27 Scientific Strategies to Increase Your eCommerce Conversion Rate

Depending on the industry, the average conversion rate for eCommerce is between 2.5% and 3%.

However, products priced over $50 see a drop in conversions, increasing even more for products priced more than $150 and then $500. 

Since higher price points present longer decision-making times, it’ll fall on your business to keep selling by making the buying experience smoother and more trustworthy. 

Something that the most successful eCommerce stores are doing right while converting up to 20% of their visitors.

So, what do they do differently? 

Science: They rely heavily on assessing user behavior & working on feedback.

How To Increase eCommerce Conversion Rates

1. Ease Navigation So Shoppers Move Faster 

2. Design For Mobile To Increase eCommerce Conversions

3. Simplify Your Checkout Process

4. Highlight Free Shipping at Checkout

5. Go Beyond The Usual Urgency Tactics

6. Accelerate Product Discovery

7. Create Exceptional Product Descriptions

8. Reduce Hesitation With Better Product Photos

9. Show Relevant Social Proof on Key Pages

10. Prevent Cart Abandonment With Segmented Pop-Ups

11. Optimize CTAs For Key Emotional Moments

12. Progressively Disclose a Friendly Return Policy

13. Optimize The Customer Journey For Higher Conversions

14. Make The Shopping Cart More Compelling

15. Segment and Personalize User Generated Content

16. Highlight Key Benefits Through Copy

17. Turn Micro-Conversions Into More Sales

18. Spruce Up Product Pages with Video Content

19. Make Pricing a Talking Point to Improve Conversion Rates

20. Improve eCommerce Conversions Through Positive Associations

21. Turn Browsers into Buyers With Intelligent Recommendations

22. Use Well-Placed Discounts Across The Funnel

20. Use Customer-Shared Data to Deliver Tailored Offers

24. Drive eCommerce Conversion Rate with Pre-Orders

25. Create a Clear Customer Retention Strategy

26. Make The Live Chat Function More Helpful

27. Speed Up Your Website Load Time

1. Ease Navigation So Shoppers Move Faster 

The science behind this: You want to reduce your shoppers' cognitive load. Make things so simple that they take the next step almost automatically (don't make them work hard to understand).

A simple, well-organized navigation can help increasing conversions when you:

✅ Limit featured categories – more than 5 visible categories in the main navigation and shopper attention isn’t as sharp anymore.

✅ Offer quick access links to returning visitors – showing links like “Recently Viewed” and “Your Wishlist” in the main menu can be really reassuring. 

✅ Improve contextual navigation within product pages – add smart in‑page links: “Shop similar styles,” “Other colors,” “Pair it with…” so navigation feels like sliding sideways instead of restarting.

Further Reading: eCommerce Navigation Best Practices For 2025

2. Design For Mobile To Increase eCommerce Conversions

The science behind this: Change blindness—a visual phenomenon—can cause shoppers to miss key elements in their mobile journey, leading to lower conversions. 

Since 60% of e-commerce traffic comes from mobile, and 53% of sales happen on mobile sites, a mobile-first design should increase e-commerce conversion rates:

✅ Use subtle animation for mobile cart updates – use subtle animations (cart icon bounce, progress bar slide, color shift) to confirm changes.

✅ Use a sticky CTA across product pages – this is what you’d need to do unless it’s a super short product page without recommendations increasing scroll length.

✅ Show discount expiry through micro modals – and let these be subtle slide-ins that show a mini countdown for urgency and which shoppers can easily close through an accessible “X” button.

Further Reading: 32 Ways to Increase eCommerce Mobile Conversion Rate in 2025

3. Simplify Your Checkout Process 

The science behind this: The principle of transparency is all about building trust around uncertainty—and since much of cart abandonment happens during checkout, using this principle to increase eCommerce conversions really works. 

Here are some key scientific ways to improve checkout conversion rates:

✅ One-Click checkout – let returning customers save details for instant purchases.

✅ Exit-Intent offers – display discounts or free shipping pop-ups when users try to leave.

✅ Save cart for later – allow users to return without losing their selections.

✅ Express payment options – integrate Apple Pay, Google Pay, and PayPal for faster transactions.

✅ Pre-Filled promo codes – automatically apply eligible discounts to prevent drop-offs.

✅ Smart error messaging – provide clear, real-time feedback to fix mistakes without frustration.

✅ Localized checkout experience – show prices in local currencies and offer region-specific payment methods as a dropdown list.

