13 Ecommerce Strategies You Need to Boost Conversions

Today’s consumer has countless websites and endless products available at their fingertips. 

The global ecommerce market is estimated to total $5.7 trillion by the end of 2022, with experts saying it will surpass $6.51 trillion by early 2023. And that number will only grow over the coming years. As a result, borderless ecommerce has become quite a profitable option for online retailers.

• What are Conversion Rates?
• 13 Tips & Strategies to Boost Your Ecommerce Conversions
• Improve Your Conversion Rates with CCC

Before getting to the good stuff, you must first understand conversion rates. 

Conversion rates pertain to the number of consumers who hit the CTA (call-to-action) button when on a website or online store. While finalizing a purchase would be the most desired conversion, there are many more actions you can encourage your customers to take, like:

• Completing a survey
• Adding items to their cart
• Joining your email list
• Subscribing to your newsletter 
• Downloading an asset (guide or ebook)
• Sharing something on their social media
• Trying out your free demo
• Contacting customer service
• Writing a review

These call-to-action requests are all beneficial as they can each tell a lot about your consumer and their behaviours, enabling you to customize their shopping experience unique to them.

How to Calculate Your Conversion Rate

2 - 4% is the average conversion rate across all ecommerce sectors. To put that into perspective, only 20 to 40 consumers out of 1000 will click on your CTA. 

To calculate your conversion rate, take the total number of consumers who followed through on one of your CTAs and divide that by your total number of visitors. That number multiplied by 100 is your conversion rate.

Why are Conversion Rates Important?

Conversion rates are essential to your ecommerce success because they effectively measure the performance of your marketing strategies and the channels you use on your website or online store.

Conversion rates help you to see what’s working and what’s not, where your customers are in their sales journey, and what they’re clicking on. Adapting your strategies to this priceless information is how you give your customers what they want, improve their experience, and lock in those conversions.

You want your visitors to buy your products or services, right? Of course, you do. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be here. Listen up! Boosting your conversion rates is your new top priority. And here’s how you’re going to do it.

Strategy #1: Ensure Your Site is Fast & Easy to Navigate

The faster your customer can find the product they’re looking for, the more likely they’ll buy it from you. It’s that simple. 

Site speed is a crucial element in your customer’s sales journey. According to Retail System Research, you frustrate 52% of your shoppers when your landing or product page takes too long to load. And sadly, 90% of those consumers leave your site for a faster, better-optimized competitor’s site and never return. 

People are low on patience these days. So, if your ecommerce site doesn’t load within three seconds, it’s in your best interest to speed it up. A mere one-second delay can cause a 7% drop in conversion rates.

How easy is it to navigate your site? Structure your product categories by using filters like:

• Shop by product type
• Shop by colour
• Shop by price range (low to high) or (high to low)

Create these filters with speed and simplicity in mind so your customer finds what they’re looking for quickly and efficiently and can get to your checkout without delays.

Strategy #2: Use Only High-Quality Videos & Images

This one serves two purposes, attention-grabbing and finer details.

The human brain can identify an image in less than 100 milliseconds. And it only takes a few more seconds for a consumer to appreciate the quality of the image and create a positive reaction that entices them to continue on the sales journey.

Ecommerce shoppers can’t touch or feel the products they’re shopping for, put them on, or try them out. So your consumers heavily rely on the images you provide to convince them why they should buy from you. With high-quality, detailed photos or videos on your product pages, your customers can better visualize themselves using and owning your products, which helps boost conversion rates.

Strategy #3: Streamline Your Checkout Process

You’ve managed to keep your customer interested in your product up to the checkout, so you don’t want to lose them now. 

If your checkout process is complicated, too long, or doesn’t offer a variety of payment methods, chances are good that you will lose them. According to Meta, 87% of consumers will abandon their cart at checkout if the process is too complicated.

Ensure your checkout form is simple and easily understood. Streamline the checkout process by making it almost impossible to make a mistake. One simple method uses drop-downs for date fields and the correct number formatting for credit cards and CVCs. 

Consumers are very leery of using their charge cards online, so don’t give them any reason to feel more confused or uncomfortable. In addition, using third-party processors like PayPal or Apple Pay is quicker and more secure, reducing the fear of fraud by allowing the customer to sign in to their account and pre-populate their CC information.

Strategy #4: Let Your Visitors Know Your Ecommerce Site is Safe

Visitors aren’t afraid to browse through your pages, looking for that perfect purchase. But when it comes time to commit to the purchase, fear will often set in, afraid to give out credit card numbers and other personal information. 

To increase conversion rates, display some trust signals. Show your customers that they are dealing with a legitimate business and that entering their information is safe. Visitors want assurance that you’re using standard security measures to protect their credit card information:

• Display images of the different credit cards and payment methods you accept to show you have trusted options
• Have your virus and threat protection badge on display 
• Install SSL (secure sockets layer) on your site. This industry-standard technology keeps all information between your site and the customer safe from bad actors and is identified by the “S” at the end of HTTP(S) in the site address, which stands for secure

Strategy #5: Allow User-Generated Content (UGC) Reviews & Testimonials

Ecommerce shoppers heavily rely on reviews and testimonials for honest opinions of a product or service before making a purchase. In fact, 40% say they won’t even consider buying if there isn’t any UGC on the product page.

