Getting people to your site isn’t always the hardest part. For many eCommerce websites, the main problem is getting people to buy something. In fact, the median conversion rate for eCommerce sites is less than 2%. This means only a tiny fraction of your visitors are actual customers.
Remove unnecessary steps from the checkout process
How many clicks does it take to get to the end of your checkout process? The longer it takes to checkout, the more likely a customer is to walk away. An “add to cart” button on the home page is great, but not if it takes you to another “add to cart” page that takes you to another “add to cart” button. Most online shoppers expect that adding something to the cart means they’ve actually put it in their cart. Only require the info you really need. Of all personal data, people are most protective of their phone numbers. By not requiring a phone number, you may be able to improve your conversion rate.
Go after the emails of newcomers
When you visit the established eCommerce sites, you will realize that they take email collection very serious. The people behind them understand getting the emails of new visitors is the best ecommerce lead generation tool for establishing long lasting contacts.
To get them, sometimes takes more than just providing an email form through website lead generation software. People are not always free to give out their email addresses especially when there is nothing to gain from it. Some ecommerce sites give special deals to entice newcomers to put their email address on the eCommerce lead generation email list.
Roaman’s, for instance gives free shipping coupon for every first time registrants on their site. Another brand that uses the same ecommerce lead generation strategy is Woman Within. This has worked for these brands and they remain popular with shoppers.
Integrate a site search
The simple truth behind adding site search functionality to your e-commerce website is that it helps with conversions. In an article published by Econsultancy, they share that a site with search functionality converts visitors at 4.63% versus the average of 2.77% of sites that don’t have a search bar. These additional purchases contribute to 13.8% of revenues.
A reason for the higher conversion rate? Visitors using the search bar are typically in the late stages of the buyer’s journey. They are finishing up product comparisons or are ready to make a purchase. That’s why it is imperative to find a search system that will return relevant results. Better yet, consider a search bar that provides an auto-finish feature to help generate products as the user is typing.
Make sure your calls to action are obvious enough
Calls to action are what you want people to do – and your most important one is ‘buy now’ or ‘add to cart’. Make sure these are easy for people to see and select. Unless you optimise your site for mobiles, you may end up with Buy Now buttons that are barely big enough for a customer to see let alone get a big finger on.
It’s also a good idea to make sure that all your call to action buttons are big, clear and in a different colour to your main website colours so they stand out. Notice how nearly all the sites shown earlier use this to great affect.
TMO Group is a web development company in China. More about our eCommerce website development services please send us an email!