Further Reading: eCommerce Checkout UX: 13 Tips To Boost Conversions (+ Templates)

4. Highlight Free Shipping at Checkout

The science behind this: The psychology of “free”, a cognitive bias also known as the zero price effect, makes shoppers perceive significantly higher value in "$50 + free shipping" versus "$45 + $5 shipping”.

In such cases, apart from including the price of shipping in the total cost, how you position & frame it at checkout can potentially reduce abandonment. 

✅ Highlight in the cart first – having “free shipping - no minimum required” appear in the cart is a great checkout nudge.

✅ Always highlight how much they’re saving on shipping – Show subtle microcopy like “shipping to this location is usually $8.99 — shop with us and it’s free!”

✅ Show non-distracting micro-animations – something like “Congratulations! You've unlocked free shipping" can help buyers look past how much they’re spending.

eCommerce brand Rheal Superfoods takes this approach to “visually reward” subscription buyers within the cart itself — so that they can keep moving towards checkout:

Further Reading: How To Offer Free Shipping — And Recover Costs Too

5. Go Beyond The Usual Urgency Tactics

The science behind this: Urgency taps into loss aversion—the fear of missing out is twice as powerful as the joy of gaining something. 

But it’s 2025, and eCommerce shoppers spot fake urgency tactics the second they spot them — which means you’ll have to use them in a way that inspires action than repels it. 

✅ Combine multiple compatible signals together – like alongside saying “7 left in stock,” also mention that "15 people have added this to their cart in the past hour.”

✅ Tie urgency to seasonal factors – especially powerful during peak holiday shopping season with messaging like  "Holiday shipping cutoff: Dec 18th for guaranteed delivery."

✅ Reveal inventory pressure gradually as users engage ​​– show messaging based on where the shopper is in the funnel - for example, someone who has just added to cart sees "Note: This is one of our top 3 sellers this month” but someone who returns to their cart later sees "11 other customers have this in their cart right now." 

eCommerce brand Male MD introduces countdown timers for seasonal sales on a distinct notification bar for improving eCommerce conversion rates:

6. Accelerate Product Discovery

The science behind this: Information Foraging Theory is a principle from cognitive psychology that suggests people (like animals foraging for food) are most interested in maximizing gains and minimizing effort.

When shoppers find products faster, they buy faster. 

When improving e-commerce conversion rate optimization through product discovery, ensure to:

✅ Make it easy to “filter” options from any part of the site – like a homepage product recommendation “quick view” modal can show all variants.

✅ Show bestsellers the moment someone clicks on search – your AI recommendation system can fetch suggestions based on browsing and purchase history.

✅ Highlight labels that’ll make shoppers pay attention – is a sub-category low on stock? Does a category have fresh arrivals? Show these as labels in the main navigation.

Further Reading: 33 Scientific Ways To Improve eCommerce Product Discovery

7. Create Exceptional Product Descriptions

The science behind this: Cognitive fluency ensures a piece of information is easily understandable. And the more easily understandable something is, the more positively the brain feels about that piece of information. 

If you've been wondering how to scientifically improve ecommerce conversions, product descriptions have got to:

✅ Mirror shopper speak in the language you use –  so that even if it carries a distinct brand tone, it’s still super relatable.

Pro Tip: Read descriptions out loud to test for mental ease.

✅ Use a combination of graphic icons & text where necessary – this is especially useful where you want to show multiple steps to using the product right. 

✅ Less adjectives, more outcome-based verbs – while it’s tempting to use “brilliant” for a shave, words like “lasts” and “glides” are more likely to create instant impact.

Cookware brand Anyday uses the flow of their product descriptions to create cognitive fluency and in turn, take the conversion rate higher. Notice how they first summarize, then specify and finally build trust:

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Further Reading: 23 Key Elements Every Product Description Page Must Have (eCommerce)

8. Reduce Hesitation With Better Product Photos

The science behind this: The design principle of context comes into the picture because, in an eCommerce scenario, shoppers can't touch and feel the product before deciding.

Shoppers can’t touch or feel products online, so crisp, detailed visuals help bridge the gap and increase e-commerce conversion rates. 

The more confidence they have, the more likely they are to buy.

Here’s how to make your product images work as a scientific conversion strategy:

✅ Use Hi-Res, Professional Photos – clear, well-lit images build trust.

✅ Show Multiple Angles – give a complete view to reduce hesitation.

