ECommerce conversion rate optimization is one of the most effective ways to boost eCommerce sales. Conversion rate ensures that visitors don't just browse your site but actually take action, that can be making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, or adding items to their cart.
Credits: finch
Without a well-optimized shopping experience, many online stores struggle with cart abandonment, low engagement, and trust issues, all of which lead to lost revenue. Instead of just chasing more traffic through ads and SEO, businesses get better results when they improve online store conversions from the visitors they already have.
This guide walks through seven practical strategies to help you reduce cart abandonment and other issues and increase conversions:- 1. Speed up your website for UX optimization for eCommerce
- 2.Make mobile shopping easier and faster
- 3.Use high-quality images and videos to build buyer confidence
- 4.Simplify checkout to reduce abandoned carts
- 5.Show real customer reviews and trust signals
- 6.Personalize the shopping experience with AI
- 7.Optimize product pages for search and conversions
After applying these eCommerce CRO best practices, your store won't have more friction, it will have a better shopping experience, and like this you turn more visitors into paying customers.
What Is E-commerce Conversion Rate?
Conversion is such a broad topic because it is influenced by every aspect of UX optimization for eCommerce.
E-commerce conversion rate optimization (CRO) improves the shopping experience to drive a specific action, usually, sales. E-commerce conversion rate optimization can be conducted on landing pages, product pages, checkout flows, or any other customer touchpoint.
But, how is E-commerce conversion rate calculated?
If your online store is getting 10,000 visitors and 200 conversions for a set period, that means your store's conversion rate is 2%.
It is often as simple as that. Divide conversions by the total number of visitors, and you have the conversion rate. Most analytics tools provide conversion rates within any data segmentation, which we'll get into in the sections below.
Before working to increase conversion rates, you need to know what your current visitors are doing to set up proper eCommerce conversion rate benchmarks for your online store. Once you find your benchmarks, they should be compared to measure success.
The average eCommerce conversion rates are around 2-3%. Even if you are doing everything right, you can still expect to win the sale around 2-3% of the time.
But with effective eCommerce CRO best practices a 3%-plus conversion rate should be the baseline goal for your online store. Once you are able to achieve that, then you can move on to more advanced conversion rate tactics.
7 Ways to Improve Your E-commerce Conversion Rate
Below are seven areas to target, along with practical tips that will help improve online store conversions
Optimize Website Speed & Performance
Nothing frustrates online users more than a slow-loading site. A 1-second delay in page load time can cause a 7% drop in conversions, which means faster pages lead to better results.
Every (mili)second counts for businesses. Any delays in page load time have been repeatedly shown to impact user engagement and lower sales.
If your site's performance pushing users away then, tools like Google PageSpeed Insights & GTmetrix can help analyze site speed and highlight areas that need improvement.
Some key steps to reducing load time and improving your website's overall performance are Optimizing images, enabling caching, and minimizing server requests
Improve Mobile Shopping Experience
Mobile shopping accounts for over 60% of eCommerce traffic, but many app and website users have a poor experience, like slow loading times, unresponsive designs, and checkout delays. Worse yet, about 25% of shoppers abandon a brand and will likely move to a competitor, even after one frustrating experience. Many companies focus eCommerce CRO best practices on website performance but should equally focus on mobile UX optimization for eCommerce. It's also true that mobile shopping requires seamless navigation, fast checkout, and responsive design.
Credits:
LogRocket
eCommerce conversion rate optimization must focus on mobile-first design to improve online store conversions. Responsive design is a must nowadays, but it should go further than that. Therefore use CRO tools to analyze mobile friction points and eliminate checkout delays. According to some stats from 2018, the cart abandonment rate for fashion and retail is around 74% of the shoppers dropping out due to a long or complicated checkout process. This is a significant percentage that can be reduced with a few UX improvements to the checkout experience.
Take time to check the mobile version of your website yourself. You'll spot issues that need to be fixed almost immediately.
Expert Tip: Add engagement to the mobile experience. Keep the “Add to Cart” option visible as users move down the page so they don't need to scroll up to locate it.
There are extremely simple, effortless ways to create a major effect on conversions. Handling these details will bring huge improvements to your revenue figures.
