Strategies to Boost Your E-Commerce Conversion Rate
Since the very first online sale in 1994, E-commerce has evolved in many ways, bringing significant changes to the global economic scene. This thriving industry has brought advantages to both consumers and businesses worldwide. E-commerce has made products and services easier to discover and compare for consumers, while at the same time providing a valuable solution for sellers to finalize transactions on a larger scale in a shorter period of time compared to ordinary offline sales.
Over the course of 20 years, the E-commerce industry has not only grown in total revenue, its share as a percentage of global retail sales has also sharply increased, reaching over 10% in 2019. In the current economic climate, E-commerce has made its way to the top revenue-generating industries globally, with forecasted sales of $4.2 trillion and a 16% share of total retail sales by the end of 2020.
But what does this mean for E-commerce businesses?
On the one hand, the inevitable rise of E-commerce as a leading online industry will surely help the economic recovery of small businesses and large companies that have been impacted by the recent global financial crisis. On the other hand, it is equally inevitable that given a larger number of competitors on the market, advertising rates will peak and standing out from the crowd will become even more challenging.
For your E-commerce business, a conversion happens when a user interacts with your ad or landing page and completes an online purchase on your website. Your E-commerce conversion rate equals the ratio of transactions to sessions, expressed as a percentage over a constant period of time. Businesses run thousands of online campaigns each year in the hope of increasing their conversion rate, but they are not always successful. This is because conversions do not just happen, you need to optimize for them.
Conversion rate optimization is about focusing on providing a positive, remarkable customer experience to achieve your sales goals. Highly converting E-commerce webpages are not only about presenting your product or service, they’re about giving visitors the information and experience they need to engage and click on the “Buy Now” button. Put yourself into your target audience’s shoes and let positive customer experience drive the strategy behind conversion optimization.
Design Matters
As shown by research, one of the most effective strategies to drive more conversions is to invest time in producing engaging, compelling landing pages and banner ads to advertise your products and services. We have studied into detail the top performers by industry and selected 4 key design elements that are proven to improve your E-commerce conversion rate:
- Minimal background: it is proven that minimal background and bright contrasting colors increase the likelihood of visitors to stay on your page and convert.
- Testimonial quotes: make sure you include a positive testimonial quote from either a customer or an executive from your company. This will help visitors feel personally involved and perceive the product as customized to their needs.
- Action based graphics: video ads have shown to generate over three times the leads compared to static ads, along with a 25% increase in impressions and a 400% increase in clicks. Including action based graphics and content on your page will increase engagement and better show the benefits of your product, eventually motivating customers to finalize their purchase.
- One clear Call To Action (CTA): this is where visitors become customers, where you prove the efficacy of your conversion optimization strategy. Choose a simple, compelling CTA and make sure it is always visible on your page.
Ease of Use
According to research by BigCommerce, the average E-commerce conversion rate is between 1 and 2%, among the lowest converting industries online. This is due to the fact that sometimes it’s simply too complicated to reach the end of the conversion process.
Along with spending time on creating user-friendly designs and compelling graphics, you need to provide visitors with an easy-to-use, intuitive interface that allows them to quickly identify the solution to their problem and complete the purchase with ease. Once again ask yourself, which factors influence my purchase decision? What makes me click on the “Buy Now” button after comparing different options?
Once a user has clicked on your ad and is determined to purchase, it is crucial to make sure the checkout process is as smooth and as straightforward as possible. Market research has shown that on average, out of 100 daily visitors only 10 are likely to make a purchase, and out of these 10 buyers 7 are still receptive to new ideas, giving you a mere 3% probability of converting a visitor. When asked why they did not finalize their purchase, 80% of visitors blamed the length and complexity of the checkout process and the long loading times of product pages. Our recommendation is to simplify the payment process, provide multiple payment options and reduce the size of your product pages. By following this logic, you’ll be able to improve customer experience and boost sales.
Benefits of Increasing Your Conversion Rate