✅ Enable Smooth Zoom – let shoppers inspect details effortlessly (with a “+” button on mobile).

✅ Highlight Unique Features – close-ups of textures, patterns, and materials enhance clarity.

✅ Provide Size & Scale References – essential for apparel, furniture, and accessories.

Further Reading: Our Favorite Hero Image Examples in eCommerce (+ Conversion Secrets)

9. Show Relevant Social Proof on Key Pages

The science behind this: Peppering different kinds of social proof across high intent pages creates what’s known as sequential trust building. It maps shopper psychology based on the effect the page has on the funnel. 

To get this eCommerce conversion rate strategy right:

✅ Show social proof on scale on category pages – this is especially helpful if you’re using the category page banner to drive shopper attention towards limited drops or pre-orders ("Join 5000 satisfied customers to get yours - ending soon!) 

✅ Show social proof around use cases on product pages – this is because last-minute hesitation requires relatable reassurance than your brand proclaiming how good it is (show result-driven snippets like “Removed my acne outbreak in 2 weeks flat”)

✅ Show social proof around real-time sales at checkout – one of the key ways to keep shoppers on the checkout path is to normalize the buying decision on the checkout page (and social proof like “Sarah from Austin just bought this 3 minutes ago” helps in creating reliability and urgency at the same time.)

Further Reading: 15 Ways To Get The Most Out Of Social Proof (eCommerce)

10. Prevent Cart Abandonment With Segmented Pop-Ups

The science behind this: Loss Aversion can be an able scientific strategy to use under these circumstances because people are essentially more afraid of losing something than of gaining something else.

To truly improve your online store conversion rate, you need to personalize exit-intent offers based on where shoppers are in the funnel.

✅ New visitors? “Leaving already? Your 20% expires with your cart in <insert countdown timer>”

✅ High cart value shoppers? “Your bag qualifies for free express shipping — but only if you finish checkout now”

✅ Loyalty program members? “You’re about to miss 120 reward points — enough for $12 off your next order”

✅ Discount seekers? “Want a discount top-up? Spin to win and apply!”

✅ High intent shoppers? “Need help choosing? Take our 30-second quiz and get 5% off”

Further Reading: 20 Powerful FOMO Marketing Ideas for eCommerce

Watch: eCommerce Brands Improving Conversions By Making Small UX Improvements

11. Optimize CTAs For Key Emotional Moments

The science behind this: The Frogg Behavior Model suggests that behavior is a result of motivation multiplied by ability multiplied by prompt. And when it comes to CTAs, optimizing for motivation, ability and prompt followed by placing them across key moments of readiness can be an eCommerce conversion driver.

To make CTAs more compelling across the customer journey:

✅ Add context to remove hesitation – Reinforce action with microcopy (e.g., "Easy returns, hassle-free refunds").

✅ Show visible progress towards goals – when you combine CTAs with clearly numbered steps or progress bars, the awaited action becomes clearer.

✅ Play on language to create future anticipation – Add to Cart may be familiar but choosing benefit-specific language for CTA text can be a gamechanger (like: “Declutter My Home” for a customized home-cleaning service)

Further Reading: CTA Button Examples (+ 50 Call to Action Phrases)

12. Progressively Disclose a Friendly Return Policy

The science behind this: Commitment Escalation is a scientific strategy that ensures shoppers invest in microcommitments first before macro converting. And this is why, when they see progressive disclosure of a return policy, they’re more likely to keep wanting to purchase. 

Here’s how to apply this to improve eCommerce conversion optimisation:

✅ Show the key benefit across landing pages – whether it;s your homepage or ad landing pages, summarize the key benefit as something like “now returns window extended to 45 days.”

✅ Show a “Learn More” expandable link – and place this wherever you mention returns as microcopy, the link can simply open up into a modal with highlights before the shopper reaches product pages.

✅ Link to the full return policy at key decision points – show it on the product page, the cart review, checkout page and even live chat window.

Further Reading: 14 Brilliant Examples of eCommerce Return Policy (+ Proven Tips)

13. Optimize The Customer Journey For Higher Conversions

The science behind this: You want to invite cognitive ease for shoppers to think and act faster across the conversion funnel. 

A growing sense of trust in a shopper that has begun their journey with your brand, ensures they will come back for more. 

✅ Personalize ads according to intent signals — prioritize watching signals like frequency of visits, pages browsed, engagement depth and search queries. 