For example, Shopify brand improved mobile UX by enhancing layouts, streamlining payment processes, optimizing speed, and improving mobile for higher conversions.
Leverage High-Quality Product Images & Videos
Just like making the mobile experience easy and smooth, it's important to use high-resolution images and 360-degree product views to boosting eCommerce sales. We say this because a report suggests that customers are more likely to complete a purchase when they can see products from multiple angles and in detail.
Product visuals are essential, and they're here to stay. If eCommerce brands overlook the importance of high-quality product images and videos, their conversion rate is most likely to suffer a blow. So, invest in detailed visuals now before it's too late.
Another advantage that product images and videos serve here is that they help shoppers feel more confident in their buying decisions, which in turn increases the chances of bagging higher conversions. ASOS, for example, enhances its product pages with multiple images and video reviews, allowing customers to see the fit, material, and movement of items before purchasing.
A/B testing different product visuals along with experimenting with angles, lighting, and video formats can get a brand brownie points as well.
Streamline the Checkout Process
We mentioned above that you need to make the checkout process as smooth as possible. A poor shopping experience, with a checkout process that isn't optimized, turns shoppers off. A long and complicated checkout process leads to frustration, according to multiple studies.
If your checkout process requires too much information, work on reducing form fields to only essential details. A seamless experience is key, so making checkout effortless can significantly improve online store conversions.
Then, make it simple for a shopper to actually buy what they want. You can do that by offering guest checkout to avoid friction and provide multiple payment options (PayPal, Apple Pay, BNPL) so customers have flexible ways to complete their purchases. Take for example Amazon, which simplified the checkout with a fast and hassle-free buying process and boosted the eCommerce conversion rate optimization.
Use Social Proof & Customer Reviews
Social proof and customer reviews are excellent ways to increase conversions
on an e-commerce store. Originating from the concept that people trust others'
opinions, it's a proven technique in marketing to displaying customers'
feedback and trust badges. It is also proved by statistics 91% of consumers
trust user-generated content and reviews over brand messaging, making it a
crucial factor in driving sales.
Additional tips for showcasing social proof
- Highlight trust badges such as a money-back guarantee or secure checkout
- Feature customer ratings and testimonials prominently on product pages
- Encourage customers to leave reviews by offering a small incentive
Personalize Shopping Experience with AI & Data
A great way to fix the “how to boost eCommerce sales” issue is by personalizing the shopping experience with AI & Data. The more effort you put into understanding customer behavior, what products they browse, their shopping patterns, and real-time interactions, the more likely your eCommerce CRO best practices will pay off.
Another way to understand your buyers is to analyze data-driven insights. From AI-powered recommendation engines to real-time shopping behavior tracking, learn about their preferences or get a quick pulse on shopping trends. That data can help you pinpoint conversion blockers and implement personalized changes to improve engagement and sales.
Additional personalization tips- Personalize product recommendations based on browsing history
- Adjust prices dynamically using AI-driven pricing models
- Keep engagement high by reminding customers of recently viewed items
Amazon & Netflix, for example, leveraged AI for personalized experiences, ensuring users receive highly relevant content and product recommendations.
Optimize Your eCommerce SEO & CRO Together
Your website needs to align with both search optimization and conversion goals. There's nothing more frustrating than poorly optimized product pages, missing metadata, and unstructured content. These cause visitors to quickly leave your site, instantly killing conversions.
Avoid this by paying attention to search intent and user experience. Revisit product page optimization to make sure that your metadata, structured data, and descriptions are tailored for both rankings and conversions. As well, regularly audit internal linking and navigation to improve online store conversions, product discoverability, and engagement.
Finally, your eCommerce CRO best practices should include heatmaps and session recordings, to reduce cart abandonment so customers can easily find what they need and complete their purchases.
Real-World Examples of eCommerce CRO Success
The internet is brimming with eCommerce CRO case studies, with a quick Google search yielding thousands of results.
However, if you've been in this industry long enough, you know that many of these case studies can be impractical, promising unrealistic results.
Below, we'll cover three eCommerce CRO case studies, which successfully boosted conversions. Unlike many case studies you may come across, we'll delve into the thought process behind each case and the precise results achieved.
