How To Increase The Conversion Of Your Online Store

How has e-commerce changed and how to use these changes?

The pandemic and quarantine have taken e-commerce to a new level: the ability to order goods at home for people locked inside 4 walls has come in handy more than ever. According to various sources, during the period of self-isolation, National online trading platforms received 15-17 million new buyers. Recent research shows that online shopping is 66% of the points of contact between sellers and buyers.

Getting used to deliveries and a large selection, everyone began to move from popular hypermarkets to specialized outlets: analysts found that more and more people who buy online dairy, meat or bakery products are looking for stores that strictly sell these products. Narrow specialization serves as a sign of quality and a wide range of products within the segment for buyers.

How can online stores (including especially small ones) use these 2 circumstances to increase conversions?

The very fact of having an online platform is already a way to reach new buyers. But everyone already knows this. Not everyone knows what to change on the site so that it brings even more sales. We will talk about this further.

Even if you have a small store, you can find new customers online. And this is despite the fact that it is extremely difficult for small online stores to compete with large retailers (such as Wildberries, Ozon and others) for positions in the search. Search engines prefer them and it's hard to do anything about it. But buyers' reversals to small, highly specialized outlets give them a chance. In this article, you will learn how to tune in to the buying wave to the maximum.

Let's analyze the online store by shelves and draw up a checklist of ways to increase conversion.

Appearance, Usability, Technical Side

1. Improve your layout and design. Web designers are not artists for a long time, to do "as I see": the site's appearance should be holistic and well thought out. Convenient - this new is beautiful. How it should be: the user opened the site and immediately understood where to go next, how to buy, how to pay, how to get help, and so on. He does not stumble over the design, does not get annoyed with it, does not want to leave. Creating a comfortable experience on the site is the path to sales.

It is best to place products in 4-5 columns. The most converted position is in the upper left corner.

Design is more than a simple combination of colors and shapes. This includes an understanding of consumer psychology, an assessment of convenience and travel, and a way to bring to the fore the goods that need to be sold first.

2. Adapt the site for mobile devices. No one will buy anything on a beautiful site that opens from a mobile like a sheet of tiny letters and pictures.

The only exceptions to all those who need a mobile version are websites that sell expensive goods. For example, cars, large household appliances - something that is expensive and bought for more than one year. Before buying a smart two-meter refrigerator, people look at reviews, read reviews and instructions, and all this is more convenient to do by thoroughly sitting in front of a computer or laptop monitor, rather than a smartphone.

If the assortment of your online store is FMCG (fast moving consumer goods), then mobile adaptation is necessary. You can order groceries or postponed goods at a discount from your mobile while sitting in a traffic jam or descending the subway along a long escalator. Therefore, FMCG retailers need a mobile version of the site or a responsive design - we told you which is better to choose . Whichever of these options you choose, place products in 2 columns to increase conversion.

Also use "lazy loading" - this is a type of content loading in which initially only those images and product cards that the user can see are loaded. The rest are loaded as you scroll.

Extend the type of mobile keyboards for checkout, that is, for checkout pages. As a rule, the order form has several fields, and few people like to fill them out. Make it easy this way: for example, add a simplified keyboard to fill out an email or phone number form.

You can also develop an application or implement a trendy PWA technology . Many people like to install applications just in case or out of curiosity ("just look"). In February-March 2020, researchers recorded an increase in downloads of retailers' mobile applications.

3. Use smart site search. The fact that search in general should be in any online store, that it should be noticeable - these are common truths. In addition, it also has to work in such a way as to understand the user perfectly.

What is needed for this? It is necessary that he be able to search not just throughout the site, but by the names of goods, by their numbers in the catalog, by categories.

It also needs to take into account typos, symbols and abbreviations.

4. Make the elements stand out and contrast. We partially touched on this rule in the previous paragraph, now we will reveal it in more detail. Product categories, active elements, important buttons ("Add to cart", "Buy", personal account icons, navigation elements) should be contrasting with respect to the main background. And the background of active elements should be highlighted so that the buyer does not remember which category he opened.

5. Design a filter system based on customer needs. By using the queries that users find your site, you can highlight important additional product characteristics.

For example, for an online store of curtains, the conversion will be filtering by color, by room, by type of fabric, by size (length / width), by price, by the method of attachment to the curtain. Not many people know different brands that produce curtains and distinguish the products of one brand from another. Therefore, filtering by manufacturer will give the buyer nothing.

6. Create simple navigation. First of all, you need to work out the menu. If it is voluminous, you have many different products, you do not need to make a drop-down menu that will cover all the content. Replace it with a separate catalog page. If the menu is still large, but the categories by which the products are grouped are few, then you can use the drop-down menu. But it needs to be clearly structured for the user, so that he initially understands where to look for which positions.

Use breadcrumbs correctly. Much has been said about this element, many people know about it. Let's just emphasize its importance for conversion: the “breadcrumbs” that appear in the Google snippet shorten the user's journey from view to purchase. Thanks to this snippet, he can go directly from the search results to the desired section of the site and quickly place an order.

Make the footer of your site three-dimensional. For those who do not need it, it will not hurt (because you still need to scroll to it). And for those who need, who are looking for information there, it will be easier to decide on a purchase if there is a lot of information in the footer.