✅ Make it easy to spot & take product finder quizzes — include a tooltip for every spread in the quiz and limit questions to up to 5 only with multi-choice answers.

✅ Improve the way post-purchase & retention work — reinforce trust in existing customers by including more how-to content across emails and incentivizing actions like leaving reviews. 

Aggregator fashion brand Revolve is known for shooting post-purchase email sequences that keep existing shoppers engaged and anticipating to see what comes next. Calling out incentives at the post-purchase stage for leaving reviews and making referrals can be a scientific strategy for increasing conversion rate.

Further Reading: The Founder's Guide to Customer Journey Map (eCommerce)

14. Make The Shopping Cart More Compelling

The science behind this: Choice Architecture is a concept that suggests that how options are presented (or the flow in which people see them), decides how they will choose and act on them. 

When you use this scientific strategy to make your cart flow more appealing to shoppers, eCommerce conversion rates improve. 

✅ Auto-apply relevant discounts – just make sure you have differently designed microcopy appear which suggests the discount is enabled and anchor the price difference to create conviction.

✅ Frame urgency in smarter ways – the more personalized it is, the more actionable the shopper finds it: ““Your size is almost gone. Secure it now” or even “Checkout in the next 30 mins for same-day dispatch 🚚’.

✅ Gamify the progress bar – while free shipping was the key driver once upon a time, you can break the bar up into multiple benefit thresholds to improve AOV as well. 

Beauty brand Cocokind, for example, features a “build your routine” nudge in their cart with some discounted options, but largely complementary products that a shopper will find easy using together:

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Further Reading: 52 Cart Abandonment Email Subject Lines That Actually Work

15. Segment and Personalize User Generated Content

The science behind this: In eCommerce UX, signal-to-noise ratio determines the balance between what’s immediately relevant for the shopper versus data that means very little. 

When it comes to UGC, there’s a fine line. Many times, high intent shoppers will convert only if they see UGC proof that is relatable to their circumstances, challenges or needs. 

✅ Match UGC with the shopper intent — for example, while first-time visitors will be looking for UGC that builds on trust, those at a deeper consideration stage will look for content that throw more light on benefits and product experience.

✅ Experiment with timing and placement — for high-intent products, choose to show snippets above the fold. Similarly, for products that need higher consideration, you may want to optimize personalized UGC on the checkout page.

✅ Use UGC type very strategically — while mixed UGC spread out in separate sections may be compelling on the homepage, more visually led UGC work especially well for product pages.

F&B brand Dalci shows a mix of user generated content on their homepage, which includes logos of stores that stock their products and customer review snippets. 

Further Reading: 27 Brilliant User-Generated Content Examples (eCommerce)

16. Highlight Key Benefits Through Copy

The science behind this: Good writing that also creates a narrative for your products can light up the neural circuitry in your shoppers’ brains—and this, in turn, can convince them to buy.

Here’s how to improve eCommerce conversion rates by highlighting what’s most important:

✅ Explain features more as outcomes – instead of “100% organic cotton,” say “Breathe easier in clothes that are softer on your skin — and the planet.”

✅ Brand values / actions of integrity – do you avoid chemicals? Do you have a fair trade policy? It needs to come out why a shopper must emotionally invest in your brand.

✅ Use rewarding copy on CTAs – unless shoppers have very high intent, Add to Cart just adds to change blindness - consider using copy that describes the product like “Get My Cooling Pillow”.

Consider personal care brand Highlight Ritual’s approach to highlighting key benefits to improve eCommerce conversion rate, and you’ll notice this small brand uses a lot of BTS material as well as content sections on expertise:

Further Reading: Marketing Lessons from 10 Great DTC Brands

17. Turn Micro-Conversions Into More Sales

The science behind this: The design of micro-conversions relies on developmental milestones—the idea that a set of markers along a journey need to be met before the final maturation or destination (in this case, a macro conversion).

While the assumption is that a shopper micro-converting will finally buy at some point, a more strategic method is to blend micro-conversions into buying more seamlessly. 

Here’s how to do it if your final goal is to increase e-commerce conversion rates:

✅ Wishlists that are more engaging – featuring the “hint” system during seasonal sales helps, and so do sending “Your wishlist item is almost sold out” alerts.

✅ Make email signup discounts progressively urgent – show a pop-up with “Enjoy 10% off your first order today” and follow it up with an email with a countdown timer to the discount.

