If you manage an eCommerce store, you know how important a high conversion rate is. The efficiency of generating sales and income from an online store can be determined by looking at its eCommerce conversion rate, which is a crucial indicator for ecommerce businesses. This is a way for businesses to discover areas for improvement and put measures in place to raise conversion rates and improve sales by monitoring and evaluating them. In this article, we'll go over common reasons for why your eCommerce conversion rate is low and offer suggestions on how to improve it.
How eCommerce conversion rate (CR) is calculated
Your conversion rate is calculated as the number of total visitors to your online store that carry out the desired actions, such as completing a purchase or subscribing to a newsletter.
In short, you get the conversion rate (CR) by dividing the total number of actions by the number of visitors, multiplying the result by 100, and then stating it as a percentage.
The conversion rate, for instance, would be 5% if an online store had 1,000 visits and 50 of them made purchases. To quantify this as a percentage, you divide the total number of actions taken (50) by the total number of visits (1,000), and then multiply the result by 100.
What is the average conversion rate?
The average conversion rate for Shopify stores is roughly 2%, meaning that only 2 out of every 100 visitors will typically make a purchase.
This average conversion rate is based on information from a substantial number of Shopify stores and can change depending on a range of factors, including products sold, target audience, and the general effectiveness of the eCommerce store.
Why is the average conversion rate for Shopify stores so low?
Conversion rates for eCommerce websites are typically lower than those for other kinds of websites, including lead generation or content websites. This is because Shopify stores frequently have a more complex goal—getting users to complete a purchase—which is harder to accomplish than for example subscribing for a newsletter.
Many eCommerce websites have not been optimised for conversion, which is another factor contributing to the average conversion rate on Shopify stores being around 2%. This can be caused by elements like an outdated or badly designed website, a lack of compelling product descriptions or images, or a complex or difficult checkout process.
These elements can make it harder for customers to complete a transaction, which may lower the conversion rate.
How to improve your Shopify conversion rate
Do not settle for a 2% conversion rate. As a Shopify store owner, seek assistance from experts, agencies, or professionals to boost your conversion rates.
These professionals can offer insightful guidance on how to best optimise your website for conversion. They can also assist in putting strategies in place to raise the possibility that visitors will complete a purchase, improve conversion rates, and increase sales.
Here are 13 ways you can improve your conversion rate by dealing with some of the most common problems affecting your sales.
1. Increase traffic with targeted advertising
It’s challenging to have a high conversion rate if your website does not receive enough traffic. Numerous things, including poor search engine optimisation (SEO), a lack of brand awareness, or a poorly designed website, can contribute to this.
Make use of targeted advertising. You can contact potential customers who are more likely to be interested in your products by using targeted ads on, for example, Facebook. This can help your website become more visible and attract more visitors, which will in turn improve your conversion rate.
2. Update your eCommerce store design
Poor user experience is one of the most frequent reasons for low eCommerce conversion rates. Customers may be turned off by a cluttered or unclear website, which makes it difficult for them to navigate and find the information they need. This may result in low conversion rates and high bounce rates.
Your website should have a logical flow, clear menus, and be simple to navigate. Customers are more likely to leave your website without buying something if they are having trouble navigating it or completing their checkout.
If you have a Shopify store, you can make use of their pre-made templates to design your eCommerce store or turn to a professional who can customise the website to your brand while maintaining good customer usability.
Check our guide "Custom Shopify Design vs Paid Templates: Which one is best?"
3. Build credibility and trust
If customers don't feel comfortable doing business with you or if your website comes across as unprofessional, they might be reluctant to buy anything. This may be brought on by a lack of customer reviews, a lack of information about the company, or security concerns.
Build credibility and trust. Customers are more inclined to purchase from a trusted website. Include client testimonials, give clear information about your company, and offer secure payment methods, warranties, and security measures like SSL encryption to establish confidence.
Source: Goodfair
4. Offer several payment options
This is a crucial method for improving your eCommerce conversion rate. You may improve the likelihood that a consumer will purchase by making it easy for them to do so and by offering a variety of payment options.