Example 1: How ASOS Improved Conversions Through Product Visuals & Fast Checkout
Imagine you run an eCommerce website where you attract a lot of traffic, but your conversion rates remain low, you face issues like a high cart abandonment rate and low engagement with product pages, a common struggle for many online businesses.
ASOS CRO team encountered this challenge with their ASOS' website optimization strategy.
Facing these obstacles, the team analyzed how product images and checkout experience impacted conversions.
As they scrutinized the existing product pages, it became evident that high-quality visuals and a seamless checkout were key to eCommerce conversion rate optimization.
The team formulated a strategy: enhancing product visuals and simplifying the checkout process would increase conversions. The A/B testing goal was to increase the conversion rate by 20%.
Here are the changes they implemented:- 1. Added 360-degree product views and video reviews to product pages
- 2. Reduced checkout form fields and enabled guest checkout for a faster experience
As the results came in, they clearly demonstrated a successful conversion rate increase.
The conversion rate improved by 17%, and the average order value increased by 4%.
Success was not a fleeting moment, ASOS continued to see higher engagement and
lower cart abandonment rates across mobile and desktop platforms.
Example 2: How Amazon leverages 1-click checkout and AI-driven personalization
The case of Amazon eCommerce store was that their potential buyers were eager to make a purchase, but friction in the checkout process or lack of personalization led to drop-offs.
Amazon's team identified a major opportunity in its checkout and recommendation system to improve conversions.
Amazon initially had a standard multi-step checkout process, which, although efficient, required additional steps that could lead to cart abandonment.
Amazon's team created two strategies:- 1. 1-Click Checkout: allowed customers to complete purchases instantly with stored payment and shipping details.
-
2. AI-Powered Recommendations: personalized product suggestions based on
user behavior and purchase history.
- 1-Click Checkout reduced cart abandonment rates by 54.19%, achieving a 99.65% confidence level.
- AI-powered product recommendations increased upsells by 39.43%, with a 97.66% confidence level.
This case study emphasizes the importance of simplifying checkout and leveraging AI to enhance personalization.
- 1. Faster checkout options lead to fewer abandoned carts.
- 2. AI-driven product suggestions keep shoppers engaged and drive higher order values.
Example 3: A Shopify store optimizes mobile shopping
Credits: webmeridan
The
issue with Shopify was that it had several key areas that were hindering
mobile sales, such as navigation friction, slow checkout speeds, and limited
mobile-friendly optimizations.
Therefore they aimed to boost mobile conversion rates by streamlining navigation, checkout speed, and personalization.
They created a version of the optimized mobile shopping experience that featured an improved product search function and a more responsive design.
After several days they saw a 3% increase in mobile conversions, with a 74% chance of success.
Improving mobile navigation and checkout speeds can significantly impact conversions. Moreover, mobile-optimized checkout with express payment options reduces cart abandonment and enhances eCommerce conversion rate optimization.
Final Insights
These case studies highlight the importance of strategic eCommerce CRO best practices
- ASOS improved conversions through enhanced product visuals and faster checkout.
- Amazon leveraged AI and 1-click checkout to reduce friction and increase purchases.
- Shopify optimized mobile shopping experience to drive higher conversion rates.
As you can tell, eCommerce brands can significantly improve online store conversions and customer retention with some thoughtful strategies.
Conclusion & Final Tips
Speed, UX, checkout optimization, social proof, personalization, and SEO provide you with the best opportunity to enhance your eCommerce conversion rate optimization. Behavioral insights and continuous optimization strategies are perfect for refining the customer journey and eliminating friction when shopping online.
We can forget also A/B testing, how it is an essential method to compare different strategies and continuously refine your approach for better results.
Also, when you test and track customer behavior with heatmaps and session recordings, you save time, money, and effort. And, you always ensure your CRO improvements are backed by real data, removing the need for guesswork when optimizing your store.
With all of these benefits, it's easy to see why so many eCommerce brands focus on CRO to improve online store conversions and reduce cart abandonment.
Follow these steps, and you will see a large boost in conversions. Contact us to see how our full range of CRO services can help you increase your sales and optimize your eCommerce store.
For more on eCommerce CRO strategies, download our free eCommerce conversion checklist!
Need help optimizing your eCommerce store? Head over to our homepage for a free audit today.
