In e-commerce, the conversion rate is the lifeblood of the business. It is, in any case, the main KPI (Key Performance Indicator). Everyone talks about it, and rightly so: it greatly contributes to the success of an online store when optimized, but unfortunately, it can also lead to its failure when it isn't.
What is the conversion rate?
Concretely, out of 100 visitors who land on your platform, we calculate how many actually make a purchase. If 3 out of 100 visitors make a purchase, your conversion rate is 3%. Logical.
More broadly, it can be calculated by dividing, over a given period, the number of visitors by the number of orders placed.
Bonus tip: how to calculate an e-commerce store's revenue from its conversion rate?
Simply multiply the conversion rate by the average basket value and by the number of visitors, for a given period. Revenue = Conversion rate x Average basket value x total number of visits.
This brings us to the central question of this article: how to improve your e-commerce store's conversion rate?
We have tried to construct our guide in the most logical and comprehensive way possible, starting from the traffic that arrives on your platform to abandoned cart recovery.
Traffic quality: a central element for optimizing your conversion rate
This is one of the most important elements, and yet we tend to completely forget it: the quality of traffic largely determines your conversion rate.
The traffic that arrives on your site must be qualified, meaning visitors must be initially interested in what they will find there (content, products, services, etc.).
Some examples of problems that can explain why your traffic is not or poorly qualified
- You have not correctly defined your buyer personas (the buyer profiles that make up your target) and therefore your acquisition strategy is counterproductive;
- You do not understand the expectations of your target;
- Your advertising campaigns are not relevant;
- The audience of your influence campaign does not match your target;
- Your SEO strategy targets off-topic keywords;
- Your blog articles have nothing to do with what you sell;
- Etc.
This will have the effect of increasing the bounce rate (visitors arrive and leave immediately) and decreasing your conversion rate.
The advice we give you here is to clearly define your acquisition strategy to optimize your conversion rate
- First, define your buyer personas;
- Conduct a study of your target to understand their purchasing behavior (needs, desires, average basket value generally spent on this type of product, purchase frequency, etc.);
- Benchmark your competition and observe what established players do to generate qualified traffic to their site;
- Select your acquisition channels by prioritizing them and possibly defining a budget for each. There is no point in trying to develop a strategy on many different channels if you do not have sufficient resources.
- Define the concrete actions to implement for each channel (e.g., "write one blog article per week" or "Launch a new Instagram campaign for my new collection").
- Do "test and learn": try different things to keep what works best each time.
- If necessary and if you have the budget, get help from experts.
Your site's speed: how it directly influences your e-commerce conversion rate
When talking about a site's performance, we are referring to the loading time to display the elements of each page.
There are many statistics highlighting the fact that too long a loading time drastically increases the bounce rate and decreases the conversion rate. We will only quote those from Google on the impact of loading time on bounce rate:
- A page should load in less than three seconds, and ideally in less than one second;
- From 1 to 3 seconds of loading, the bounce rate increases by 32%;
- From 1 to 5 seconds, it increases by 90%;
- From 1 to 10 seconds, it increases by 123%.
Optimizing mobile performance is one of the keys to optimizing your conversion rate
While your computer may be able to load elements quickly, this may not be the case for smartphones when they are not connected to Wi-Fi. With e-commerce traffic on mobile now predominant, you must design your platform for these devices.
To improve your platform's performance, here are some interesting leads:
- Avoid overly long pages (some sections are sometimes completely useless);
- Reduce the size of images and videos by compressing them;
- Limit the use of plugins and properly delete those that are not used;
- Preferably use common "web safe" fonts (otherwise the visitor's browser will have to download your font, which will necessarily impact loading time);
- Optimize the code ("minify" and compress resources);
- Use cache memory;
- If you have control over your hosting, opt for a powerful solution.
Understanding your target's needs and expectations also impacts your conversion rate
Another element that is too often underestimated! You have structured your offer, created your site, imagined the benefits and advantages of your products, but you haven't really asked yourself what your customers expect.
This doesn't mean you have to change your products, just the way you highlight them. What are the most important benefits for your customers? What aspects do they like the least? What makes them hesitate? What problems do they encounter in their daily lives that your products can solve?
To do this, carefully study all direct and indirect feedback from your customers:
- Comments accompanying their reviews on your site, Google Reviews, Trustpilot, those present on marketplaces if your products are sold there...;
- The content of emails you receive from them;
- Objections and questions in the live chat;
- Reviews and mentions on social networks (Facebook, Instagram...);
- If your competitors offer similar products, also analyze everything that can be said about them.