✅ Let shoppers “Compare” proactively – bring this feature out as a highlighted tool within the main navigation and even as a secondary CTA on listing pages for high value products. 

Further Reading: 19 Brilliant Ways to Get More Micro-Conversions (For 2025)

18. Spruce Up Product Pages with Video Content

The science behind this: Cognitive fluency is the phenomenon where shoppers convert faster when they’re able to relate to a product quicker because of smoother understanding — something that video content on product pages facilitates.

When it comes to scientific ways to improve conversions, creating product page videos that answer questions like, “Will it work for me?” can be a gamechanger.

✅ Go for hands-on demo videos over static unboxings —this makes the shopper’s interaction with the product natural, flowing through the actual experience of using it.

✅ Bring out the “aha” moment within the first five seconds — the main product benefits should begin to land as soon as a shopper starts the video.

✅ Add captions for the product’s sensory pay-offs — along with sound cues like tapping, zipping, pouring, captions that expand sensorial awareness can send conversions soaring (like “adjusts in seconds” or “ultra soft to touch”).

19. Make Pricing a Talking Point to Improve Conversion Rates

The science behind this: Psychological pricing hits the “sweet” spot the shopper finds agreeable (based on competition, perceived value, etc.) and convinces them to buy more.

Improving conversion rates in e-commerce means finding the sweet spot where value, competition, and segmentation align. 

Here are simple but effective pricing hacks to increase your e-commerce conversion rate:

✅ Anchor against prices reflected in browsing history – if someone browsed premium items for 20+ minutes, anchor your mid-tier product against those premium prices ("30% less than the designer version you viewed")

✅ Go beyond generic sales to drive interest –  pre-holiday "last production run" pricing, end-of-season "clearing inventory space"  or "winter shipping window closing" for international products.

✅ Use a progressive value disclosure tactic – reveal the base price of a product first (applies more to tech, electronics and home decor) and then go on to show additional value-adds and even upgrade options.

Further Reading: eCommerce Pricing Strategy: 13 Standout Brand Examples

20. Improve eCommerce Conversions Through Positive Associations

The science behind this: The Availability Heuristic makes it easy for shoppers to act on an event when they’re able to recall more positive associations with that event. This is why featuring recent product page reviews is so critical to increasing eCommerce conversion rates.

Here’s how you can increase eCommerce conversion rate through positive associations:

✅ Engaging reviews – add videos to reviews, make them searchable and pin the best ones at the top. 

✅ Urgency messaging – make it subtle yet personalized and relatable: “20 people have Size S in their cart right now.”

✅ Social proof in cart – to get ‘em to click on the checkout CTA, show messaging like “You’re about to join 25,000 happy customers.”

✅ Memorable content on PDPs – be it microcopy highlights that convey benefits or bulleted lists that capture the most important benefits. 

Tech brand Avantree designs its product pages simply, but ensure content blocks do justice to both customer objections and the need for building trust:

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Further Reading: 30 Ways to Build Trust FAST (On Your eCommerce Store)

21. Turn Browsers into Buyers With Intelligent Recommendations

The science behind this: Information framing is a principle that allows an eCommerce business to frame a set of recommendations within a narrative that the buyer is likely to take seriously—based on a target segment’s biases and preferences.

Here are smart product recommendation optimizations to increase e-commerce conversion rates:

✅ "Frequently Bought Together" bundles – increase AOV by suggesting complementary products.

✅ Dynamic homepage suggestions – feature trending, seasonal, or recently viewed items for instant engagement.

✅ Smart category page filters – highlight bestsellers, top-rated items, and new arrivals within categories.

✅ Cart & checkout upsells – show relevant add-ons or upgrades right before purchase.

✅ Context-aware suggestions – adjust recommendations based on user location, device, or shopping behavior.

✅ Post-purchase cross-selling – follow up with personalized emails suggesting useful add-ons.

Further Reading: eCommerce Product Recommendations: Strategies, Examples, Do's/Don'ts

22. Use Well-Placed Discounts Across The Funnel

The science behind this: This is all about Sunk Cost Fallacy, which is a way in which shoppers keep moving towards a purchase because they’ve invested in it heavily — and strategically placed discounts across the funnel simply help this process more. 

Here’s how to make discounts work in the favor of improving eCommerce conversion rates:

✅ Cart abandonment discounts – bring back shoppers who left without purchasing — best placed in the cart & checkout.

