5 Ways to Improve Your eCommerce Conversion Rate for the Long Run

Simply existing as an eCommerce store brings along with it a range of problems that can prevent a completed purchase.

Slow site speeds, minimal customer loyalty and high cart abandonment are all indicators of issues on your site that are causing friction in the customer journey.

But all is not lost when conversion rate optimisation tactics are readily available.

What is a conversion rate?

A conversion rate is the percentage of users who have completed a desired action.

This desired action can vary from business to business; from signing up for a newsletter to completing a purchase.

Pro tip: A higher conversion rate indicates shoppers behave as you want them to. This can be viewed as confirmation that your strategies are working.

Why is it important to improve your conversion rate?

An eCommerce business may be intimidated by the fact that 1.1 billion websites accompany them on the internet.¹

But you have nothing to worry about if you are working on converting new site visitors into customers.

Refining your conversion rate optimisation strategies also allows you to get the most out of your existing website visitors, bypassing an expensive and unnecessary battle for the acquisition of new customers.

The most successful retailers understand that there is always a reason to increase conversions, no matter how high their current rate is.

In doing so, they can create a stable future for their business.

5 ways to improve your conversion rate

Securing long-term success for your eCommerce store lies with the online shoppers currently on your site.

It’s critical for retailers to understand that they are capable of creating a seamless shopping experience that converts.

All you need to do is implement the steps below to increase your conversion rates.

1. Optimise your checkout

The worst-case scenario is happening: a potential customer has abandoned their shopping cart.

How do you prevent this from happening?

Nowadays, the solution can be as simple as offering a range of payment options.

Modern consumers need speed and ease, and this isn’t provided by having to manually enter payment information.

Buy now pay later options, such as Klarna, are actively sought out by consumers as a favourable alternative.

Not only are you converting browsing visitors into paying customers, but you are also guiding them down the sales funnel faster.

The faster they move through the purchasing process, the less likely they will abandon their cart.

It’s important to note that 6 out of 10 BNPL users are 18-34, Gen Zs and Millennials.²

Harnessing their increasing spending power during the current economic crisis will be essential to the future of your site.

Doing so can be as simple as introducing flexible payments through a BNPL option at checkout.

2. Guide your customer

eCommerce can match and exceed the expectations set by brick-and-mortar stores in many ways.

However, it can be a struggle to emulate the attentive and personalised customer service of a sales assistant.

The emergence of the all-in-one CRO tool, Digital Assistant, ensures conversions aren’t lost.

Potential customers are transformed into loyal ones at the most significant points of the conversion funnel.

For example, triggering bespoke messages to promote that you offer free shipping or using high-quality images in your AI-powered Recommendations can encourage shoppers to add to cart.

Engaging customers with your site in real-time eliminates delays that could cause them to drop off.

Considerations: Go that step further by identifying specific drop-off points or areas of low engagement via Google Analytics.

Once identified, you can optimise those areas of your site with CRO solutions.

3. Enhance your search bar

You are wasting your effort optimising other areas of your site if your search bar is not performing.

Let’s face it, the current climate means you cannot afford for your conversion to drop by 20% per second of slow site speed.³

Quite literally, every second your customer is not being presented with accurate results equates directly to lost revenue.

Make shopping online easy by presenting a set of results in as little as 0.001 seconds via Salesfire’s Search solution.

Don’t forget that an enhanced search bar is vital in connecting consumers with your products and increasing on-site engagement.

Pro tip: Deploy image, voice and visually similar search alongside the traditional search bar.

Empowering customers to articulate their queries streamlines the product discovery experience and encourages loyalty.

4. Create consumer confidence

When consumers see that others have purchased a product, they are more likely to do the same.

Use this psychological phenomenon to your advantage by introducing social proof to your site.

You can do this by showcasing the number of page views a product has to instil urgency and secure that conversion.

Or display your 5 star reviews to generate consumer confidence to checkout.

One of the reasons customers love to see social proof on-site is because it reaffirms their decision to purchase from your brand. So start building up your bank of reviews from existing customers now to see long-term success.

Pro tip: Deploy Digital Assistant on your website to ensure visitors are viewing social proof at the most influential point of their customer journey.

5. First impressions count

Your website has 8 seconds to stop most visitors from leaving.⁴

From the very first touchpoint, you want to ensure that your customer’s path to the product they want to purchase is clear.

This means having an aesthetically pleasing design and removing blockers to improve the accessibility of your site.

When it comes to conversions, strategically designed calls to action are vital.

Their presence captures attention and encourages visitors to take the action you want them to.

Considerations: CTAs should be designed to stand out on site.

A/B test a variety of on-brand colours and copy to ensure they are working effectively to convert.

Going forward

The time ahead is an unpredictable one for consumers and retailers alike.

Future-proof yourself by optimising the most influential areas of your site with Salesfire’s suite of solutions.

Secure your place in the market by increasing your average conversion and making the most out of your website traffic.

¹ October 2022 Web Server Survey | NetCraft

² Gen Z is flocking to buy now, pay later to beat inflation | Modern Retail

³ 32 Website Statistics Every Business Should Know in 2022 | Fit Small Business

⁴ Website Design for Higher Conversions – A Quick How-To Guide | UxPin