Irrespective of how you attract people to your online store – content marketing, paid ads, social media, or affiliate programs – every visitor leaving your site without making a purchase is an opportunity missed.
This is why it is crucial to optimize your eCommerce platform for conversion rates if you want to have a high-performing e-store like Amazon or eBay.
In this segment, we discuss the basics of eCommerce development and the most effective practices you need to follow while you go about it.
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In eCommerce websites and apps, each time a user takes a desired action, a conversion is recorded. The term “conversion” is generally used for a sale but it can also apply to other actions like adding an item to a wishlist, shopping cart, a subscription to a newsletter, social media shares, and the like.
Conversion rate is the percentage of conversions on your platform. Conversion rate optimization (CRO) is a set of processes aimed at tailoring your online store to drive a particular KPI – sales, in this case. You can implement CRO on your category pages, landing pages, or any other customer touch point.
What is a good eCommerce conversion rate?
According to recent studies, over 60% of eCommerce marketers state that their conversion rates usually range from 2.5 to 3%. Therefore, while your store’s conversion rate will definitely vary based on your industry, target audience, pricing, etc., you can take 3% as a benchmark. From there, you need to keep improving your platform and scaling for higher conversion rates.
In addition to measuring the effectiveness of your store’s conversion in terms of sales, several other metrics warrant attention in the conversation surrounding CRO.
Bounce Rate
The bounce rate denotes the proportion of visitors who exit after viewing a single page. Higher bounce rates are a major hurdle to your business, indicating that visitors are not finding relevant content on your site and are departing immediately upon arrival.
Exit Rate
Often conflated with bounce rate, exit rate signifies the percentage of visitors who leave after viewing a particular page. Monitoring exit rates provides insight into the final page users encounter before navigating away. A notably high exit rate for a specific page is a concern that needs addressing.
Click-through Rate (CTR)
The click-through rate represents the number of individuals who click on a link directing to your website from an advertisement or email. Strategies for enhancing CTR typically revolve around optimizing AdWords or email marketing campaigns. This helps increase user engagement and prompt action, including social media interaction.
Average Session Duration
Average session duration serves as an engagement metric, offering a general overview of the time visitors spend on your site. A high bounce rate often correlates with a low average time on site. This indicates that visitors are not remaining on your site long enough to complete desired actions.
Average Page Depth (‘Pages Per Session’ in Google Analytics)
Average page depth shows the number of pages a potential customer views before departing. This metric calculates the total pageviews within a session duration. While a higher page depth may suggest increased engagement, it could also signify a lack of clarity in your sales funnel if conversions are not occurring.
With most consumers around the globe shifting from physical stores to online platforms, a top-notch eCommerce store is essential for the success of any retail business. Besides staying constantly updated with the latest eCommerce development trends, we suggest that you incorporate these tactics while building your online store.
How quickly does your website load? Assess its speed with tools like Google PageSpeed Insights or Pingdom Website Speed tests.
A sluggish website can lead to traffic bouncing off at various points during the purchasing journey. Even a minor reduction in loading time can significantly raise your conversion rate.
Explore strategies to enhance your website’s speed. Consider switching to a different web host or upgrading your hosting plan to accommodate increased traffic. Analyze the performance of your plugins using advanced monitoring tools for performance issues.
Utilize an image compressor and eliminate unnecessarily large files and code fragments from your site. Also, consider the option of a content delivery network (CDN) to optimize speed.
Mobile commerce (mCommerce) is becoming increasingly popular, with approximately 82% of Internet users in the US engaging in online shopping via mobile devices.
An eCommerce platform optimized for mobile devices stands a 67% higher chance of conversion. Conversely, websites lacking mobile compatibility face a 61% greater risk of visitors abandoning their purchase and opting for alternatives.
Mobile optimization is imperative for eCommerce website development in contemporary times and beyond. You should also note that mobile shoppers tend to spend twice as much as customers on other platforms. This ends up increasing both your conversion rates and the average order value.
Simplify the design of your website by eliminating unnecessary clutter. Make use of whitespace effectively and exercise restraint with visuals on your homepage. Tailor your site’s structure to facilitate seamless navigation for visitors.
An excessively embellished eCommerce site, replete with flashy elements, can easily distract visitors. By adopting a minimalist design approach, you enable customers to concentrate on your products, value proposition, and other compelling elements that drive purchase decisions.
Moreover, simpler designs contribute to faster loading times, aligning with the first tactic—improving your website’s loading speed.
Recent research among online marketers has identified copy as the primary factor influencing conversions significantly.
In the eCommerce scene, effective copy plays a vital role in narrating the brand’s story. Without in-person shopping experiences, online consumers heavily rely on written content to gain insights into brands and products.
