Understanding conversion rates, which are crucial for unlocking your e-commerce potential, is a key to making informed decisions. According to a benchmark report, the average e-commerce conversion rate is 2.5% to 3%, with a good conversion rate exceeding 3%. This knowledge empowers you to set realistic goals and make informed decisions to improve your sales performance. 

Now, there are plenty of variables that can impact how a customer doesn’t complete checkout, and not all of these variables will be something you can control; i.e., they may not have actually intended to purchase, and they might not have the funds at this point in time, or they got distracted during checkout and couldn’t complete and even the device they used; according to statistics conversion rates are higher from desktop users and abandoned carts are higher from mobile users. However, there are multiple aspects you can control when it comes to conversions, and understanding what you are doing that is dragging down the conversion rate can enable you to improve the customer experience and get those all-important sales.

So, what can you do as a business owner to reduce abandoned carts and increase completed sales?

Focus on Micro Conversions

Micro conversions, which are small actions performed on your site, play a significant role in increasing the chance of sales. It’s like setting yourself a small goal. If you set one huge goal, it can feel like a monumental task to get there. But by breaking down your huge goals into smaller bite-sized ones and focusing on hitting them one by one, you can reach your end goal without realizing it. The same principle applies to micro conversions. The sale is the end goal, but by breaking it down into smaller steps and focusing on getting customers to perform smaller tasks, you can guide them towards the final step. 

To optimize your conversion rates, the following micro-conversions can be instrumental in supporting your goal; 

• Email sign-up pop-ups for first-time visitors  
• Add share buttons to product pages
• Showcase your social media buttons to encourage them to follow
• Ensure any discount codes you use are clickable so you can easily add them to the basket upon checkout.

Increase Urgency

There’s nothing like a ticking clock to help people decide. This doesn’t work for everyone, but adding urgency to the task is a great way to help people make a definitive decision. 

Essentially, this is nudge marketing which is about gently pushing customers toward making a purchase. One way to do this is by creating a sense of urgency. For instance, you can use pop-up bars to show how many people are currently buying a product or how many items are left in stock. You can also apply flash deals to products with time-limited offers or use final sales or clearance banners with a set end date and a countdown timer to reinforce the urgency.

Simplify Checkout

70% of customers will abandon a sale if the checkout process is too complex. You expect people to jump through hoops to complete the sale. 

You want to remove all distractions from the checkout. You need to allow guest check out and show a progress bar so people can see how far into the checkout they are and what is left. This works better with a short process. Another great way to reinforce your checkout is to use the trust seals you have at the beginning. This not only reassures customers that they’re in safe hands when entering their details but also instills a sense of security and confidence in the purchase process.

Increase Payment Options

The more ways people can pay, the morue likely they will be to check out. If you have limited options and people don’t feel confident in sharing those details with you, they will simply click off, never to return again.  

You must offer a minimum of the standard debit and credit card payment options. However, you should consider adding other payment options, such as Paypal, Discover, Google Pay, Apple Pay, Amazon Pay, Cash App, and Zelle. 

Another option is to allow customers to use their existing credit to spread payments for more expensive purchases. This is known as ecommerce installments. It’s an excellent option for those who can’t afford a high upfront cost and can significantly increase conversions. If this is a barrier you’re facing, offering this type of payment can make your products more accessible and appealing to a wider range of customers.  

Improve Site Search

Just because you know where to find everything and how to navigate the site doesn’t mean everyone will be able to figure it out. Improved navigation and site search can help people find their way around and ensure they get to where they want to go and find things easily without having to sift through unrelated sections of the website. While certain layouts and designs might look sleek and help you appear more professional, if the site is hard to navigate, this is most definitely dragging down conversions.

You need easy-to-find search bars, hints, or text in search bars to preempt what people are looking for or to show what you have matching search terms. Autocorrect and auto-suggest with a high error tolerance to help reduce mistakes in searches, adding prompts to product listings can be beneficial, as can personalized recommendations based on previous search history.

Benefits, not Features

The customer wants to know why they need to make the sale and how it will improve their lives. Of course, they want to know what it can do, but highlighting features alone doesn’t sell. However, allowing the customer to imagine what life can be like with the purchase in their hands can help.

In addition, you need to highlight the benefits of shopping with you. You need to explain these benefits, how you’re different, and what you can provide for them. The more you appeal to them, the more likely they will be to purchase.

There are multiple tricks you can use to help you boost ecommerce conversion rates, and the ones mentioned in this post cna be great places to start.