First of all, what are E-commerce conversion rates?
E-commerce conversion rates refer to the percentage of website visitors who take a desired action, such as making a purchase or filling out a form. It is typically calculated by dividing the number of conversions by the number of website visitors and expressing the result as a percentage. A high conversion rate indicates that many visitors are taking the desired action, while a low conversion rate suggests that the website or marketing efforts may need improvement. We can continue now that you understand why your business must have a reasonable conversion rate.
1st Mistake: Required registration during checkout
Mandatory registration during checkout will negatively impact the conversion rate of an E-commerce store for several reasons. One reason is that it adds an extra step to the checkout process, which can be seen as a barrier to purchase for some customers.
Yeah, but why?
Keep in mind just this: Simplicity is the most important thing. Every step that creates more “friction” in the buying process for customers must be eliminated. If you don’t eliminate unnecessary steps, it will undoubtedly lead to customers abandoning their shopping carts. Additionally, some customers may be hesitant to provide their personal information, such as their email addresses, for fear of receiving spam or unwanted marketing emails. So, to be sure that you encourage every customer to finish their purchase, add the “Continue as a guest” option, or just don’t ask them for registration at all.
2nd Mistake: Neglect social proof
Having enough social proof at the right place can impact your conversion rate.
One reason is that customers often rely on social proof, such as customer reviews and ratings, to make purchasing decisions. Without this information, customers may be more hesitant to make a purchase, as they do not have any assurance of the product’s quality or value. Another reason is that a lack of social proof can make a store look untrustworthy and unestablished. Customers may be more likely to purchase from a store with a proven track record of satisfied customers rather than one with no customer reviews or ratings.
Try to use social proof on your website as we suggest here:
You see that you all need to be moderate when adding social proof. You can follow the flow we’ve provided you here for the home page, but for other pages like the product page, you should consult your marketing team to be 100% sure where to add social proof that matters.
3rd Mistake: Shipping cost dilemmas
Free shipping is one of the potent motivators for customers to complete a purchase. It can increase the perceived value of the products and make the overall cost of the investment more attractive. Free shipping can also reduce the perceived risk of online purchases by eliminating unexpected shipping costs at checkout. Free shipping can increase customer trust and loyalty, leading to repeat purchases in the future.
In order to offer free shipping, profit needs to come down, right?
Not at all. Here are a few ways to offer your customers free shipping while maintaining a desirable profit.
- Minimum Order Value: Set a minimum order value for customers to qualify for free shipping. A minimum order number can help offset the cost of shipping for smaller orders.
- Product pricing: Increase the price of your products slightly to cover the shipping cost. This can be done without affecting the customer’s perceived value of the products.
- Free Shipping only for Repeat Customers (Your members): This could be a loyalty program where customers who frequently shop with you get free shipping as a reward.
4th Mistake: Not having an excellent user experience on the checkout page
If you successfully win the customer till this phase, losing them will be a massive shame. You need to provide them with even better UX on the checkout page than you did on the other pages, and if you want just that, we have fantastic designers and developers to make that happen for your Magento store. So don’t hesitate to contact us!
Here is precisely what a good checkout page UX can do:
- Reduce friction: A smooth and easy checkout process can reduce the amount of time and effort required for customers to complete a purchase, making it more likely that they will do so. We’ve already spoken about reducing friction and unnecessary steps, so you get the point.
- Increase trust: A well-designed and secure checkout page can increase customer trust in the website, making them more comfortable entering their personal and financial information.
- Reduce cart abandonment: A good UX can reduce the number of customers who add items to their cart but then leave the website without completing the purchase.
- Increase customer loyalty: A positive experience on the checkout page can create a positive impression of the website, leading to repeat purchases in the future.
- Mobile friendly: With most of the online purchases happening on mobile devices, it’s essential that the checkout page is mobile-friendly, easy to use, and optimized for smaller screens. We’ll talk about this more in a bit.
5th Mistake: Your shop isn’t optimized for mobile enough
30% of all mobile shoppers will abandon a transaction if the experience isn’t optimized for mobile. This makes it very simple: you must provide your customers with the best mobile experience to get their trust. If you don’t already have a mobile-optimized website, now is the time to create one, and here you can read more about how the Hyvä theme can help your business. Also, 63% of people are expected to buy more through mobile devices in the coming years. You understand now how vital this can be for your conversion rate.
And what else? Many users abandon a page that takes more than 3 seconds to load. That tells you that you need to have a pretty designed and functional experience on mobile but also fast. Like it or not, you can’t neglect it. You should improve your mobile optimization strategy and give mobile users the same or even better experience than desktops.
6th Mistake: Having just one payment option
This is a no-brainer. More is better and more convenient. But if you’re not sure that more is better for your business, let us convince you with facts.
- Increased convenience: Offering various payment options can make the purchasing process more convenient for customers, as they can choose the option that best suits their needs.
- Increased sales: By offering multiple payment options, you can increase the number of potential customers who can purchase on your website. Some customers may prefer a specific payment method, such as a credit card or PayPal.
- Increased security: Some payment methods, such as those that utilize tokenization or encryption, can provide increased protection for both the customer and the business.
- Increased trust: Offering various well-known and secure payment options can increase customer trust in your website and make them more comfortable entering their personal and financial information.
- Increased global reach: Multiple payment options can be crucial if you’re targeting a global market, as different countries have different preferred payment methods, and it’s essential to cater to the needs of your international customers.
From a technical standing point, integrating more payment options on your website can be tricky. Because of that, you need to ensure that your partner is experienced enough in Magento stores. If you have made it through this article till now, you already know the right fit for your needs. Contact us!
Conclusion
You can now clearly see how conversion rate optimization is crucial for the success of any e-commerce website. By avoiding common mistakes that we cover, you can significantly improve your conversion rate and increase sales. Remember, conversion rate optimization is an ongoing process, and it’s essential to continuously monitor and test different elements on your website to see what works best for your specific audience. By paying attention to the key factors that influence conversion, you can make data-driven decisions that can help you to improve your website’s performance and drive more sales.