eCommerce Conversion Rates, Stats and Best Practices For 2016

For those of you who run an online eCommerce site, we bet you’d like to give your sales a lift.

In this article, we’re going to show you some ways to do just that. We are looking at eCommerce conversion rates, stats and best practices for 2016.

First, let’s look at the average eCommerce conversion rates (the percentage of people who take the desired action on your website).

Conversion Rates

According to one source,  the average conversion rates are as follows:

• First time visitors: 5.10%
• Repeat visitors: 2.50%
• Cart abandonment rate: 71.30%

Another source finds that product page conversion rates average about 8%. What does this tell us? It suggests that shoppers are entering websites more often through product pages instead of the home page.

This same study says that the top converting product pages are doing so at a 59% rate, while the bottom brands hover around .10%.

And, yet one more source sites average eCommerce site conversion rates between 2-3%.

While these rates vary a lot, we can point you in the right direction with the following info on conversion rates:

• 0-1%: Not good. Something might be broken on your site, and you need help.
• 1-2%: Below average. Check your incoming traffic and assess weak points on your pages.
• 2-3%: Average. It’s still a good idea to assess problems on your site.
• 3-5%: Very good. You’re getting somewhere now. Keep working at honing your conversion rate and see if you can leap any higher.
• 5% and above: You are the cream of the crop. Keep up the good work.

Worth noting is that while there are average conversion rates, a great goal is to strive for a rate that is better than the one you have right now.

Make sure that when you are looking at average conversion rates, you are comparing variables that are similar. For example, is your traffic similar to the average conversion rate of the site you are looking at?

Conversion Stats

Now we’re going to look at eCommerce stats per device. These rates were found depending on the device the customer used to place on order on retail sites:

• Tablet: 9%
• Phone: 20%
• Desktop: 71%

These numbers are as of April 2016, and they show that the number of mobile orders (phone and tablet) out of all eCommerce has increased to 29%, up from 25% in 2015.

Mobile ordering is gaining on desktop ordering, although it remains at the top.

When it comes to the platform, iOS devices reign as leader:

• Apple mobile devices account for 75% of mobile eCommerce orders.
• Android devices account for 24%.
  

In 2016, these channels are driving eCommerce:

• Organic: 21%
• CPC (cost per click): 20%
• Email: 18%
  

These numbers are similar to 2015 and drive home the importance of a multi-channel marketing strategy.

Conversion Best Practices

Now that we’ve looked at rates and stats, let’s look at the best practices for eCommerce conversion rates in 2016.

Quality product images. This is the single most important thing on your eCommerce product pages. It’s what entices your website visitors.

Your product images let them know what they’re getting. Not only do you want great images, but you want zoomable images. The zoom function is imperative.

Your customers want to see your product from all angles and at enlarged views. Consider showing alternate views as well as the product in action. For example, if your product is jeans, show a model wearing them.

Rotating 360◦ are a bonus for your eCommerce shoppers.

Consider Golfsmith who claims that when they use the rotating spin feature, their conversion rates are at least 10% and as much as 30%-40% higher than products without it.

Another way to increase conversions is to use product images in the search window. This has been known to increase conversions as well.

Quality product information. Your customers want to know more about what they’re purchasing, so your product descriptions matter.

You want to give potential buyers enough information that they are convinced your product is the right one for them.

Your sales copy should be clear and concise and not misleading.

One trick when writing product copy is to include both a short and a longer version. The short version should capture the essentials of your product – the who, what, when and why. Then, visitors should be able to click to a longer version.

In the longer version, you can give more specifics and details. The long version should include absolutely everything there is to know about the product.

Another tip for writing product copy is to take what the manufacturer wrote, and then rewrite it. The flavor of the copy should be uniquely yours. Talk to your customer and tell them why you like the product.

Product videos. Everyone appreciates your quality images, but some people want more. Give it to them in the form of a video.

A video helps your customer experience your product in real time. We encourage you to try videos for a few of your product pages and see if you see a lift in your conversion rates.

Offer free shipping. Statistics show that free shipping is a great way to increase your conversion rates.

Nearly half of online retailers offer free shipping, and if you aren’t one of them, it’s time to start.

High shipping costs is one of the biggest reasons why people abandon shopping carts or decide to visit a brick and mortar store to make a purchase.

Not sure you want to offer free shipping? Test it out and see if it works for you.

You can also offer free shipping as an exit pop-up when someone gets ready to abandon a cart, or send the offer in an email to someone who has filled a cart in your store.

Offer sales and specials. Online customers are conditioned to wait for the sale or special offer. Do some testing on this practice and see how it works for your site.

Provide enhanced search. In other words, make searching your site easy. Your customers need to find the products they want, and quickly.

Using auto-suggest search functions is a good idea.

In addition, offer filters to your customers. Let them filter products so they get exactly what they want. Once on the product page, you can always show them related products or things you think they’d be interested in.

Provide online customer service. Live chat is the wave of the future because it makes shopping so easy for your customers.

Road Runner Sports does a great job with customer service. In addition to chat options, look at the amazing amount of info provided on their product pages:

• Short and long descriptions
• Videos
• Customer reviews
• Fit Experts
• Personalized shoe finer
• Items you might also like
• A reminder after you add an item to the cart of another product you might need.

They’ve really thought of everything.

To Conclude

We’ve looked at eCommerce conversion rates, stats and best practices for 2016. Now it’s time to put it all into action on your own eCommerce site.

We’ll leave you with a few more best practices.

• Include customer reviews whenever possible.
• Show your badges and awards.
• Display your security certificates so people feel safe shopping your site.
• Offer easy returns.

Don’t forget to put your A/B testing to work for you. Keep what’s successful and ditch the rest to increase your eCommerce site’s conversion rates.

If you are ready to squeeze more profit out of your website by using customer acquisition tools to skyrocket growth among your current customers, that’s great! We’re here to help you optimize your landing pages to increase new customer leads. In fact, we promise you we’ll do just that.

With our guarantee, you can rest assured we will increase your profits through landing page optimization.

If you’re ready to work with the leader in landing pages and conversion rate optimization, contact us today. We’ll provide you with our FREE site performance analysis so we can work on your landing page conversion rates.

Image: Nick de Partee