5 Best Practices to Boost Conversions and Sales in eCommerce

Why is my eCommerce website not selling? Asked John.

After months of planning, research, and development, John launched an eCommerce store to see an increase in its sales. But the store is not selling, and John is now puzzled.

Sounds familiar?

Well, this is not a new problem in the eCommerce industry. 9 out of 10 retailers are concerned about their low conversion rates and are trying to figure out why. If you relate to the situation, this blog is for you.

Below are some of the best practices you should follow to keep your eCommerce conversion rates and sales high. So, read on!

What is an Ideal eCommerce Conversion Rate – Does it Exist?

eCommerce conversion rate is the number of visitors to your store who complete a purchase or complete the desired action in a specified time. Now, what is the ideal conversion rate for your eCommerce website?

Well, it depends.

Most of the eCommerce metrics vary significantly by industry. And the conversion rate is no exception. But, when setting your goals and benchmarks, you must refer to market-specific conversion rate standards to measure the performance of your online store.

Here is the graph showing the average conversion rate of several eCommerce industries as of 2019:

Source: Smart Insights

That means, even if you are doing everything right, the average eCommerce conversion rate in the eCommerce industry is just 2.5-3%. That’s very low, but it is what it is.

But here is the good news. No matter what your current conversion rate is, there is always scope for improvement. Let’s now check how you can improve your eCommerce conversions.

How to Boost Your eCommerce Conversion Rate?

The best part about increasing conversion rates is that it is not rocket science. You just need to focus on understanding the psychology of your consumers, and your store will sell like a dream.

1. Use High-Quality Product Images And Videos

When shopping online, you can not touch or try a product. Thus, customers need to rely on product photos and videos to purchase.

Now, if your consumers are not confident about the quality of products after analyzing product pictures, they will never complete the purchase. Thus, ensure you use only high-quality product images on your website. Or, you can showcase your products using videos.

eCommerce videos are going to be the real game-changer in 2023. If you can create short product videos, tell a story, and demonstrate your products in the best way possible, it will greatly impact your conversions.

2. Show That Your eCommerce Store is Safe

According to several studies, trust signals can highly impact website conversion rates. Thus, businesses must build trust for consumers to quickly enter their payment information on the website.

Looking for ways to improve your on-site trust should be one of the initial steps of your conversion optimization plan. Here are a few ways to help you get started:

• Have an SSL certificate and show it
• Show reviews and ratings of customers across your website
• Make return and exchange policy easy to find
• Include links to your social media channels
• Provide contact information and show humans behind your brand
• Have a clear About Us page

While shopping online, consumers want to ensure they are dealing with a legitimate business that follows industry-standard security measures. By adhering to the points mentioned above, you can make consumers trust your business, and it will increase conversions.

3. Optimize Your Website Speed

Modern-day consumers are time-savvy. They want everything they need fast and in the best manner. As per analysis, more than 50% of digital consumers say that they have left an eCommerce website because of its slow speed and bought from a competitor.

According to Google, online businesses have just 3 seconds to capture a consumer’s attention because 50% of consumers leave the website after that. The key to providing fantastic website speed is choosing an eCommerce development platform that helps you manage your store’s rich digital content.

You should also select a website theme that is fast and responsive for the best results. We always recommend selecting a premium theme developed for speed. You can always reuse it for any eCommerce website you develop in the future.

4. Pay Attention to Mobile Experience

How your eCommerce website performs on mobile is equally or even more critical. Mobile eCommerce sales increased from 52% in 2016 to 72% in 2021. It means the majority of eCommerce sales are now happening on mobile devices.

Thus, your website conversion rate and sales would be very low if you are not providing a seamless experience to the mobile audience. Keep the below-mentioned tips in mind while optimizing your eCommerce store for mobile:

• Use a mobile-friendly theme
• Ensure clicks and touches are user-friendly
• Optimize mobile speed
• Test the checkout experience on mobile
• Compress everything you can
• Use the PageSpeed Insights tool to improve issues

5. Allow Consumers to Shop Via Social Media

While social commerce is a trendy term, many people think it is just limited to having a presence on social media and interacting with consumers.

However, with social platforms releasing features like Instagram Shopping and big brands making the best use of these features, it won’t be profitable just to have a presence on social channels.

Most eCommerce companies allow consumers to buy their products without leaving the social media app. You must also try this feature if your products fall into popular categories on Instagram. For example, fashion, clothing, or culinary products are often sold on Instagram.

Wrapping Up

All in all, it is essential to understand that every business is different, having its own needs. Also, there can be several reasons behind your website not selling. Your first step should be to figure out that reason and then work on solving the problem.

While there are many other tips that you can follow to achieve your desired conversion rate, it is only possible to mention some of them in one blog. For example, you can:

• Provide multiple payment and discount options
• Personalize your store content
• Improve your website navigation and search
• Provide a guest checkout option
• Offer multiple delivery options
• Re-target cart abandoners

And do much more to get your website selling in the best possible manner. If you are looking for the best implementation of these tips and tricks, get in touch with eCommerce experts at Netsmartz, and we will help you do wonders.