Conversion rate is one of the most important aspects of every eCommerce business. With more than 820,000 active Shopify stores, there is fierce competition in this field.
There is no single growth hack that can turn your Shopify store profitable overnight.
However, there are several techniques that when implemented correctly can gradually increase your sales.
Here are the top 17 ways to improve the conversion rate of your Shopify store:
Highlight Product Benefits Clearly
People buy products that solve their problems or make their lives comfortable. Thus, it is crucial to explicitly highlight product benefits.
Avoid copy-pasting the description provided by the manufacturer. The product description gives you a great opportunity to integrate SEO keywords and highlight the reason why someone should purchase it. Highlighting the unique selling points (USPs) can significantly increase conversion rates and reduce return requests. According to Salsify, 87% of shoppers say accurate, rich, and complete product content is very important when deciding to buy.
For instance, if you sell food products, then you would want your customers to know if a certain item is made from certified organic ingredients or that they’re 100% cruelty-free. This kind of information can greatly influence purchasing decisions.
Here’s a real example from Jadon. They’ve highlighted the product benefits explicitly, such as providing more protein and having low saturated fats. They have also listed the key details of the item, such as dairy-free, and gluten-free, which can be critical for customers with dietary restrictions.
Here’s an example of a benefit-focused product description:
“Our protein bars are perfect for health-conscious consumers. Made from certified organic ingredients, they provide 20g of protein per serving, helping you stay energized throughout the day. Plus, they’re low in saturated fats and completely dairy-free and gluten-free, making them suitable for a wide range of dietary needs.”
Leverage Personalization
Personalization is the key to increasing sales funnel conversions. 51% of consumers expect eCommerce websites to anticipate their needs and make relevant suggestions. Marketers see an average increase of 20% in sales when offering personalized experiences.
One of the best ways to leverage personalization is by using data science skills. Data science allows you to divide your customers into micro-segments based on various variables, like gender, age, browsing behavior, purchase history, and spending habits.
It can help predict what a customer is most likely to buy next, so you can show the exact products, thereby increasing conversions. For instance, if a customer frequently purchases skincare products, you can recommend complementary items such as serums or moisturizers, which enhances the shopping experience and increases the likelihood of additional purchases.
Another way to use personalization is by using a product recommendation app that automatically recommends products to each customer. These apps utilize machine learning algorithms to deliver highly relevant recommendations, making the shopping experience more tailored and engaging.
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Upsell and Cross-Sell
Upselling and cross-selling are excellent ways to increase your average order value.
Upselling involves encouraging customers to purchase a more expensive or upgraded version of the product they are interested in. For example, if a customer is looking at a basic smartphone, upselling would involve suggesting a premium model with additional features.
Cross-selling, on the other hand, involves suggesting complementary products that enhance the customer’s original purchase. For instance, if a customer buys a camera, cross-selling would involve recommending related items like lenses, tripods, or camera bags.
However, you should limit the number of choices you provide to avoid overwhelming customers. Going overboard with related products or complementary pieces can feel overly aggressive and might distract the shopper from completing their purchase.
A great example of effective upselling and cross-selling is Quad Lock. Quad Lock recommends relevant product add-ons to what a customer is already looking at, to encourage users to buy a complete kit.
Shopify development offers various third-party apps that you can integrate into your online store to upsell and cross-sell easily. You can choose an app that suits the best for your business.
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Optimize the Checkout Process
If your checkout process isn’t simple, you might lose a lot of customers right when they are ready to buy. A survey by Baymard Institute found that 21% of US shoppers would abandon the cart if they felt that the checkout experience was complicated (or too long).
One way to resolve this problem is by using a checkout progress bar that shows where they’re in the process and how much is left. Clear progress indicators like the one below can motivate people to complete the checkout process as they’ll be able to see the end goal.
To enable the checkout progress bar in your Shopify, follow this guide:
- Go to the Shopify App Store and search for “checkout progress bar” or “progress tracker.
- Choose an app that suits your needs and has positive reviews from other users and install it on your Shopify store.
- Follow the instructions provided by the app developer to complete the installation process.