✅ Loyalty & repeat purchase offers – reward returning customers to boost retention — show on the homepage, as tiles on category pages and as nudges on product pages.

✅ Limited-time deals – create urgency and drive faster decisions.

✅ Threshold-based discounts – encourage higher spending with free shipping or bundle offers  — works well on both category pages and product pages.

eCommerce giant H&M for example takes a multi-pronged approach to discounts, including flash sales with "24 hours only" messaging, abandoned cart emails with limited-time discount code, size scarcity notifications ("Only size M left!") and seasonal clearance events that create artificial urgency like the following:

Further Reading: eCommerce Tiered Discount: 10 Awesome Examples You'd Want To Copy

23. Use Customer-Shared Data to Deliver Tailored Offers

The science behind this: Using zero-party data for hyper-personalization falls back on the principle of purpose limitation, that is, to use the information that’s compatible only with an agreed purpose.

Shoppers value privacy and personalization—brands that use consensual data smartly will win their trust and boost e-commerce conversions in 2025.

Here’s how to leverage zero-party data the right way:

✅ Gather preferences through quizzes & surveys – let shoppers tell you what they want.

✅ Personalize notification bars & banners based on behavior – swap out generic promo banners with dynamic ones that match known preferences (like “This week only: 15% off vegan bestsellers picked just for you.”)

✅ Feature free gifts over $ value based on preferences – “You’re $150 away from earning a free eco‑friendly tote” if they’ve been looking at bags and carry-ons.

Further Reading: 7 Smarter Marketing Alternatives to Third-Party Cookies (for eCommerce)

24. Drive eCommerce Conversion Rate with Pre-Orders

The science behind this: Pre-orders relate to the psychology of hype that blows up any announcement of a scarce kind, and that becomes a marketing tactic on its own.

Here are some optimizations to increase product pre-orders and boost e-commerce conversions: 

✅ Create specific preorder perks – give pre-order customers special benefits like priority shipping or limited-edition packaging.

✅ Combine pre-orders with bundles – run with a specific theme but declare X number of bundles (we don’t suggest more than 3) with differently tiered pricing.

✅ Add exclusive bonuses for pre-orders only – bundle pre-orders with digital bonuses, early access, or exclusive add-ons that won't be available at launch.

Some more optimizations to keep in mind:

Further Reading: 6 Ways to Make Your Products Look Exclusive (& Real-world Examples)

25. Create a Clear Customer Retention Strategy

The science behind this: A customer retention strategy connects back to reinforcement theory, which has to do with customers getting more of what they want by doing certain tasks (in this case, engaging with a brand longer, buying more, etc).

Start by mapping your customer journey to use this tactic for higher eCommerce conversions:.

✅ Set up engaging post-purchase communication – after every order, build a sequence that extends the purchase experience instead of ending it - include tips, send a discount for writing a review etc.

✅ Create retention offers only from zero & first party data  – someone who buys skincare for dry skin sees “Your hydration routine — save 15% when you restock today.”

✅ Issue loyalty perks that grow over time  – go beyond transactions to include early access to launches, free gifts, community invites etc.

Further Reading: 30 Underutilized Strategies For Increasing Customer Lifetime Value In eCommerce

26. Make the Live Chat Function More Helpful

The science behind this: The principle of interactivity, which is especially relevant in web 2.0, treats clear & real-time communication as a cornerstone of customer experience.

Here are some live chat optimizations to increase e-commerce conversion rates:

✅ Use AI + Human support – let chatbots handle FAQs & route complex queries to real agents.

✅ Personalize responses – greet users by name & suggest relevant products based on browsing history.

✅ Offer 24/7 support (or set expectations) –eEven if agents aren’t available, let customers know when they’ll get a response.

✅ Use proactive chat nudges – trigger helpful messages based on user behavior (e.g., “Need help choosing a size?”).

24. Speed Up Your Website Load Time

The science behind this: Most people expect websites to load within two seconds—this relates to performance-related stress that can lead to shoppers experiencing negative emotions, which in turn can affect their engagement with an eCommerce brand.

Did you know that 47% of shoppers expect a site to load in under 2 seconds? 

Mobile users, especially, want fast browsing & checkout experiences.

Here’s how to improve eCommerce conversion rates by speeding up your site:

✅ Optimize more for psychological speed than actual speed –  use skeleton screens, progressive loading, and instant hover previews on product images to make the mobile site feel faster. 

