10 Strategies to Boost Your E-commerce Conversion Rate

Smart Insights said the average e-commerce conversion rate decreased from 2.36% in 2021 to 2.13% in 2022.

Potential customers visit your e-commerce store, view the products and even fill the cart but leave without purchasing. I know you want to take advantage of these opportunities to convert visitors to customers.

So, how do you boost your e-commerce conversion rate above the average? That is what we are here to talk about. Read on to find out more. You might also enjoy reading: 9 Proven Tips To Make Money With eCommerce.

What Is an Ideal e-commerce Conversion Rate?

Even with an optimized e-commerce site, you can’t convert 100% of the visitors. The average e-commerce conversion rates range from 2.5% to 3%, with the 3%-plus being the baseline goal for many stores.

Nevertheless, you can apply advanced tactics to boost conversion rates at your online store. And as you think of ways to move customers to take the desired actions, remember that the outcome depends on factors such as price point, industry, and target demographics.

Now, let’s discuss the gist of this article.

9 Ways to Improve Your E-commerce Conversion Rate

Your goal is to optimize your store to get more visitors to purchase your products. Here is how.

1- Reduce The Steps Before Adding to The Cart

One tip for increasing conversions is to limit the number of steps before a customer adds a desired product to the cart.

Eliminate redundant steps and reduce sales friction. You can test your checkout procedure to hasten the buying process.

Complicated and long checkout processes can discourage customers. You could learn from successful e-commerce stores. For instance, Greg Bullock of TheraSpecs says, “One way we have enhanced conversion is by reducing visible options or buttons in our cart.”

They discovered that highlighting alternative payment options (Amazon Pay, PayPal, Apple Pay, etc.) at different checkout paths overwhelmed customers, resulting in increased abandoned carts.

So rather than 6 buttons, they simplified it to two buttons- view cart and checkout. They also remove “related products” to declutter the site.

The result? He says the store experienced a 12% lift in conversion and increased visits to the checkout page.

2- Use a Simple Design Layout

Is your site easy to navigate? Your customers should find what they seek immediately; otherwise, they will move on to your competitor. I encourage you to take time and design your website correctly. If you don’t have the expertise to design your site, you can hire a qualified web developer or designer.

Keep your site simple so that users can easily navigate it. Look at mega e-commerce sites like Amazon and copy some of their designs. Some notable features include a search function and a robust product category to help your customers narrow their options.

Additionally, ensure your online store has clear, eye-catching call-to-action (CTAs) buttons. The CTA buttons should have bright and encouraging colors; otherwise, you could sacrifice conversion.

3- Use High-Quality Product Images and Videos

Consumers are visual beings, and quality images will improve their decision-making process. Since they can’t touch the products, a detailed image or video will help them know what they are buying.

If buyers can visualize the products they want from your store, you will likely increase conversion rates. Product videos also guide how to use the products, moving potential customers to buy.

4- Improve Your e-commerce Site Speed

Akamai’s Report, which looked at data from 10 billion visitors to top online retailers, found the following:

A 100-millisecond delay in site load time reduced the conversion rate by 7%
A 2 page that delays loading by seconds contributes to a 103% increased bounce rate.
53% of mobile visitors leave a site that takes 3+ seconds to load.

The bottom line? Speed is better for your e-commerce site. If you want to increase conversion, ensure your page loads in three seconds or less.

The question is, how do you optimize your e-commerce site for speed? Here are some ways to optimize your e-commerce site for speed:

Optimize your images: Since large image files can slow down your site, compress them to reduce their file size without sacrificing quality.
Use a content delivery network (CDN): A CDN can distribute your website’s content to servers around the world, reducing load times and improving the user experience.
Minimize HTTP requests: Minimize the HTTP requests for each element on the page every time a user loads it.
Reduce server response time: Choose a reliable web host like Blue host and optimize your server configuration to reduce server response time.
Enable caching: Caching stores frequently accessed data in memory, thus increasing the user’s browser speed.
Minimize JavaScript and CSS files: Minimizing your JavaScript and CSS files can reduce file size and speed up load times.
Use a fast e-commerce platform: Choose an e-commerce platform optimized for speed, such as Shopify, Magento, or WooCommerce.

5- Add Social Proof

Many people don’t want to be the first to buy. Social proof helps your customers see that others have made a similar decision.

Statista even suggests that 70% of online shoppers read between one and six customer reviews, testimonials, ratings, and social media shares before purchasing.

Adding social proof to your e-commerce site can increase conversion rates because of it:

Builds trust
Reduces risks
Provide validation
Influences behavior

Potential customers want to know if others have had positive experiences with your products or services. This will nudge them to buy from your store in circumstances they would shy away.

So, prominently include social proof on your product pages, checkout pages, or other places where your customer will likely see them.

