Why am I not converting?
It can be disheartening to spend a lot of time and money opening an online store and not see the results you were hoping for; but you're not alone. There are many reasons your ecommerce store may not be converting. Let's take a look at some of the main ones...
Long and cumbersome checkout
Is your checkout seamless? A third of shoppers who abandon their carts do so because the checkout process is too long and complicated. Streamlining the checkout process keeps customers on the right track to conversion, real-time data verification can be a simple and effective way to quickly capture accurate customer details such as address, email or phone.
Poor site navigation and search functionality
Without optimizing your ecommerce site navigation and search functionality, how can prospective customers find you and your products? Is your site optimized with the latest search and indexing technology?
Not A /B tested
Have you A/B tested the key components of your site? Without A/B testing, how do you know whether your site is performing to its upmost capacity? Having two versions of the same page to experiment with colors, buttons, and copy will give you a better idea of your customer's preferences, and their needs. Be sure to only test one item at a time or you will lose track of what drives the most results.
No recommendations
Do you display product recommendations and reviews throughout your user experience? If not, you could be missing out on loads of extra revenue from upselling and cross-promotion. Collecting and displaying product reviews is extremely helpful in encouraging customers to complete a purchase especially as according to Fan & Fuel 94% of online customers read reviews before making any purchasing decisions. And for product-specific information, results from a survey from the Spiegel Research Centre shows that 95% of shoppers read reviews before making a purchase.
No live chat option
Do you offer live chat? What if shoppers have an urgent question that requires an immediate answer? If a shopper can't get the information they need, they are likely to leave your site in favour of a competitor who offers a similar product and immediate support.
Shipping issues
Are you clear about your shipping services, and do you offer customers the choice to get their goods on their terms? Customers are demanding, and ever more so as online shopping and delivery becomes even more common. It is important to ensure you're providing a great customer shipping experience with a range of options that meet their budget and their schedule. Another important element of shipping is to ensure the delivery data you capture is accurate, did you know that 62% of online shoppers have experienced a late or failed delivery, with 19% of those failed deliveries due to inaccurate delivery address details, according to retailers.
No user feedback
Do you know what a customer really thinks about the shopping experience on your site? By actively requesting feedback from your customers, your business can gain deep insight into a customer's perspective including what they like and don't like, and what they want to see more of. User insight gives businesses the opportunity to make necessary design, technological, or operational improvements to ensure a better experience on a customer's next visit.
How many of the above did you answer 'yes' to? Chances are, there are some areas of your ecommerce site that could use a bit of TLC, and that's why we're here to help. In the next few chapters, we'll cover some of the most important ecommerce tools and how they can help you improve conversion rates while providing a great customer experience.