The structure of the site and its various pages can increase your conversion rate
There are certainly a number of elements to optimize on your site to achieve a better conversion rate. So let's get straight to the heart of the matter!
Simplify navigation on the platform as much as possible.
- The header should allow for quick distinction between transactional links and content pages. You can use different colors, separate the two types of links (transactional links on the left, content links on the right), play with typographical rules (bold, italics, and underline), etc.
- Reduce the number of content page links in the header. Use the footer to present them.
- Implement a search bar with auto-completion and possibly suggestions (best-selling products, product selection, new arrivals...).
- Reduce the number of products offered to visitors in the menu and on the home page: it is proven that too much choice harms conversion. It is preferable to make a relevant selection or focus on best-sellers.
- Integrate effective filters on category/collection pages, especially if you have many products.
- Opt for a "side cart" (cart that opens from the right side of the screen), which allows you to see the items in the cart at a glance, recall essential information, suggest complementary products, and, most importantly, not interrupt navigation by completely changing pages.
- Display breadcrumbs for easier navigation between pages and sub-pages, especially if your catalog is extensive and there are many subcategories.
Reduce unnecessary steps in the purchase funnel to boost your conversion rate.
- Do not force your visitors to systematically create an account to make a purchase;
- Allow payment with one-click solutions;
- Ensure that forms are pre-filled at checkout.
Improve your conversion rate with an optimized product page.
Here is a comprehensive article explaining how to boost your Shopify product page conversion rate.
Highlight relevant reassurance elements throughout the navigation.
- Clearly display your contact information (email and phone number) to reassure your customers: if they have a problem, they know they can contact you quickly;
- Add a live chat to answer all doubts and questions from your visitors immediately;
- Integrate an FAQ into your product pages. We also suggest creating a dedicated FAQ page.
- Integrate reassurance pictograms (fast delivery, exchange and refund, secure payment, etc.): in the top bar, in the footer, on product pages under the "add to cart" CTA, and in the side cart.
- Clearly communicate delivery costs upfront and specify if you offer free delivery above a certain amount. Any unpleasant surprise during checkout risks scaring visitors away and convincing them not to return later.
Maximize social proof.
- More than 80% of online shoppers say they consult reviews and testimonials before purchasing a product. So you have every interest in using them. Make sure you have enough, otherwise create campaigns to collect them.
- If you have expert testimonials, give them a special place on your platform.
- Add a "Press" page if you have interesting publications, which you can also relay in a section on the homepage.
- Set up a referral program.
Design, UX, and UI
Even if some topics have already been partly covered in this article, we would like to emphasize the following points:
- Align your site's design with your brand's: this builds trust, boosts purchases, and fosters loyalty.
- Opt for quality photos that will allow customers to visualize themselves with the product and make them want to acquire it.
- Avoid cognitive overload, due to poor page structure and an excess of all kinds of elements (texts, images, photos, illustrations, CTAs...).
- Take care of your CTAs! They must be clear, understandable, and invite action.
Your store gets traffic but converts too little?
Let's identify the friction points that are costing you sales
Navigation, product pages, reassurance, side cart, mobile, speed, copywriting, or checkout: I can help you analyze the complete journey and prioritize the CRO optimizations that will have the most impact.
Discuss your conversion rateA well-designed mobile version will have a very direct impact on your conversion rate
Your platform must be optimized for mobile, just as it is for desktop. I personally have doubts about the "mobile-first" strategy, as I have sometimes observed disastrous user experiences and designs on desktop (since the platform was not designed for this medium). No device should be neglected: optimize your platform for all devices!
Here are some tips for optimizing navigation on smartphones
- As already mentioned above, reduce your page load times as much as possible;
- All elements should be designed to be used with thumbs (menus, CTAs, carousel...).
- Limit the size of texts on all pages: long texts are statistically never, or almost never, read anyway. Use accordions if you can't do otherwise: the visitor will have the choice to expand them to read their content.
- Prioritize information: there's no need to have a lot of sections and repetitive elements. You need to work on the relevance of these elements, so that you only display what is essential. Remove sliders: they tend to slow down navigation, and moreover, it's likely that none of the messages you want to convey will be properly transmitted.
- Limit the number of fields in forms: you've probably already experienced abandoning a form on mobile due to its length. Keep it short! And implement auto-completion for fields.
Copywriting helps to further refine your conversion rate
Your texts will make all the difference if they are well-written, convey your brand's tone, and evoke emotion. They will have a direct impact on your conversion rate.
Here's the (very brief!) guide:
- Use your customers' jargon because you need to ensure that what you say is understood by them. To do this, scrutinize reviews left everywhere (on and off your site), what is said on social media or forums, etc.