Avoid rushing through your copy hastily. Invest time in crafting each word thoughtfully. For guaranteed results, consider hiring a trusted digital marketing company with experienced copywriters looking after your on-site content and overall CRO efforts.
More than relying on written text is required to drive sales. High-quality images and videos are equally indispensable.
Provide relevant images and videos that offer potential buyers accurate information about the product. This helps simulate the tactile experience of examining the item in person, to an extent.
Capture images from various angles, highlighting intricate details and features, and depict the product in practical scenarios. For instance, if you’re selling hiking boots, showcase them being worn on a trail. Use realistic videos to showcase product functionality.
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A recent study revealed that over 20% of shoppers in the US abandoned their carts due to prolonged or convoluted checkout processes.
Consider the implications of this statistic. Site or app visitors who were inclined to make purchases ultimately reconsidered due to the inconvenience of the checkout process.
Each additional step in the checkout journey diminishes conversion prospects. Hence, aim to condense the checkout process onto a single page and screen. Try to eliminate the need for scrolling or navigating through multiple pages, wherever possible. Focus only on relevant and necessary information for completing the transaction.
Even with a streamlined checkout process, some level of cart abandonment is inevitable. However, this doesn’t mean you should concede those potential customers.
Individuals who have added products to their carts have prior knowledge of your brand and offerings, making them easier to convert compared to entirely new prospects. Therefore, implementing a straightforward follow-up email or message strategy to target abandoned carts is advisable.
Cart abandonment email campaigns boast an impressive 45% open rate, with approximately 11% of these campaigns resulting in conversions. By addressing abandoned carts directly, you have the potential to increase conversion rates significantly.
Online shoppers often seek reassurance before making purchase decisions. They consider questions like, “Why should I buy from you?” and “How can I be certain it’ll meet my needs?”
Statistics indicate that the average consumer peruses ten online reviews before finalizing a purchase. A staggering 88% of customers trust online reviews as equivalent to personal recommendations.
Integrate customer reviews directly onto your product pages and eliminate the need for customers to visit third-party review sites. While occasional negative reviews may surface, they lend authenticity to your brand, bolstering trustworthiness. However, make it a point to follow up with these negative reviews or comments on social media, making amends wherever possible.
The more reviews available, the better. On average, consumers expect to encounter 100 reviews per product during their online shopping journey. The younger demographics aged 18 to 24 do so even more, with north of 200 reviews per product.
Seemingly rather obvious, providing free shipping can markedly enhance your conversion rate.
A whopping 90% of US shoppers cite free shipping as their primary incentive for increasing online shopping frequency. Orders with complimentary shipping boast a 30% higher average order value.
On the contrary, the absence of free shipping can have detrimental effects. Research indicates that roughly 3 out of 5 shoppers are more inclined to cancel orders if free shipping isn’t provided.
To remain competitive against eCommerce giants like Amazon and Walmart, offering free shipping is imperative for success. If necessary, try to adjust product prices to absorb shipping costs.
Merely offering free shipping doesn’t suffice. Swift delivery is equally essential in today’s landscape, where Amazon has established a benchmark with two-day free shipping.
Seventy-five percent of shoppers exhibit a greater inclination towards brands offering same-day delivery. This figure is significantly higher for millennials with over 85 %. A high percentage of shopping carts are abandoned due to excessively slow delivery time frames.
Although expedited shipping often means higher costs for your business, adjusting these expenses into product prices conceals them from customers’ awareness. Psychologically, presenting shipping charges during checkout improves customers’ perceptions.
Avoid providing customers with reasons to opt for competitors like Amazon by aligning delivery times without charging additional shipping fees.
Displaying the same content to every visitor on your e-commerce platform is insufficient. Tailor-made content proves highly valuable to users and gives a solid boost to your add-to-cart rates and conversions.
Offer personalized recommendations based on browsing history and prior purchases. Customize your content according to the relevant factors for your eCommerce development strategy such as age, location, and other demographic factors.
For instance, consider an eCommerce store specializing in apparel. A 50-year-old man shopper residing in Alaska should receive different recommendations compared to a 24-year-old woman browsing from Florida.
It cannot be assumed that everyone possesses a Visa or Mastercard. Even though accepting Amex and Discover may incur slightly higher fees, it’s imperative to support all major credit and debit cardholders.
However, merely accepting these conventional methods might not be enough. In today’s digitized era, it’s crucial to offer alternative payment solutions like PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and others. Also, consider making provisions for accepting payments in the form of popular cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Individuals have diverse payment preferences, whether it’s for security, convenience, or rewards, and the method of payment should not impede potential purchases.
