eCommerce sales revenue reached about $6.3 trillion in 2024, thanks to 2.71 billion shoppers worldwide. In North America alone, more than 81% of people are shopping online.
The primary reason for the exponential growth of shoppers is the consumer-driven economy, which is further influenced by social media and easy access to global markets.
Suffice to say, your online eCommerce store has huge potential to boost conversion rate by attracting customers. A study states that an eCommerce store can enjoy up to a 20% net profit margin. In the best-case scenario, say during the festive season like BFCM, the net profit margin can go up to 45% or above.
Grabbing customers’ attention and making them visit your eCommerce store takes extra effort. You need to have a solid online presence and increase traffic.
The conversion rate is closely linked to the traffic influx. Higher traffic leads to a higher conversion rate. Even if you have done everything in your power, you could still struggle to increase conversion rates.
So, what can you do differently this time to increase the conversion rate? The simple answer is that you need to apply scientific yet unique strategies.
But before diving in, let’s take a look at some conversion rate basics.
1. Introduction to the eCommerce conversion rate:
Google defines eCommerce conversion rate as the ratio of transactions to sessions, expressed in percentage.
2. Formula for eCommerce conversion rate:
Conversion rate = (conversions / total visitors) * 100%
3. Average eCommerce conversion rate:
The latest survey and studies in 2020 show that the average conversion rate of e-commerce websites is 2.86%. But this figure varies from country to country. Also, it varies as the industry.
7 ways to boost eCommerce conversion rate
Identifying and understanding areas for improvement is vital to building strategies to boost conversion rates and enhance the user experience. Here are the strategies that focus on key improvement areas.
Provide Unbiased Information
Research shows that around 81% of shoppers conduct online searches before buying. Your curious customer goes through many stages before finally buying the product. They check social media and online stores to learn about the product.
The key to sustaining visitors and turning them into buyers is to provide accurate product information. This way, you will gain their trust and loyalty.
Consider adding a review section where previous buyers can share their experience with the product. If they find the information helpful, they will come back to buy.
This way, your brand will create an impressive image in your customers’ minds and the conversion rate will automatically improve.
Invest in Appealing Product Images And Videos
One of the most fruitful eCommerce strategies is to invest in quality product images and videos. This crucial tactic will gradually increase your conversion rates.
Customers want to see what they’re getting— especially, in action. Images and videos are proof of product appearance and can bridge the gap between customers’ expectations and sellers’ offers.
You can also create short and straightforward videos, like product demos, explainer videos, or educational/how-to videos. Such videos help customers understand more about your product and how to use it in the most effective way.
Here’s an example from Love Hair that nailed their product images. They show the product from different angles to make it easier for customers to learn more about it. Also, they include a short video to show it in action.
Write Short But Catchy Product Descriptions
An accurate product description matters; don’t discount them. You need to make them as concise and catchy as possible. Too much information can confuse your customers and overwhelm them. Bold texts and bulky paragraphs can also strain your customers’ eyes (you can use them to highlight specific areas, though).
A good product description should answer your target audience’s questions. If your customers are still confused about the product even after reading the description, improve it.
Avoid talking too much about features. Instead, tell your customers how those features can benefit them and ease their lives. It’ll encourage them to move towards the checkout process, helping you increase sales.
- Who is the product best for
- How does it work
- Why does the customer need it
Besides, keep the product description short and catchy because most customers do not read the whole description. They scan for expected benefits or functionalities they need in the product.
Simplify The Checkout Process
A complicated checkout process can deter customers away from your eCommerce website. Because when customers have decided to purchase the item, they expect to complete the purchase within seconds. You must also consider first-time shoppers because a lengthy checkout flow can confuse them.
You need to make the checkout interface as simple as possible. Guide them through the sales funnel before they change their mind. So, a quick checkout process can provide a great customer experience and encourage shoppers to return.
Create A Simple Yet Beautiful Website Design
Besides the checkout process, design your eCommerce site to be simple yet attractive. While flashy trends might tempt you, focus on easy navigation and fast loading times. It’s crucial to maintain your brand voice and colors throughout your site.
One excellent tool for achieving this is Divi – a powerful WordPress theme and visual page builder for WooCommerce sites. Its pre-made templates make it easy to set up product pages, and checkout flows without any coding knowledge.
Take a look at Bliss’s website—its playful design perfectly captures brand personality. With Divi’s rich customization features, you can create equally engaging layouts that drive conversions on your WooCommerce store.
Lower Shipping Costs
Statistics show that about 70% of shoppers prefer free shipping and about 48% of shoppers abandon the cart due to high additional costs. So, keep the shipping cost zero to attract more customers. You can also keep the shipping cost in a moderate amount to get a reasonable profit margin.
To help you reduce the shipping cost, you can work and negotiate with your vendor. They’ll tend to give you discounts for larger orders, so it will help you save some money. And you can spend those savings on customers’ shipping costs.
You can also raise your product price in order to reduce your shipping costs. It will give your customers an illusion of more affordable shipping costs, when in fact you simply move some of the product prices to the shipping cost.
Customer-Centric Policies
Reinforce existing and new customers’ trust by offering exclusive perks and benefits. You can release loyalty discounts, new customer offers, and other discount schemes. It will encourage potential customers to connect with brands and persuade them to purchase.
Besides, eCommerce brands like Amazon, Etsy, etc. release affiliate programs to attract influencers. So, they promote their products on social media and encourage their audience to shop from the brand.
You can also leverage their audience reach and boost their conversion rate. Influencers also earn commission in return from brand deals.
These strategies will surely boost the eCommerce conversion rate exponentially. You can hire a talented marketing team and witness your eCommerce brand’s popularity go up.
How can Putler help boost conversion rates?
Putler, an eCommerce analytics tool, helps you understand your audience’s needs via built-in analytics and reports. As an eCommerce shop owner, you need to connect your online store with Putleralong with other necessary data sources to get the most out of it.
Putler supports 17+ integrations, including payment gateways, email marketing, analytics, etc. So, you can easily manage all your stores in one place.
I.e., no need for manual switching to different stores and comparing reports.
Putler automatically syncs data, analyzes it using 200+ metrics and KPIs, and gives you structured reports. You receive business reports related to sales, customers, products, subscriptions, visitors, audience, and more.
Thus, you can easily analyze your eCommerce brands’ revenue, net sales, churn rate, loyal customer list, new customers, profits, etc. With Putler, it becomes convenient to evaluate growth in seconds and take necessary action.
Final thoughts
Undoubtedly, the future is bright for online retail, especially when people are embracing the idea of shopping online more than ever.
In this situation, the competition is only getting fiercer. But, with some eCommerce conversion hacks mentioned above, you can now understand what needs to be optimized so you can skyrocket your conversion rate to the moon.
You can also try Putler to make all those conversion rate efforts less stressful. This tool provides you with in-depth analytics about your store, so you know how well your store is performing and what needs to be doubled down or cut off. It also helps you understand your potential customers. This way, you can tailor your eCommerce store and products based on first-hand customer data.
Try Putler for free for 14 days
Written by – Andre Oentoro Founder of Breadnbeyond, an award-winning explainer video company. He helps businesses increase conversion rates, close more sales, and get positive ROI from explainer videos (in that order).