User-generated content inspires confidence and builds trust with your customer. For example, a testimonial from a customer about the benefits they received in choosing your product or service shows potential customers that your business provides real value. That’s precisely what shoppers are looking for. 

Consumers are also short on time. So asking them to spend some of this precious commodity writing or videoing a review will take some kind of incentive or coupon code. Relax, you’re not “buying” a positive review; you’re simply asking for an honest and authentic opinion — good or bad. The customer gets that incentive or coupon regardless. 

Did you know? Featuring UGC on ecommerce product pages boosts conversion rates and drives sales, increasing them by up to 5% with every ten new reviews.

Strategy #6: Get Creative With Product Descriptions

Remember that your customer can’t touch, test, try on products, or ask questions, so you need to be as detailed and creative as possible with the details in your product descriptions. 

Try adding a video of a product demonstration or hopping on the unboxing trend—over 90,000 people type “unboxing” into YouTube every.single.month. These gems not only boost conversion rates and reduce returns, but people actually look for them. So give them what they want!

Strategy #7: Have a No-Hassle Return Policy

According to UPS.com, 66% of ecommerce shoppers read the return policy before buying. And 58% of buyers want a hassle-free, no questions asked return policy. 

Increase conversion rates and drive sales by implementing an easy return policy that gains the trust of your customers.

Strategy #8: Make Your Site Mobile Friendly

People spend more time on their phones than ever before, and online shopping is a favourite activity, so optimize your customer’s experience on their mobile devices. 80% of smartphone users make at least one purchase over six months, and approximately 40% of 2022 ecommerce sales will come from mobile devices.

Here are some tips to make your site mobile-friendly:

• Compress images
• Improve page speed
• Increase the font size to make it easier for your customers to browse, add to cart, and checkout
  

Strategy #9: Offer Free Shipping

Free shipping is a big deal for ecommerce shoppers. 90% of consumers would do more online shopping if free shipping were an option, especially when the shipping cost is sometimes equal to or even greater than the value of the product they want to purchase. 

Amazon Prime has set the bar high for offering free shipping. And because they’ve made it so easy to shop with free shipping, consumers will easily shop elsewhere if they can’t get free shipping from you. 

And don’t think about upping your prices to cover the shipping because that won’t do. Savvy customers know competitive pricing. Many retailers have a minimum price threshold for free shipping, which is an excellent strategy for increasing sales and raising the per-transaction value.

Strategy #10: Time-Sensitive Coupon Codes

Coupon codes offering discounts or free shipping are great for boosting conversion rates. And adding an expiration date and time creates a sense of urgency and gets consumers through the checkout process faster. 

Did you know customers spend 26% more at checkout when using a coupon code?

Strategy #11: Use Abandoned Shopping Cart Software

Abandoned cart software uses email to remind your customer that they still have items in their cart. It often uses discounts to entice the shopper to return to their cart and finalize the sale. Since shipping issues are the number one reason for abandoning a cart, it only makes sense to discount the shipping to reinforce the sale.

Approximately 50% of consumers who open and click through their abandoned cart emails make a purchase.

Abandoned cart software is a great strategy for increasing conversion rates because you already know the customer. Plus, they already have interest in your products since they previously added them to their cart.

Strategy #12: Give the Option to Checkout as a Guest

Don’t give any reason for your customer to end the process before the purchase is complete. Sometimes a shopper wants to purchase without going through the extras of signing up for an account. Forcing people to sign up for an account is the reason for 34% of cart abandonments. 

Allowing customers to checkout as guests creates a better shopping experience and the likelihood of a repeat visit. And who knows, maybe they’ll want to sign up the next time. Besides, you get their name and email address when they purchase, so you can still leverage other conversion-boosting strategies.

Strategy #13: Capture Emails

Shoppers may need more than one visit to make a purchase. Offering them a coupon code in exchange for signing up for your emails early in their journey enables you to market to your customer while they’re still in the decision phase. 

Once you have their email address, you can use it for future marketing campaigns, upcoming sales, unboxings, and more. 50% of people marketed by email purchase at least once every month.

Now that you’ve learned the top 13 ecommerce strategies for boosting conversions, it’s time to put them into practice. 

Finding new ways to make your customer’s experience seamless and enjoyable is an ongoing effort. Start by building trust, ensuring great customer service, and encouraging feedback so you can improve your processes. You can do all this and more by partnering with CCC.

Conscious Commerce Corporation is an award-winning digital marketing agency providing ecommerce businesses with integrated marketing solutions and proven strategies that boost conversion rates.

So, what are you waiting for? Schedule a free call today.