Even when it feels like you’ve dotted every “i” and crossed every “t”, you may still find your conversion rates to be low. It can be tricky to understand what causes potential customers to abandon the sales funnel, and frustrating to not see the results of your optimization efforts. 

People get distracted from completing their purchases for many different reasons. While it’s impossible to keep every website visitor focused, there are some simple changes you can make to your Shopify store to help increase conversions. This guide will focus on the best ways to achieve conversion rate optimization with some tips and tools you may not have tried yet. 

Understanding the E-commerce Conversion Rate

Before we get into the more advanced ways to increase conversions, let’s make sure you’ve nailed the basics. By understanding the ins and outs of an e-commerce conversion rate, you can set realistic expectations for your online store. Learn more about some of the concepts outlined below in our Detailed Guide to E-commerce Conversion Rate.  

What is a Conversion Rate?

A conversion rate describes the percentage of the total number of website visits that result in the conversion action. A conversion is an action defined by you and your marketing team, and could be anything from purchasing a product to subscribing to a newsletter to registering for an event. Most e-commerce businesses define conversions as sales. 

So, essentially, your conversion rate measures how many people visit your website and complete a purchase. 

How is Conversion Rate Calculated?

Let’s continue with the assumption that the conversion action you are tracking is sales. In this case, the conversion rate is calculated by taking the number of sales and dividing it by the total number of visitors to your website during the same time period. 

For example, if you had 50 sales from 1,000 visitors, your conversion rate would be 5%, since 50 ÷ 1,000 = 5%.

The easiest way to calculate your conversion rate is to find it in Google Analytics and Shopify’s Analytics. In Shopify, look for “Online store conversion rate” to see what your current Shopify conversion rate is. 

What is the Average Shopify Conversion Rate?

According to one survey, the best estimate of the average conversion rate for Shopify was 1.4%. A good conversion rate would be anything more than 3.2%, which would put you in the top 20% of Shopify stores. Note that these rates vary depending on the product or service you offer. Conversion rates are contextual, meaning that luxury and high-end products will have low conversion rates when compared to everyday staples.

Why is Your E-commerce Conversion Rate Low?

Even the best-performing Shopify stores have conversion rates lower than 4%. But, if you’re still worried about a low conversion rate, it’s time to diagnose the issue and make changes that will start to show you an uptick in sales. Check to see if one or more of these five issues is preventing a great user experience — and disrupting your conversion optimization rate. 

Lack of Optimization

To optimize your conversion rate, you may need to optimize a few other aspects of your site first. Neglecting search engine optimization (SEO) and mobile optimization, for instance, will lead to lower e-commerce conversion rates. 

Search engine optimization is the practice of crafting content and structuring your site’s pages so they appear in response to online searches. When someone uses a keyword related to your product, a search engine (e.g., Google) should be able to link the keyword to your online store and show your page in its results. Keep in mind that Google’s goal is to show the most relevant content in each search result. If your page doesn’t show up, it means traffic will be low — and your conversion rate will also be affected.

Likewise, mobile optimization is another key practice that can’t be ignored. Pew Research estimates that 15% of American adults are “smartphone-only” internet users, meaning they don’t have a way to access the internet on any device other than their mobile device. That number is rising, especially among younger generations. 

Shopify store owners who aren’t equipped to provide a great user experience on mobile devices will lose visitors, and consequently conversions. It’s no longer enough to make sure your landing pages are readable on a smaller screen. Mobile optimization requires a thoughtful approach to curating your site in a way that’s easy to navigate in a few taps and swipes. 

Issues at Checkout

Making it difficult for someone to complete their purchase is a surefire way to get low conversion rates. The more complicated your checkout process, the more likely you are to lose a customer before they hit “pay”. 

What are some signs that your checkout process is too complex? Check how many fields or forms a customer has to fill out. Reduce the number of fields to only those that are necessary to complete shipping and payment. 

Hidden costs and added shipping costs can also result in cart abandonment. If you don’t offer plenty of ways to pay—including all major credit and debit cards, Paypal, or a buy now, pay later option — you could be inadvertently preventing someone from completing their purchase.

