10 Things You Can Do Right Now to Improve Conversion Rates

Your ultimate goal in online retail:having your customers convert

as much as possible

Right now your conversion rates may be satisfactory, but it is always an objective to improve them even further!

What are some ways in which you can improve?

This following list will show you things you may be missing from your site, that you can implement right now!

Follow the list

Implement missing points

Higher conversio

n ratesHigher profits

1. PRESENT YOUR PRODUCT WITH MORE DETAIL

Unlike in physical retail, in online retail customers’ senses are limited.

Since they are unable to touch and see the product in real-life, they experience a perceived risk.

What is the color, material, size and quality of this item in real life?

Is the presentation of it on the site accurate?

So how can you reduce this perceived risk?

Create a more detailed and accurate representation of the product so that customers can explore it and be certain of its appearance in reality.

See how ASOS does it…

Product color description

Product features description

Fabric/material description

Product care instructions

Product and model measurements for comparison

Informational techniques:

Good Picture clarity and quality Multiple

angles of the product shown

Item shown in real context (i.e. worn on model with other clothes)

Catwalk video is available

Zoom-in is available by clicking the image

Visual techniques

Other visual techniques possible:

Picture enlargement (full-page image) Item shown in alternative contexts (i.e. on

different models, in different rooms) 3-D presentation

2. HELP CUSTOMERS WITH CHOOSING THE RIGHT ITEM

Since customers cannot physically experiment with the product they incur a perceived risk of choosing the right item form for them personally

Which size of this dress should I order?

Which shade of this foundation will match me?

How can we help them choose the right item for themselves and reduce this perceived risk?

Categorize forms: Women’s Fashion:

Boohoo Men’s Fashion:

Moss Bros.

Provide guides:◦ Figleaves:

Step 1:

Steps 2-6: questions about fit

A video is shown

Illustrations are shown

Interactive fit finder

Use virtual try-ons:Using virtual reality and avatars

Me Model for fashion e-tailers L’Oreal Paris Makeup Genius app IKEA’s virtual reality feature

3. IMPROVE YOUR CUSTOMER SERVICE

Another way to reduce the perceived risks is by providing excellent customer service to answer inquiries, regarding technicalities and shopping decisions.

… Are you only providing email and social media customer service?

These means are inadequate as they provide slow and often incomplete answers.

Waiting and obtaining insufficient answers prevents customers from finalizing purchases and thus reduces conversions.

So which customer service type is most effective?

Live chats

Offering live chat to help has been proven to effectively increase conversions.

…But why?

It allows immediate replies, a dynamic conversation, answering all of the shopper’s follow-up questions and ensures that all doubts have been removed.

4. ALLOW AND ENCOURAGE CUSTOMER INPUT

Since customers have nothing to gain from advocating for a product/company, unlike the company, they are deemed as a more reliable and objective source to other customers.

Indeed, reviews and testimonials are important to 55% of shoppers.

To improve your conversion rates include and encourage customer input: - Reviews- Testimonials- Ratings- Customers’ photos with the product

Follow French Connection’s example for customer written input:

Follow Boohoo’s example for visual customer input:

5. PROVIDE FREE SHIPPING

The frustrating surprise of shipping cost is the number one reason for cart abandonment.

But take away the surprise element, are customers still irritated simply by needing to pay for shipping?

Yes, they do.

Free shipping is critical to 73% of customers and it is a higher motivator for making a purchase than a products discount.

So if you can provide any form of free shipping, do.

Experiment with the following options to find which is best for your conversions:

Experiment with the following options to find which is best for your conversions: Nationwide/worldwide (may need to raise

products’ prices)

Experiment with the following options to find which is best for your conversions: Nationwide/worldwide (may need to raise

products’ prices) For selected products/categories

Experiment with the following options to find which is best for your conversions: Nationwide/worldwide (may need to raise

products’ prices) For selected products/categories At a minimum order value

Experiment with the following options to find which is best for your conversions: Nationwide/worldwide (may need to raise

products’ prices) For selected products/categories At a minimum order value For a limited time frame

Experiment with the following options to find which is best for your conversions: Nationwide/worldwide (may need to raise

products’ prices) For selected products/categories At a minimum order value For a limited time frame For first time/returning customers

Experiment with the following options to find which is best for your conversions: Nationwide/worldwide (may need to raise

products’ prices) For selected products/categories At a minimum order value For a limited time frame For first time/returning customers For cart abandoners in retargeting emails

6. HAVE A RELIABLE SHIPPING SERVICE

Although the delivery process is mainly in the hands of the delivery company,

your company is the entity the customers have interacted and made business with.

So what does it mean for you?

This means that the responsibility of timely and correct shipping is yours in the eyes of the customers.

And so, you will be the one to suffer the consequences if the delivery is inadequate.

So what can you do?

Choose a shipping company that is known for its reliability and timeliness

For example: Tarte has chosen DHL for international deliveries

So what can you do?

Provide comprehensive shipping information on your website

So what can you do?

Provide a tracking feature for the package and customer service for inquiries

7. OPTIMIZE YOUR RETURN POLICY

Another manner to reduce the inherent perceived risk of online shopping:

A customer-friendly return policy

…What is it comprised of?

A comprehensive return policy information on your website

The number of days allowed to return the product are as many as possible

Free return of the product is available

In cases of late or wrong delivery, compensation is offered (financial or product-wise)

For example, Zappos offers extensive return policy information in the FAQ page:

It also provides a highly customer-friendly policy:

How does it reduce the customers’ perceived risk?

This way, the purchase is not irreversible or unalterable.

The shopper knows that in case they regret their purchase, they can return it at no cost and with low time constraints.

Some companies go even a step further, reducing the risk by postponing the payment.

ThirdLove offers a Podcast’s listeners to pay only for shipping and if the product isn’t returned in 30 days then the customer is charged for the product’s price.

8. PERSONALIZE YOUR PRODUCT RECOMMENDATIONS

Personalized product recommendations (complementary and substitute items) are proven to induce more conversions.

Barilliance found that:

9. IMPLEMENT SOCIAL PROOF

Presenting customers with real-time, personalized notifications, enhances their sense of urgency, builds trust and increases conversions.

These notifications, which Barilliance offers, are based on real data and their frequency, location and appearance can be customized by yourself.

10. USE PERSONALIZED RETARGETING EMAILS

Sending out personalized retargeting emails to your customers allows you to:

- Re-engage and interact with them- Entice them to return to your site- Reduce your shopping cart abandonment

rate by 10%-30%

Now go implement the points you are lacking and increase your conversions!