- Once installed, configure the app settings to customize the appearance and behavior of the progress bar.
Another way to optimize the checkout process is by offering one-step checkout. The same survey by the Baymard Institute found that 6% of US shoppers would abandon a cart if there weren’t enough payment options.
Minaal, a company that sells travel gear, surely knows how to optimize the checkout process. They offer two options to shoppers: add the product to cart and continue browsing, or buy the product directly.
Offering multiple payment options is a nice way to optimize the checkout process.
To enable one-step checkout in your Shopify store:
- In your Shopify admin dashboard, navigate to Settings > Checkout.
- Scroll down to the “Checkout settings” section and find the “Order processing” area.
- Check the box next to “Enable one-page checkout” or “Enable accelerated checkouts” if available.
- Review other checkout settings such as shipping, taxes, and customer accounts to ensure they align with your business requirements.
Allow Guest Checkout
Offering a guest checkout option takes the checkout optimization process to the next level.
34% of shoppers have abandoned carts because the store wanted them to create an account to complete the checkout.
If you’re worried about losing connection with your customers, then don’t bother, you’ll have their contact details anyway when they purchase.
Here’s an example from WP Standard: “I haven’t created an account, and they don’t even ask me to make one. As soon as I clicked on “buy now”, I saw this page. It asks for an email address and the shipping details.”.
Another great thing about this page is that it offers express checkout options. When you click on any of the alternatives (Amazon Pay, PayPal, GPay, or Shop Pay), you won’t even have to fill the form. You’ll only be asked to log in to your account and make the payment.
You can allow the guest checkout option by changing your customer account preferences in settings.
Go to checkout under your settings from your Shopify Admin. In the customer accounts section, choose “Accounts are optional”.
Write Useful and Valuable Content
Apart from writing great content on your product landing pages, blogging on Shopify is an excellent way to educate, inform, and engage your target audience.
The more value and information you provide, the more your target audience will trust you.
It is also an excellent way to showcase your expertise in your industry, thereby boosting your authority and credibility.
Another advantage of publishing blogs is that it helps to increase organic traffic. Search engines favor fresh, relevant content, and regularly updated blogs provide opportunities to target relevant keywords, thereby improving your site’s visibility and search engine rankings.
For example, Beardbrand posts content about men’s grooming to supplement their expertise in beard products. By sharing grooming tips, style guides, and product reviews, Beardbrand not only enhances its brand image but also provides additional value to its audience, further establishing its authority in the industry.
People who visit your website via these blogs might not be ready to buy immediately, but they’ll become aware of your brand and might purchase from you in the future.
Use Remarketing to Target Specific Customers
Remarketing is a form of paid advertising that allows you to connect with people who have shown interest in certain products but left your site without purchasing them.
In remarketing, you show visitors the exact products they window-shopped on your website while they browse the internet. By strategically deploying ads, you re-engage these visitors as they continue to browse the internet, reminding them of the products they showed interest in during their previous visit.
However, to retarget, you’ll need to collect cookies. You’ve probably seen this message on a lot of websites.
Cookies track the pages a user is visiting on your website without storing any sensitive personal information. When they leave your site to browse the web, the cookie then tells your ad platform that the user has left your site. Your ad platform then starts to retarget the visitors by displaying the exact products they browsed on your site on other ecommerce sites they visit.
Remarketing is a great way to boost conversions because customers who see retargeted ads are 70% more likely to convert on your website.
Reduce Price Shock
Shipping costs are the biggest reason for cart abandonment. 55% of customers bounce back from an eCommerce store because the extra costs (shipping, tax, fees, etc.) are too high.
One way to eradicate this problem is by offering free shipping. Make sure to highlight that you’re not charging anything to deliver the products.
If you can’t offer free shipping, make sure to highlight the cost upfront. This will prevent them from the price shock that they would get by seeing extra costs during the checkout.
For example, Gym Shark has explicitly mentioned the minimum order value for each “free delivery” method. Free standard delivery (estimated two working days) over £35, free express delivery (estimated next working day) over £65.
Similarly, if you’re charging for any other thing (like tax), make sure to mention it on the product’s page to reduce price shock and increase the likelihood of conversion.