Kelan Kline from The Savvy Couple says testimonials are the most potent way to kill buyers’ objections since they can see that the product worked for someone else.

But I suggest you avoid using fake reviews! Ensure the reviews are from real customers, including positive and negative ones.

6- Offer Free Shopping

Online shoppers with Amazon experience have certain expectations from an e-commerce site. Free shipping is one of those expectations. If you aren’t offering free shipping, which they can find in another store for similar products, you can expect a drop in your conversion rate.

Some e-commerce entrepreneurs include free shopping but add the costs to the prices. However, shoppers are clever; they will quickly move to competitors if your prices are above average.

I encourage you to examine your competitors’ shops and see which products qualify for free shipping because some fragile products shipped overseas may be expensive to free ship.

7- Offer Competitive Pricing

Competitive pricing can improve your e-commerce conversion rate because customers first consider how much they will spend. So, if you sell brand-name products available in other stores, you could sell yours at or below the average price.

You can play with pricing to see what works with your target customers.

But the quality of your products, marketing, and imagery could also influence your pricing. Use psychological pricing strategies to attract sales even with higher prices.

Alternatively, you can choose the best places to buy for your e-commerce store at a lower price, thus allowing you to price competitively and still make profits.

8- Recover Abandoned Carts

Customers have a lot of things in their minds that could distract them at the time of purchase. But you can send them a reminder a few hours or days after they abandon the cart, motivating them to complete the transaction.

Since they signed into your store using their emails, you can automate abandoned cart recovery via an email encouraging them to revise the items in the cart.

But how can you bring the customer back into your store? Why not target them with Facebook ads or an email offering discounts if they complete the order?

I encourage you to use new videos, imagery, or ad copy to hook the customer to complete the checkout.

9- Use Live Chat or Chatbot Software

Live chat support and chatbots allow you to interact with your customers. You can answer their questions in real-time, guiding them through your store.

While some e-commerce sites replace the human element with chatbots, you can leverage both for a better conversion rate.

Here are some tips for using these tools effectively:

Be available: Ensure your chatbot or live chat service is open to customers 24/7.
Be helpful: Provide customers with useful information and support.
Be personal: Use personalized messages and greetings to make customers feel welcome and valued.
Be proactive: Proactively reach out to customers needing help or assistance.
Be data-driven: Use analytics and customer feedback to improve your chatbot or live chat service continually.

10- Optimize For Mobile Devices

Mobile commerce is expected to grow, with most entrepreneurs making their online stores mobile-friendly.

Consider some interesting facts on the use of mobile devices for e-commerce.

60.9% of the American population uses mobile devices to buy products.
71% of buyers who use their mobile devices to research products in the store will likely buy.
49% of mobile users compare prices of products and services using their smartphones.

These and other statistics highlight the value of targeting mobile users from your e-commerce store. So if you want to boost your conversion rate, ensure your store has a great mobile experience.

FAQs

What is The e-commerce Conversion Rate?

The e-commerce conversion rate is the percentage of website visitors who complete a desired action, such as purchasing, filling out a contact form, or subscribing to a newsletter.

Why is The e-commerce Conversion Rate Significant?

The e-commerce conversion rate is crucial because it indicates the effectiveness of your website in converting visitors into customers. A higher conversion rate means more sales and revenue for your business.

What Are Some Common Strategies to Boost the e-commerce Conversion Rate?

Some common strategies to boost e-commerce conversion rates include:

Improving website design and user experience
Offering free shipping or discounts
Displaying customer reviews and testimonials
Providing multiple payment options
Using email marketing campaigns to re-engage customers.
Use visitor data to improve your store performance
Use simple and easy-to-navigate web designs
Add social proof
Improve your site speed

How Can I Incentivize Customers to Complete a Purchase?

You can incentivize customers to complete a purchase by:

Offering free shipping
Providing discounts or promo codes
Offering a satisfaction guarantee
Displaying trust badges or security seals

How Critical Are Customer Reviews and Testimonials in Improving Conversion Rate?

Customer reviews and testimonials provide social proof and build trust in your brand. And displaying positive reviews and testimonials on your website can help persuade visitors to purchase.

What Are The Best Conversion Strategies?

Some conversion strategies include:

Publishing quality content on your site
Use social media platforms to generate leads
Have an SEO strategy for your site
Build an email list and do email marketing
Optimize your site for mobile users

In Conclusion

Boosting your e-commerce conversion rate is crucial for the success of your online business. You undoubtedly want to turn abandoned carts into sales.

In this article, we have discussed various ways to improve conversions, such as

Reducing the number of steps before checkout
Using a simple design layout
Using high-quality images and videos
Adding social proof
Increasing your site speed
Offering free shipping
Optimizing for mobile users

If you implement these and other relevant strategies, you can increase your chances of converting visitors into customers. Which techniques are you using to boost your e-commerce conversion rate?