Conversion rate is one of the most important number for growing your business. Even the smallest increase in conversion rate improves your business. Here are 9 Inexpensive Ways to Increase Conversion Rate for Ecommerce businesses.
Most online retailers have an overall conversion rate of 2 to 3 percent.
Conversion Rate = Total Sales/Total Unique Visitors
That means if you have 10,000 unique visitors per month and get 200 orders, you have a conversion rate of 2 percent. If your average order size is $50, then your revenue is $10,000.
What if you raise your conversion rate from 2 percent to 3 percent? That’s an increase of 50 percent or $5,000.
How do you increase conversion rate without spending a lot of money? Here are some ideas to increase conversion rate that are inexpensive.
- Add live chat. Live chat helps answer any questions a buyer may have, such as shipping, availability, or pricing. It is one of these questions that stops the buying process. In case of doubt, the buyer assumes the worst. Once all doubts are cleared buying decisions can be made easily.
- Offer free shipping. Consumers want free shipping. Offer it above a minimum purchase value. People may start buying multiple items from you site just to avail of free shipping.
- Have a cost estimator. One of the most frequent questions buyers have is how much is the total cost. Having an estimator increases transparency & boosts buyer’s confidence.
- Offer promotions in your shopping cart. Shopping cart abandonment is one of the biggest problems in Ecommerce. Providing an extra incentive sometimes encourages buyers to place an order. If possible, customize it based on user preferences. User preferences can be obtained from their previous purchases.
- Offer multiple payment options. Many buyers have specific ways to make payments. Some prefer not to pay by credit card. Offer PayPal or another alternative.
- Use guest account. The first time they buy something from your site many people don’t want to make an account. They generally create an account after 2-3 purchases. That’s when they start trusting your brand. Also account creation is time consuming. Let them skip it. Let them place an order via guest account.
- Make your site fast and secure. Consumers have no tolerance for a slow website – especially on smartphones. But they also need to be secure. People need to be able to trust you with payment information. Invest in SSL certificates, at a minimum, to improve security and trust.
- Have a clear return policy. Many people are skeptical about new businesses, small businesses, online shopping, etc. They wonder if they can return unwanted items. They won’t place an order unless they know they can return unwanted items. This helps boost their confidence.
- A/B test to optimize your cart and checkout process. Many a times things go unnoticed on your site. Try different layouts for your Ecommerce site to see what works, what doesn’t. Try different button sizes, placements, and colors. You may see a particular layout clicks better than the others and increases sales.
Most of these steps are about proactively answering doubts in a buyer’s mind. Remember, even the smallest increase in conversion rate can grow your Ecommerce business.