Provide Limited Time Offers
Providing limited-time offers is yet another excellent way to increase your Shopify store’s sales.
It appeals to the shoppers’ FOMO (fear of missing out) and encourages them to purchase instantly.
You don’t necessarily need to offer a discount to entice users into purchasing. You can provide limited-time “free shipping deals” or “express delivery”.
Here’s an example from Bootea. They’ve added a countdown timer on their homepage, highlighting that the sale ends in 4 minutes. Once gone, you’ll lose the opportunity to get 20% off.
To implement this effectively, make sure to add a timer to show users that they’re missing out on great deals with every passing second.
Integrate Live Chat Software
Live chats lead to a 40% increase in the conversion rate.
Activating live chat helps build a direct connection with potential shoppers right when they’re considering purchasing your products.
Creating a real human connection helps build trust with prospects and boosts the probability of conversion.
However, avoid integrating live chat software if you can’t be there (during business hours) to respond to customers who request a chat immediately.
Shoppers want a quick response, and they won’t wait for hours for you to respond.
The Modern Shop has integrated live chat software to answer its customers’ queries. They’ve mentioned, “We typically reply within a few minutes”. This is great because it tells shoppers that they won’t have to wait for long to get a response.
If you can’t respond to customers’ queries instantly but still want to give them a solution, you can add a chatbot to your Shopify store.
While they can’t add a human touch to the conversation, they can provide answers to the commonly asked questions. According to a Spiceworks study, 56% of respondents said chatbots increased the conversion rate by at least 10%, and 17% said chatbots increased the conversion rate by 20% or more.
Use Trust Badges
Trust badges are crucial for every eCommerce store. Until people trust you with their credit card information, they won’t make a purchase.
The challenge is to build trust with shoppers on their first visit. They want to know if they’re dealing with a legitimate store that follows industry-standard security practices.
Here are a few ways to establish trust with potential customers.
- Install an SSL certificate in your store.
- Display small images of credit cards and other payment options.
- Add McAfee, PayPal, or other security badges.
- Add social buttons that take your customers to your social media accounts. Customers search for social proof and activity.
- Display your contact info (phone number, email address, and office address) prominently.
Watch Outfitters displays images of credit cards, PayPal, and an icon that says, “100% secure checkout”. This indicates that people can trust them with their payment information.
Structure Your Product Categories in a Logical Manner
Logically structuring your products makes it easier for your customers to find the products they’re looking for. It includes enabling advanced sorting features to help users find specific products from multiple versions.
For instance, Nutriseed, a health products store, has organized its products in different categories. They allow the customers to search for products from food types, juices, health & wellbeing, diet & weight loss, and more.
This allows shoppers to find and purchase their desired products directly by visiting the category they fall in.
What’s more, is that they have also added a search bar to further simplify the product-finding process.
When you click on any of the product categories, you’ll see more options to narrow down the product list further.
For example, selecting “superfood powders” displays a page where customers can filter products by suitability and price.
Make sure to offer as many attributes as possible. The easier it is to find products on your Shopify store, the more likely people will purchase. Here are a few key practices to optimize your product categorization:
- Create Clear Main Categories
- Use Subcategories Effectively
- Enable Filtering Options
- Include a Search Bar
- Optimize Product Pages
Use High-Quality Product Images and Videos
Unlike in a physical store, your Shopify store visitors can’t touch, feel, or physically examine the products. The best thing you can do to provide a similar experience is to use high-quality visuals.
Product images and product videos help shoppers visualize the item they’re buying. This helps increase conversion rates as well as reduce return requests.
Make sure to add multiple images to let your visitors check the item from different angles.
For example, Hard Graft, which sells luxury lifestyle accessories online, uses multiple images to showcase the product. It also shows how the product looks in action to increase the probability of conversion.
You can even add a zoom option to allow shoppers to zoom in and analyze the product better.
Highlight Your Return/Refund Policy
Around 67% of consumers check the return policy before making a purchase.
Customer concerns about whether they can get their money back if the product doesn’t meet their expectations or if they receive a faulty product can deter them from completing the purchase.