✅ Use predictive pre-loading based on real-time actions – go beyond the all-or-nothing approach in pre-loading to only pre-load the next step - for example, preload the checkout page when someone adds to cart.

✅ Sequence third party scripts strategically – load conversion tracking first, then customer reviews, then social proof widgets, finally non-essential analytics. 

Further Reading: Smart Ways To Speed Up Your eCommerce Store (Top 5 Platforms Covered)

Recommended reading:

13 eCommerce Leaders Share How To Improve eCommerce User Experience

The Right Way to Calculate eCommerce Conversion Rate (& How to Improve it)

Using AI for Conversion Rate Optimization: 7 Proven Strategies for eCommerce Stores

FAQ - eCommerce Conversion Rate:

1. How do you define & calculate eCommerce conversion rate? 

eCommerce conversion rate is most commonly defined as the percentage of website visitors who make a purchase on your store, with a specific time period set for calculation. 

Your store’s eCommerce conversion rate = Total number of conversions / Total number of visitors * 100

Realistically, how your store’s eCommerce conversion rate fares depends on multiple factors including:

✓ Industry type (industries that see a longer product life cycle typically have a lower conversion rate)

✓ Traffic source (ads, for example, can increase conversion rate by bringing in more high intent traffic)

✓ Device type (while many shoppers do their research on mobile, they convert on desktop)

And yet, there are other areas where you’d want to calculate eCommerce conversion rates:

👉 Landing page conversion rate = Number of desired action / Total number of visitors * 100

👉 Product page conversion rate = Number of add to carts / Total no. of page visitors * 100

👉 Cart to purchase conversion rate = No. of completed purchases / Total cart adds * 100

👉 Email marketing conversion rate = No. of purchases from email / Total email opens * 100

2. What is a good eCommerce conversion rate?

eCommerce conversion rates across industries seem to lie between 1% and 3% generally. 

According to merchant net profit platform IRP Commerce, as recently as May 2022, the conversion rate across eCommerce businesses averaged at 1.78%.

When businesses aim for a baseline conversion rate of 3% +, it’s considered to be a good benchmark to have. 

You'll love: eCommerce Conversion Rate by Industry (2024 Update)

3. What factors contribute to eCommerce conversion rates staying low?

There are a bunch of varying factors that can come together to make your eCommerce conversion rate fall or keep it at a low level. Here are the most significant ones if you've been wondering how to scientifically improve ecommerce conversions:

Unoptimized product pages

This essentially means visitors are not converting on your product pages for several possible reasons: not knowing how to act, not finding the information they need, not seeing good deals, not seeing suggestions that match their preferences & lifestyle etc. 

Confusing or outdated search & navigation

The search functionality on an eCommerce website is the foremost factor that contributes to shoppers finding their way through the complexity of landing, product and category pages. 

Low or badly timed customer support

‍In the lack of a brick and mortar setup, customers may need advice and information on a bunch of queries.

A lack of either can lead them to feeling lost and not converting at all. 

‍A painfully long checkout process

‍Too many steps after a product has been added to the cart can annoy customers no end.

Once they have already picked a product, they don’t want to spend extra time paying for it or being offered a payment confirmation notification.

‍Lack of mobile optimization

‍Many eCommerce businesses have the misconception that whatever works for their websites, will also work on mobile.

However, mobile needs very targeted optimization strategies to impact conversions in a positive way. Here’s an exhaustive list.

4. Which metrics scientifically make a difference to testing and improving eCommerce conversion rates?

Every eCommerce business that we help via audits, wishes improving eCommerce conversions was easier. Truth is it can be with the right CRO & UX driven efforts, alongside assessing metrics that have a direct impact:

Conversion Rate (CR): And no not just the overall site conversion rate. Make sure to segment it by traffic source, device, product category, customer type etc.

Revenue Per Visitor (RPV): More nuanced than CR, RPV actually accounts for even the slightest changes in AOV. Which means even if a business is showing lower conversion rate and higher AOV, it’s most likely succeeding better than a business with just a high CR. 

‍Statistical Significance: Since successful CRO is all about the right sample sizes, this metric is critical (yet overlooked). Most tests need 1,000+ conversions per variant to reach statistical significance, depending on the expected effect size.

5. Over what period is eCommerce conversion rate measured?

While there's no standard answer for this, most businesses prefer to measure eCommerce conversion rates for at least three months at a stretch.

The reason is simple: a shorter time may not be reliable for finding out overarching patterns.