Try not to let upsell and cross-sell offers distract users from converting. Check out our guide, Ultimate Guide to Shopify Upsells and Cross-Sells, to get the inside scoop on using upsell opportunities on your Shopify checkout page. 

Low-Quality Images

In the case of conversion rate optimization, image matters. “Using the right images can boost your site’s conversions and get you to connect better with your target audience,” wrote Neil Patel, a marketing expert. 

If you use low-quality images, you could be losing the attention of your viewers. Humans have short attention spans. We’re easily attracted by pictures and videos. Add these visual cues to help website visitors scan your product pages and quickly find what they need. If they can’t see clearly what products you offer, they’re likely to abandon your Shopify store quickly. And, make sure your images are high-definition and sized properly for the template that you’re using. 

Poor Website Design

Website design plays a major role in e-commerce conversion rates. Elements like poor navigation, long load times, and an unintuitive landing page can turn visitors away from completing the conversion action. Someone who clicks into your website should be able to quickly find the thing they need using the navigation menu and sorting or filtering options. Make sure there are menus in place to allow someone to browse the site without feeling frustrated or confused. 

Not sure what part of your website design is causing problems? A tool like PageSpeed Insights can help determine where there may be a technical issue. This tool can provide recommendations that help improve page load speed by reducing image sizes, JavasScript elements, and other elements.  

Lack of Social Proof

In a worst-case scenario, your low conversion rate could be low because customers don’t trust your brand. E-commerce sites often battle with credibility, since customers can’t simply walk into a storefront to verify a product’s quality at will. Social proof — reviews and recommendations from unbiased sources — is necessary to boost your conversion rate. Your e-commerce page could have a low conversion rate because it lacks customer reviews, testimonials, and other forms of social proof that show customers you’re a legitimate brand. 

8 Ways to Increase Your Conversion Rate

With these obstacles in mind, increasing your conversion rate can seem like a big task. Fortunately, there are tools you can use and easy changes you can make to your e-commerce site to make a big difference. Here are some ways to reduce cart abandonment and optimize your conversion rate by setting up a fantastic customer experience. 

Remove obstacles in the customer journey

If you’ve ever taken a marketing course, you may be familiar with the customer journey. Briefly, the journey (sometimes called a funnel) represents the steps someone goes through from becoming aware of your brand to purchasing your product for the first time. 

Along the journey, there are many reasons for a customer to stray from the path. Don’t let your e-commerce store experience be one of those reasons. Arrange your website with intuitive navigation to make it easy to find what they need. Your home page, for instance, should include important details that convince a visitor to stay and explore more. It should: 

• Be mobile friendly 
• Highlight your top-selling products
• Have a navigation menu that makes it easy to go to your product pages
• ​Organize your site by product categories
• Offer support and contact options
• Include video, or at least high-quality images

Product pages should have consistent structures with options to filter items by defining characteristics (e.g., size, color, availability, etc.). Make sure your pages flow together so that there’s no reason for a customer to click out before the checkout process is complete. 

Use an upsell app at the right moment

Upselling is a great way to make the most of your conversions, maximizing each average order value regardless of your conversion rate. There’s no one right way to upsell on your Shopify store, but if you’re dealing with a low conversion rate, you may need to change your method.  

An upsell app can help you determine when is the ideal time to send your upsell offer, whether it's an add-on, related products, or free shipping, to a potential customer. With Honeycomb, you gain the ability to recommend upsell products multiple times throughout the customer journey, priming each user to take advantage of add-ons as they shop. Honeycomb lets you place these offers on the product page, cart page, checkout page, thank you page, and even the blog page. 

As you refine your upsell process, Honeycomb offers the tools to get better insights into what works. Its funnel split tests and A/B tests show you what special offers are getting the most traction. A suite of analytics enables you to see key metrics, including conversion, Return On Investment (ROI), Average Order Value (AOV), revenue, and more. You can then place your most powerful upsell offer at the point of the customer journey where it won’t prevent someone from converting — and could actually increase your conversions significantly. 