Having a great return/refund policy reduces fears and last-minute hesitations. It also encourages them to commit to a purchase.
Ensure that your return and refund policy is visible on the product description page. Also, mention when shoppers can return the product. This includes the time frame, acceptable reasons for returns, and any associated costs.
For example, HIUT Denim Co, which sells jeans, has explicitly mentioned that “you can exchange or return your jeans up to 90 days after purchase”.
This boosts the confidence of the customer and guarantees that they’ll get a new product or their money back if they aren’t satisfied, thereby increasing the conversion rate.
Get Customer Reviews
Customer reviews show that you’re a legitimate seller, and that your products are worth investing in, leading to a high ecommerce conversion rate.
72% of people read reviews before taking any action. Having customer reviews on your website can increase the conversion rate by 18%.
Another benefit of displaying reviews on your Shopify store is that it helps strengthen your brand’s credibility and reliability.
Here’s an example from Manitobah Mukluks. They’ve mentioned product ratings at the top of the product’s page. They’ve also highlighted how many people have given reviews.
At the bottom, there’s a separate review section which, when clicked, shows what people are saying about the product.
Leverage Email Marketing to Follow Up on Abandoned Carts
Only 2% of visitors turn into customers on their first visit to online shops. But that doesn’t mean that the remaining 98% won’t convert ever.
Email marketing helps retarget them and increase your conversion optimization rate. In fact, 28.3% of all eCommerce revenue comes from successful abandoned cart emails.
When sending retargeting emails, make sure to include the products the visitor has left in their shopping cart.
Additionally, use special offers like free shipping or X% discount to increase the chances of conversion. Add a CTA to drive users directly to the checkout or shopping cart page.
Nordstrom, an American luxury store, definitely knows how to send retargeting emails to increase the conversion rate. Their emails include the item the visitor left in their shopping bag, along with an image. They also highlight their “free returns – free shipping” policy, which can entice users to try their product without the fear of being stuck with it if it doesn’t meet their expectations.
Integrate “Notify Me” Feature
An out-of-stock item doesn’t mean you have to lose the customer. When one of your products is sold out, you can still attract shoppers by giving them the option to leave their contact information so you can notify them when the product is available again.
This also gives you an opportunity to keep in touch with your potential customers and increase the customer lifetime value. You can use this opportunity to send them personalized offers and updates, thereby increasing their lifetime value.
Greats, a footwear company, asks customers to enter their email addresses to get notified when their size is back in stock. This helps them retain customers and get more conversions.
Apps like “Notify Me”, can help you integrate this functionality in your Shopify store and capture shoppers’ email addresses.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good Shopify conversion rate?
A benchmark for a good conversion rate is typically around 2-3%. However, businesses should aim to continually improve their conversion rates by testing and optimizing their website design, checkout process, and marketing strategies. It’s also important to keep in mind that a high conversion rate doesn’t necessarily equate to success if the business isn’t generating enough traffic or revenue to sustain growth.
How to calculate your conversion rate?
To calculate your conversion rate, divide the number of conversions (e.g., purchases, sign-ups) by the total number of visitors to your website, and then multiply the result by 100 to get a percentage. The formula is:
Conversion Rate (%) = (Conversions / Total Visitors) x 100.
For example, if your website had 200 conversions and 5,000 visitors in a month, the conversion rate would be (200 / 5000) x 100 = 4%.
Why is my Shopify conversion rate low?
A low Shopify conversion rate can result from various factors, including poor website design, lack of trust signals such as customer reviews and security badges, a complicated checkout process, insufficient product information with low-quality images or descriptions, high shipping costs, poor mobile optimization, and ineffective marketing strategies targeting the wrong audience. Addressing these issues by improving user experience, building trust, streamlining the checkout process, and ensuring effective and targeted marketing can help increase your Shopify conversion optimization process.
Wrapping Up
Shopify conversion rate optimization isn’t as difficult as it seems. Applying the 17 strategies mentioned above will help you convert more visitors into customers. However, you shouldn’t expect to witness magic right after you implement them. Last but not least, don’t forget A/B testing as this can help you in identifying the exact elements that are assisting in conversions. Happy Selling!