- Simplify the language as much as possible: no need to add incomprehensible words, avoid acronyms and anything that would require explanation...
- Make complex things understandable, with examples and illustrations rather than just words.
- Address a human: play on emotions. The emotional aspect is an essential component in decision-making. You will far prefer a brand that has captivated you with its particular tone to a completely neutral brand.
- Don't just describe. The visitor should project themselves and imagine how they will use your product.
- Don't exaggerate the amount of text and information in the different sections: again, the majority will not be read, so be concise.
- Invite a clear action when it comes to CTAs: "Add to cart," "Discover the new collection," etc.
Efficient and impeccable customer service reassures and impacts your conversion rate through repeat purchases
Let's be honest: if you encountered a problem with your product or its delivery, and the customer service was deplorable, you wouldn't return to buy from the same platform. This is precisely how customer service has a direct impact on the conversion rate, but not only that. If you quickly answer your visitors' questions and objections, you will significantly increase your chances of boosting your sales.
Here's what you should do:
- Be generally responsive: no matter the channel, respond quickly. If you don't have the answer right away, make the effort to inform your customer that you are doing everything you can to get back to them quickly.
- Set up a live chat. Be careful: this means genuinely being available during the stated hours.
- Find a concrete and acceptable solution to the problems encountered by your customers.
- Organize your logistics and refund products quickly when applicable. Product returns are part of e-commerce (a significant proportion of products are returned or exchanged), don't forget that.
Marketing levers to boost your conversion rate
Marketing operations will inevitably have a positive effect on your conversion rate, as they will stimulate sales in the short to medium term. However, you will need to define a strategy, otherwise you risk creating a dynamic where only marketing operations arouse your customers' interest: they may systematically wait for a special offer to make a purchase, and you risk eroding your margin in that case.
Among the marketing operations to implement, here are some examples:
- Promo codes: you offer a code that can be used for a first order, or another to be used within a defined period, creating a sense of urgency to take advantage of it.
- Classic promotions: sales periods, Black Friday, and others. You simply need to define discounts to apply to certain items.
- Flash sales: a countdown accompanies products sold with a promotion, again, to play on the fear of missing out on a good deal.
- Loyalty: a program that encourages your customers to come back and buy from your site.
Cart abandonment recovery significantly boosts the conversion rate
Visitors add products to their cart and head to checkout but don't complete their purchase. It's certainly frustrating to see a significant percentage of abandoned carts compared to the number of visits to your site. You can reduce this ratio and thus further increase your conversion rate by implementing an abandoned cart recovery program.
To do this, you just need to design a series of automatically sent emails that invite visitors to complete their purchase. You'll need to vary their form and content.
Here's an example:
Email 1: remind them of what was left in the cart
Email 2: offer a promotion
Email 3: suggest other products that might interest the visitor
You can also send reminders via SMS and notifications by installing a module on your store (upon the visitor's return to the store, they receive a notification). Finally, it can make sense to allow automatic saving of products in the cart: this way, the visitor doesn't have to re-add them if they return.
A/B testing to continuously improve your conversion rate
We couldn't conclude this article without mentioning A/B Testing. Indeed, integrating an A/B testing solution will give you the ability to obtain much finer results over time.
A/B testing consists of creating an alternative version of a page, section, or particular element of your site and observing the results obtained compared to the existing version*. Traffic is directed to both versions of the store in equal proportions. Here's an example to understand:
- Version A: the page without modifications
- Version B: the page with one or more modifications (e.g., the color of a CTA, its placement, different text, etc.)
If version B performs better than version A, you have every interest in applying this modification to your site afterwards. You can then continue to run tests in the same way and always select the version that performs best.
*There are obviously many other ways to use an A/B testing solution, but here we have chosen to present the most common use.
YOU NOW HAVE ALL THE KEYS TO IMPROVE YOUR CONVERSION RATE
Of course, we could go into more detail for each section of this article. We will probably do so in the future by writing a specific article for each of them. The main objective was to make you aware of all the elements that will impact your conversion rate.
As I have been supporting clients on these e-commerce topics for many years, I have already encountered almost all the scenarios presented in this article: we therefore invite you to try and identify which of the 10 points presented are currently problematic. Then, implement the best practices we have mentioned for each point: you should quickly see an increase in your conversion rate.
Do you want to increase your Shopify store's conversion rate?
I am Olivier Romero, founder of Agence Shop. We support brands in analyzing and optimizing their Shopify purchase journey, with an approach based on UX, data, CRO, and performance.
The goal is to precisely identify what hinders purchase, prioritize actions based on their potential, and improve conversion without multiplying unnecessary modifications.
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