Write crystal clear copy

There’s a reason why newspapers put their best stories “above the fold”. These compelling headlines were meant to attract readers’ attention and sell more papers. The same is true on your product pages. It’s important to give your customer the information they need, structured in the most interesting way. 

What does this look like in practice? Start with a product name in the headline that’s easily recognizable. Use keywords that someone will be searching for naturally. As someone reads down the page, make sure to include key details: what is the product, and why is it valuable or unique? Approach your product from a customer’s point of view to understand what questions they need to be answered in your product description in order to add this item to their cart. 

This is not the space to add branded terms that a customer might not understand. Keep your copy clear, straightforward, and compelling. 

Showcase verified customer reviews

Part of writing a good copy is including some form of social proof. It’s estimated that 90% of people are much more likely to trust a brand that’s been recommended by others — even if those “others” are strangers on the internet. Featuring reviews from verified customers can take your conversion rate to the next level. 

You can get these reviews through social media as well as through your website. Shopify includes an option to add reviews to your website through various apps. Some small business tools like Clover and Square also provide ways to ask for customer feedback. Sharing these reviews is an important way to help build trust in your brand—especially at a key moment when someone is primed to consider purchasing from you. 

Go beyond one product photo

One high-quality photo isn’t always enough to convince someone to buy. Showcase your product from multiple angles. Include people, measurements, or other objects to show the product at scale. Many e-commerce sites also use video content or gifs in addition to images. These assets can help someone understand how to use a product as well as its size.

Keep in mind that any image, video, or gif you use should be optimized for mobile and page load speed. This guide for developers can help you learn if your videos and images are correctly formatted for your Shopify site. Keep in mind that page load speed has an impact on your SEO rating, too, so it’s important to get your images right. 

Set up A/B tests

Test everything to see where you might be able to improve the customer experience. Some stores set up A/B tests for product pages, landing pages, and even checkout pages to see if different forms and scripts net different conversion rates. 

You can also split test your upsell funnels with Honeycomb. When a split test is launched through the Honeycomb app, your funnel’s traffic is randomly divided equally between the different versions of your funnel. This allows you to prove that one version of the funnel is better than the other. See if one offer resonates more than the other, if a discount value makes a difference, or if a certain piece of copy sells better than another.

Once you’ve gotten past the mechanics of your page, testing is a great way to make sure the design elements you’ve been tinkering with truly resonate. 

Offer live customer support 

Machine learning and chatbots make it easy to provide a basic level of real-time customer service without hiring an entire team of staff. Live chat support can answer questions that might otherwise prevent someone from clicking “buy”. If you aren’t able to add a chatbot app or have a team member monitor your page for customer questions, build an FAQs page. This page should reasonably answer questions about returns, shipping, sizing, materials, and anything else someone could use to avoid making a purchase. 

Accept multiple ways to pay

Today’s customers want to pay how they want, when they want to. For instance, one out of three American shoppers took advantage of a “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) program in 2022. 

E-commerce merchants can increase conversion rates by accepting payments in many forms – including credit and debit cards, gift cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and more. You might consider offering a subscription option to allow users to save recurring payments. Some businesses are even accepting payment from peer-to-peer platforms like Paypal and Venmo. 

Whatever you choose to offer, make sure it’s clear what payment types you’ll accept and the ways you’re keeping their payment information secure. 

Conclusion

As you seek to improve the conversion rate of your Shopify website, it can be a good idea to get  a little help from apps like Honeycomb. There are tons of tools available to optimize your website and increase your sales. Start by diving into the cogs and wheels of your site's mechanics. Is your site loading quickly? Do the images look good? Is it easy to navigate? 

From there, add on some bells and whistles that will make it fun for your customers to stay and shop. This is where marketing strategies like upselling can make a big difference. Honeycomb’s upsell offers, a live chatbot support tool, and even videos and gifs can make your e-commerce store stand out. All it takes is a few tweaks to see those sales increase. Learn more about how Conversion Bear can help your Shopify website optimize conversion rates.