It's important to research the preferences of the locals in the countries your store is targeting. Different countries may have different preferences when it comes to methods of payment. For instance, having Klarna as a payment option may be essential for increasing your conversion rate in various European countries.
5. Provide clear product information and images
Customers might not completely understand what they are buying if your product descriptions are unclear or inaccurate or if your product images are of low quality. This is another frequent reason why visitors do not go through with a purchase.
Ensure that the product descriptions and images you use are compelling and accurate. Before making a purchase, customers need to have a clear understanding of what they are buying.
If your website lacks sufficient information, customers may be unwilling to buy. Ensure that you provide thorough descriptions and high-resolution images of each product so that customers can make informed decisions.
Source: Mantasleep
6. Compare pricing to the market and offer discounts
Customers may be reluctant to purchase if your pricing is much higher than other similar vendors or if the delivery fees are too expensive. As a business owner, you should frequently assess your pricing and delivery options to make sure they are reasonable compared to those offered by competitors.
Offering discounts or free shipping is an excellent approach to convincing clients to purchase from you. Giving customers incentives can be an effective model. Who doesn’t like a good bargain? Additionally, you can provide promo codes, bonus points or loyalty rewards to promote recurring purchases.
Source: Fashionnova
7. Make the checkout process quick and easy
The checkout process is a key component of the user experience. Ensure that the checkout procedure is as straightforward as possible. Customers may give up on their purchase if the checkout process is difficult or takes too long.
Simplify the checkout process. Checkout should only require a few simple steps. By doing this, you'll increase the changes of your customers completing their purchases.
8. Increase page speed
Another vital factor in improving your eCommerce conversion rate is the page speed of your website. Customers can get impatient and abandon their shopping carts if your Shopify store takes too long to load.
Some of the things you can do to accelerate page performance is to optimise your images, limit the use of large files, and utilise a content delivery network (CDN) to deliver your content more efficiently.
Check out our guide on how to improve your eCommerce store speed here.
9. Excellent customer service
For any company, but particularly for an online store, providing excellent customer service is crucial.
Customers should be able to readily contact a representative of your Shopify store who can assist them if they have questions regarding your products or orders. A variety of customer service channels, including phone, email, and live chat, should be available.
10. Have an efficient search function
Customers are more likely to leave your website without purchasing anything if they can't find what they're looking for.
Ensure that your search function is simple to use and provides relevant information. Additionally, you ought to offer filters so that users may rapidly narrow down their search results and get what they're looking for.
Source: Blissy
11. Optimise your online store
Optimising your online store requires ensuring that your website is well-designed, simple to navigate, and mobile-friendly. Additionally, it needs to load quickly and be free of any technical challenges that can prevent users from completing their purchases.
Optimise your website for search engines. Improving the SEO of your website can help it appear more frequently on search engine results pages, which can increase traffic to your site and thereby also conversion rates.
This can be accomplished by utilising both on-page and off-page SEO strategies, including content optimisation, link building, and keyword research.
12. Mobile optimisation
To succeed in eCommerce, you must optimise your users’ mobile experience. Most people today complete their shopping on their smartphones; thus, you must make sure that your website is mobile-friendly.
This calls for making sure that your website is simple to use and navigate on a mobile device, in addition to ensuring that the checkout process is quick and straightforward.
13. Seek advice from an expert, agency, or professional
If your online business is having trouble increasing eCommerce conversion rates, it might be beneficial to speak to a specialist or a reputable agency that focuses on eCommerce optimisation.
Professionals can offer insightful guidance on how to best optimise an online store for conversion and can assist in putting plans into action to raise the possibility that visitors will finish a transaction, improve conversion rates, and increase sales.
Conclusion: There’s a lot you can do to increase your sales!
There is no reason to settle with an average 2% conversation rate for your online store. There are many things you can do as a business owner to increase your sales.
Having a well-designed and user-friendly website, compelling product descriptions and images, a simple checkout procedure, and an emphasis on developing trust and credibility are all necessary for increasing your eCommerce conversion rate.
Think like a customer, put these strategies into practice, and you'll be able to improve conversion rates, encourage more customers to make purchases on your Shopify store, and boost overall revenue for your business.
