) and sizes based on screen size and resolution.

3. Write clear Product Descriptions

Content is king, so if you want to increase your conversion rate, you need to make sure that your website has good content and is easy to navigate. Before you start to write your product descriptions, take a look at the competition. If you’re selling a similar item that has been around for some time, it’s likely that there will be some reviews and information on various sites on the Internet. Review their descriptions to see how they are structured and what they include.

If you are selling something new or an unusual item, do some research into what people would want to know about it. What are its benefits over other similar products? What makes it unique? Is there anything special about its design or construction that sets it apart from other similar items in its category? What is included with this product (such as extra accessories)? How can someone use this product (for example: “Use with hot water”).

4. Create Personalized Content

Non-personalized content can cause a significant drop in conversion rates. How to personalize the content on product pages? You can use tools like“Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought” or “Frequently Bought Together” widgets (among others). You can also get creative with dynamic product descriptions that change based on what other products are being viewed by your customers at that time (for example, if someone buys dish soap, then all of the other cleaning supplies should be displayed as related items).

5. Publish high-quality product images

When it comes to the product images on your website, don’t settle for anything less than top quality. Customers want to see what they are buying from all angles—front, back, and side views. This will help them understand what a product looks like in real life before they purchase it.

Also, customers often use the image of a product while searching for that particular item on Google or Amazon. Hence, you must have high-quality images of each of your products displayed on your site so that people can easily find what they’re looking for.

If you do not have professional photographers at hand who can take high-quality photos of your products then try using the services of an eCommerce photography studio which offers affordable photo shooting solutions and also has great expertise in taking product photographs with different angles so that customers can have complete information about every aspect of the product before making their decision.

6. Outline delivery conditions

The delivery conditions of your store are a very important factor in increasing conversion rate in ecommerce and excellent shipping experience. You should specify them in the order form, and make sure that they are clearly visible in the header and footer of your website.

It’s not enough just to specify how much it costs for shipping – you’ll also need to think about what kind of delivery options you can offer customers, as well as which countries you’re prepared to ship to and which shipping methods are available for each one.

Make sure all these details are available on your website so that customers know exactly what they’ll be charged before placing their order.

7. Offer various shipping options

Provide customers with multiple shipping options by offering an estimated delivery date, delivery time, and exact cost. Then, you’ll want to provide a list of delivery options for specific products. You should also include instructions for delivery and payment options. How? If you have a store on WordPress choose Shipping cost calculator is a tool that allows you to easily add shipping costs to the product price. There are several options when it comes to shipping:

  • Free Shipping – This is probably the most obvious option, but also one of the most popular ones as well. You can offer free shipping by setting your fixed rate at $0 or even more than $0 (e.g., $1), which gives customers an incentive to purchase more products and make their orders bigger.

If you want to get started with free shipping, there are a few things you should know first:

  • Free shipping increases order size, so it’s a good way to increase average order value.
  • Free shipping can help you compete with other stores by giving customers an incentive to buy from you instead of your competitor.
  • You don’t have to offer completely free shipping; if you’re worried about increasing your costs too much, just offer “free delivery” or “free standard delivery” instead.
  • For setting up free delivery when a certain value of cart is reached, use Flexible Shipping PRO plugin for WooCommerce.

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  • Fixed Amount – If you want to offer a fixed amount for shipping regardless of how many items they buy, then this option fits perfectly. The only downside is that if someone buys just one item from your store (which happens often), then he/she will have to pay for shipping anyway!

8. Add shipment tracking to the cart

One of the most overlooked ways to increase your ecommerce conversion rate is to offer to track information on your shipping confirmations. It’s a simple, but effective way for you to help customers feel more confident about their purchase and build trust with them. Plus, it allows them to track their packages in real-time so that they can follow along on their journey from where it was shipped all the way to their final destination.

To add tracking information, place an order number or other tracking code on your packaging slip right next to where it says “Thank You” so that customers will see this information before opening up the box/bag containing whatever item(s) they ordered.

Are you a WooCommerce store owner? See how to add shipping tracking number on WooCommerce.

9. Provide desirable payment hurdles

How to increase online sales conversion rate? Offer multiple ways for people to pay for their purchase so they don’t have to choose just one at checkout (e.g., PayPal, credit card).
Make sure all payment methods are compatible with each other so customers don’t have any problems when completing their orders (e.g., if someone uses PayPal but doesn’t get paid until after their order has been shipped).

If you are not offering your visitors a wide variety of payment options, it is likely that some potential customers will be unable to check out and complete their purchases. This can lead them to abandon the cart and never return because they don’t want to deal with the hassle of shopping elsewhere. If this happens often enough, it can reduce your overall conversion rate significantly.

10. Compensate for delays in delivery

We have already covered one way to increase the chance of a happy customer – ensuring that your shipping process is fast and reliable. However, sometimes
delays happen regardless of how well you plan for them. If this is the case for your company, it’s important to ensure that customers are compensated for their inconvenience in some way.