Instances of credit card fraud have been on the rise constantly, becoming a significant concern for consumers. Even if you have not directly encountered fraud, chances are you know someone who has.
Card-not-present (CNP) fraud, which includes eCommerce transactions, surpasses point-of-sale (POS) fraud by 81%. As an ecommerce proprietor, safeguarding customers’ interests is paramount for gaining their trust.
Ensuring the transaction’s security and prominently displaying security measures on the checkout page instill confidence in online shoppers, facilitating more conversions.
The eCommerce return rate averages 20%, notably higher than the 8-10% in traditional retail. During peak shopping seasons like the holidays, eCommerce return rates surge to 30%.
While returns are inevitable in eCommerce operations, you can turn them into positive customer experiences by providing swift pickup, exchange, and refund services.
Online consumers are considerably more inclined to make online purchases if the website offers free returns or exchanges. Conversely, shoppers are also deterred from online shopping if return costs are involved.
Moreover, a high percentage of consumers express willingness to make future purchases from an online retailer if the return process is hassle-free. These statistics highlight the vital role of streamlined return processes in driving conversions.
It is essential for customers to be able to navigate and find what they are looking for on your website easily, particularly when dealing with a wide array of products.
A fundamental approach to simplifying navigation is by integrating a search function into your eCommerce platform.
Incorporating site search functionality can significantly enhance conversion rates, sometimes exceeding a 200% increase. Additionally, visitors utilizing the search feature often tend to have higher cart values, driving conversions even more.
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Optimizing your eCommerce platform is not a destination, it’s more of a journey. It is an ongoing process and you should not settle with the assumption that your design and layout are flawless beyond improvement.
What if altering the wording of your call-to-action button leads to higher conversion rates? Which homepage image resonates better with users?
Understanding user behavior on your site requires data-driven analytics and making assumptions is insufficient.
Making use of optimization tools like Google Analytics or Crazy Egg provides valuable insights into user behavior and preferences.
Crazy Egg’s heatmap tool, for example, offers visual reports on user interactions, while A/B testing tools enable you to experiment with various elements of your site.
Capitalizing on consumer emotions, particularly fear, can be a powerful strategy for driving conversions in eCommerce.
By instilling a sense of urgency, commonly known as FOMO (fear of missing out), you prompt shoppers to take immediate action.
While visitors to your eCommerce site may initially be casual browsers without immediate purchase intent, their interest in your offerings is evident. FOMO tactics can effectively convert these browsers into buyers, primarily through scarcity and time-sensitive promotions such as flash sales and limited-time offers.
Offering exceptional customer service can drastically raise the likelihood of a purchase. Live chat emerges as the preferred support option for online shoppers.
Today with the rise in the capabilities of AI, literally every top eCommerce platform has its own automated chatbot that can understand, reason, and resolve queries like human operators.
With live chat, customers can swiftly get answers to their queries from a real-time agent. Statistics reveal that customers who engage in live chat are three times more likely to make a purchase compared to those who don’t.
Investing in a trusted artificial intelligence development company is highly recommended if you want to harness the potential of powerful technologies like machine learning (ML) and natural language processing (NLP).
While having shoppers create accounts can enhance personalization, it’s better to give them the choice. Don’t make account creation mandatory during the checkout process.
Compelling customers to create profiles can needlessly prolong the checkout procedure. Contemporary research indicates that 34% of online shoppers abandon their purchases if guest checkout isn’t an option.
This means that you could potentially lose a significant portion of buyers if account creation is forced. This is a rather simple adjustment that can lead to higher conversion rates.
The efficacy of your call-to-action (CTA) buttons can impact your conversion rates big time. Even subtle changes in wording, like “buy now” versus “add to cart,” or “done” versus “order,” can impact whether people complete a purchase.
Modifying aspects such as size, placement, color, and font of your CTA buttons can also make a difference. Emphasise A/B testing or heatmap tools to gather data-driven insights and optimize your CTA button for better performance.
Boosting e-commerce conversion rates requires a meticulous approach that addresses various aspects of the online shopping experience. By implementing the tactics and practices we’ve discussed, eCommerce businesses can effectively enhance customer engagement and drive higher conversions.
From streamlining the checkout process to refining call-to-action buttons, each step plays a crucial role in creating a seamless and compelling shopping journey for customers.
Constantly optimizing your platform and staying ahead of the latest trends is vital for your online store’s success in today’s hyper-competitive market.
Connect with us at Webgen Technologies for robust e-commerce software solutions that take your online retail business ahead of the curve. A reputed website development company in Kolkata, we bring years of expertise in helping businesses and satisfying our clients.
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