And then again, some businesses do conversion rate measurements across various sections of the business.

They may choose to look at conversions across:

- Loyal customers vs. New customers

- Bestselling categories vs. Slower selling categories

- Sitewide sales vs. Personalized offers

- Peak season sales vs. the rest of the year

- Several buyer locations separately

- Separate devices

6. Which key aspects define an effective eCommerce conversion rate strategy?

High-intent pages

That would be your homepage, category pages, product pages as well the checkout. 

The cart page also counts but if you have a great mini cart drawer, it’ll naturally make more shoppers lean towards checking out. 

How these pages are organized, how well shoppers are able to make out the nature of the products displayed, how the layout convinces them to keep engaging with filters, reviews, forms etc. are crucial.  

Overall design and UX

The “flow” of your website is critical. After all, to engage shoppers, bring in the micro-conversions and improve conversions, they need to find it seamless: easy to know where to go, easy to find support and easy to act while moving from page to page. 

Copywriting

Labels, product descriptions, headlines and microcopy across your website need copywriting. 

And how each of these create clarity, inspiration and action for your shoppers decides how well your site is able to convert in the longer haul. 

Quality and relevance of visuals

In the absence of a physical store, visuals are quite literally one of the only ways shoppers can instill trust in your brand. 

Attempting to increase your eCommerce conversion rate without paying attention to the quality of images is a bad idea. 

Search, discovery and navigation

Standalone elements like dynamic search, well-structured navigation and hooks like notification bars & sticky menus have to work together to ring in conversions. 

Product recommendations

Relevance, frequency and positioning of your product recommendations are the key elements that you need to define before diversifying your eCommerce conversion rate strategy. 

Pricing & offers

While defining your conversion rate strategy, you’ll have to consider what the competition is doing and what price points your existing customers have been more amenable to. 

Similarly, it’ll be important to find out what times of the year discounts work best and if regular flash sales would be a good idea for your business (based on the category, brand recall etc.)

Returns & shipping

How long will your return window be? Should you extend it during certain times of the year? 

Will you offer free shipping—if yes, will there be conditions? How many shipping options can you realistically offer to enhance customer experience? 

You’ll have to figure out answers to these if you have to build a great eCommerce conversion rate strategy.

7. What are the common misconceptions around eCommerce conversion rates?

Implementing eCommerce CRO best practices will instantly resolve conversion issues

This is a big illusion because uplifting your eCommerce conversion rate means a bunch of other things, including having a robust marketing strategy and innovating on product offerings as time goes by, amongst several more. 

Some branding tweaks here and there, and sales will improve

‍ This is a dangerous assumption made by many businesses that think branding is ONLY about the look and feel. In reality, branding is about WHAT you do to make your customers’ buying journey a whole lot easier and enjoyable. 

Doing what a competitor is doing will change the eCommerce conversion rate for the better

‍Nothing is farther from the truth. Even in the same category, every business is different - right from their USP to the way they prefer engaging with customers.

So no two businesses employing the same techniques can ever have the same results. 

Read: eCommerce Conversion Rate Optimization: 40+ Practical Ideas, Examples, Checklists

8. What are some unusual ways of improving eCommerce conversions?

There are a number of understood ways of improving eCommerce conversion rates, but there are some rare ones too.

Here are some that work well when applied with care and consideration. 

Use your primary CTA to talk about the value proposition

‍More than something feel-good, customers are willing to take action on something that promises them tangible benefits.

A prime example is Shopify’s “create your store”. 

Make your live chat feature multiple languages

‍You guessed it right - everyone talks about the live chat feature but not enough about how the chosen language of communication keeps it relevant.

We suggest featuring at least two more important languages apart from English to make it relevant for a wider audience. 

Employ odd pricing

‍It leverages slight adjustments to pricing and reaps big benefits.

It creates the illusion of a much better price alternative whereas it in fact is not. For example, consider $12.79 instead of $13.

This is an instance of odd pricing that makes the customer pay attention only to the first two digits to come to a positive buying decision. 

Before great conversions comes memorable UX...

98% of visitors who visit an eCommerce site—drop off without buying anything.

Why: user experience issues that cause friction for visitors.

And this is the problem Convertcart solves.

We've helped 500+ eCommerce stores (in the US) improve user experience—and 2X their conversions.

How we can help you:

Our conversion experts can audit your site—identify UX issues, and suggest changes to improve conversions.