The best way to do this is by offering an apology and/or compensation in each delayed package’s note (if applicable). This can be as simple as a small gift like chocolates or flowers, or even an extra discount on their next purchase from you. It will show them how much you value their business and help make up for lost time spent waiting on their delivery!

11. Automate the process of preparation for shipment, or at least simplify it

Automating the process of preparation for shipment, or at least simplifying it, is one of the main ways to increase ecommerce conversion rate optimization through efficient shipping.

When you automate your processes, you remove a lot of manual work from the equation and make it easier for your team to keep up with everything that needs to be done. Software that integrates with major eCommerce platforms can simplify things even further by making it possible for customers themselves to print labels and track their shipments easily.

12. Check the quality of your packaging regularly

Packaging is a vital part of your shipping process. Your customers will interact with it much more often than they’ll interact with the product itself, so it’s important to make sure that you’re using the right material to protect your products and boost the presentation.

But how do you know that what’s in those boxes is actually going to be safe? You need to check the quality of your packaging regularly!

When you check on the quality of your packaging regularly, you’ll be able to spot any issues before they become problems. For example, if one shipment gets damaged during transit due to poor quality packaging materials or construction methods, then this could lead other customers who buy from you later on down the line to have similar issues too!

13. Reward loyal customers and buyers referring their friends to your store

Incentivizing buyers to refer their friends is a great way to get new customers. Give them a discount on their next purchase if they get two friends to buy something from your store. This will give your customers an incentive to share your brand and products with others, and it helps you spread the word about what you’re selling.

You can also incentivize buyers by giving them discounts for multiple purchases or for referring friends. You could offer 10% off all purchases when someone buys three items in one go, or give them 20% off the second item in a transaction if they’ve referred at least one friend within six months of signing up for an account on your site.

Another option is to reward long-time customers with special offers such as birthday discounts (10% off any purchase made during their birthday month) or anniversary discounts (20% off any order made within 12 months of them becoming a customer). If someone has been using your service for five years straight now would be an excellent time to give him/her something special!

Finally, consider offering some sort of prize as part of this program (like free shipping) so people are motivated to participate consistently over time.

14. Provide trustworthy information about products

Let’s face it: building trust is easier said than done. UGC, or user-generated content, can be an effective way to build trust with your visitors. User-generated content is any form of content created by a user on behalf of your brand that may include reviews, testimonials, and case studies.

Reviews are the most common form of UGC and work because they allow users to share their experiences with products or services in real-time. For example, if you have a product that’s been used by thousands of customers already (or even one), you can ask them for feedback about what they liked and didn’t like about your offering—this will give potential buyers confidence when deciding whether or not this product is right for them too!

Another way to leverage UGC is through video testimonials from other people who’ve used your products/services before—the more personal the better! You might think this would take longer than just showing off how well something works but you’d be wrong: consumers actually prefer seeing someone else using whatever item they’re looking at over reading text alone (which makes sense).

15. Build strong, positive brand experience

Your brand experience is the sum of all the interactions that a customer has with your company, from the website to sales reps to packaging. Customer experience (CX) is a term used to encompass not just branding but also every other touchpoint: user experience (UX), service design, and even culture.

The importance of CX can’t be overstated—it has been shown to influence customer loyalty and even drive revenue in an organization. A bad brand experience can damage your reputation, leading customers to seek alternatives in future purchases or stop buying altogether.

As consumers have more options than ever before, they expect companies they interact with—even those they don’t know personally—to provide a positive CX across all channels and touchpoints. That means brands need strong branding strategies that connect emotionally with customers so there is no barrier between them and what you want them to buy!

16. Have customer support channels

It’s a fact: customers want to be able to talk to someone if they have a problem. If you don’t offer customer support channels, your customers will take their business elsewhere. Not only is it important to make sure that contacting you is easy and convenient, but it’s also essential that your customer support team has the expertise required to address any situation efficiently.

You should consider offering multiple ways for customers to contact you so that all prospects can find what they need quickly and easily. This includes phone lines, email addresses, live chat, and social media channels (such as Facebook). You should make sure these options are available 24/7 so that customers can reach out when they need help or receive answers immediately after purchases are complete or during working hours if necessary.

Ecommerce conversion rate optimization is always an ongoing process

The key to maximizing conversion rates is to continuously monitor performance metrics and make data-driven adjustments to your strategies. Regularly analyze bounce rates, cart abandonment, and other KPIs to identify areas for improvement. Conduct A/B testing to compare the effectiveness of different approaches, such as varying product descriptions, images, or checkout flows.

By implementing these proven conversion rate optimization techniques and continuously refining your approach based on data, you can steadily increase the percentage of visitors who complete purchases on your e-commerce site. Enhancing the user experience, providing high-quality product information, offering convenient shipping and payment options, and building trust through reviews and customer support are all critical to driving conversions.

Ultimately, CRO is an ongoing process that requires diligence and a commitment to constantly improving the shopping experience for your customers. By making it easier for visitors to find, understand, and buy your products, you can boost sales and revenue over time through incremental optimizations. Stay focused on the user, analyze the data, and keep iterating to maximize your e-commerce conversion rates.

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