Product Presentation

1. Improve the name, description and characteristics of the product. Online shopping is always almost blind. The more realistic the user can imagine the product and its parameters, the closer he will be to the purchase. Any information that cannot be extracted from photos and videos (more about them later) must be disclosed through text. Reveal what scent a perfume has, what a croissant tastes like, what pajamas feel like.

2. Add photo, video content, 3D animation. Photos in most online stores are already on by default (without them, you can't sell anything to anyone at all), and video and 3D, although not everywhere, are also gradually spreading. This is again a leap into the user's world and an attempt to make the on-screen presentation of the product as close as possible to its real embodiment.

You can and should involve customers in the creation of photos and videos: for example, use your own hashtag on Instagram. This method is actively used in clothing and footwear retail. People buy clothes, make up images, take pictures, post photos on Instagram, accompanying the description with a hashtag. The feed collected by this hashtag is posted on the site, and everything is in the black.

3. Add a reviews section. 67% of users read reviews before buying something, and 88% trust reviews more than friends' recommendations. Users who buy products on your site should be able to come back and share their experiences with everyone.

Of course, reviews and comments on the site need to be moderated so as not to serve as a platform for spammers or posting links. But you can't remove negative reviews: a shining white picture without a single fly in the ointment kills conversion. In 2020, no one will believe in the crystal perfection of anything. Work off negativity, offer marriage bonuses, and so on, but never remove dissatisfied reviews.

If there is a separate page for reviews, use its space to increase conversion: place blocks with products on the right side of the feedback feed.

4. Make important buttons visible. The list of such buttons for buyers and sellers is approximately the same. It includes buttons "Buy", "Buy in one click", "Add to cart", "Add to favorites", "Compare", "Call", social buttons.

For conversion, the buy button is a priority, so in the product feed this button should be placed next to or on the photo. Naturally, it should not cover the entire photo.

5. Add more product details. Information about availability and delivery, notification of price reduction, blocks of similar and related products must be placed on each product card.

This information can be made to work to increase conversions. For example, using the factor of exclusivity or urgency: "Discount price - 3700 rubles, you save 2400 rubles", "Availability of goods in stock: not enough", "This product was viewed by 37 people." In the same way, specifying the methods and terms of delivery works.

All goods that the buyer sends to the basket should be automatically saved in it under all circumstances. The server crashed or the Internet connection and everything became like a fog - it doesn't matter. The user can come back to place an order. If there were a lot of goods in the basket, and after the fog there was not a single one, he will not collect again.

6. Add your order information to your shopping cart. Before buying or ordering, users check the contents of the cart. Each item in the cart should have a short description, and after placing an order, the user should receive a short explanation.

Interaction

With the transition of online shopping activity, retailers were faced with the task of not spoiling the first impression of those who rarely buy in online stores. To grow an audience, online stores must prove that online shopping is easy, convenient, fast and secure. To do this, you need to pay attention to the service, build a customer-oriented interaction strategy. In general, meet the buyer halfway.

1. Install an online consulting service. If we only touch the site, then we can say that we need an online chat, with which visitors can ask a question. But in fact, the presence of such a platform is not enough, and for conversion you need a real consultant to sit behind this online chat. He should be able to answer customer questions, or at least redirect to another department.

2. Add a callback order form. Again, there must be an employee who accepts such applications and calls back to the specified numbers.

When developing such a form, you need to add a field for the phone number, which will be "pulled" from the buyer's account, if he is authorized.

3. Specify contacts in detail. Phone numbers and e-mails of store departments, maps and directions, the maximum variety of ways to contact technical support and sales.

4. Post documentation. Legal information, certificates and so on. This is not to say that the page with this content will be among the most visited, but for some buyers it will serve as proof of the store's reliability and safety.

5. Optimize your website registration. In order for a person to register on the site through the standard form "email + password" in 2020, you need to give him bonuses for this. Or allow registration via social networks.

When filling out a profile, you need to require a minimum of the most important information for you as a retailer. If the shape still turns out to be voluminous, divide it into several subsections.

6. Add a section about payment. All information with instructions and FAQ about payment should be placed on one page. There should be several payment methods.

The payment process itself should be shortened as much as possible. And a minimum of information should be required from the buyer here: for example, when paying by card, it is not necessary to indicate the name and surname, the card number, validity period and CVV / CVC code are enough.

7. Ensure safety. The secure online store has an SSL certificate.

Indicate the logos of all payment systems you work with, as well as information about the public offer and the terms of return.

Pay special attention to payment errors: no one is insured against them, but if they happen, describe them, informatively report what happened and how it can be corrected.

8. Optional: duplicate order information to the buyer's email.

Increased Loyalty And Sales

1. Add pop-up widgets, pop-ups. Only without fanaticism and with the best offers.

2. Develop interactive pickers. This is an algorithm that essentially works like a filter, but easier and more fun in a game format. And play is about engagement, emotion, loyalty. Or you can develop a constructor with which the user can create a product model on his own.

3. Sell ​​items in bundles. Items from the block of related products can be sold as a set together with the main one, of course, with a discount for a large order.

4. Keep a blog, social media. These are platforms for communication - so communicate, communicate, answer questions and initiate discussions. And, of course, generate useful content: tell how and in what real situations the products from your online store will come in handy.

Final Checklist

Appearance, usability, technical side:

- Make a convenient layout and design.

- Customize your site for mobile devices with a mobile version, responsive design, app or PWA.

- Use smart site search (by name, SKU, and so on).

- Make the elements stand out and contrast.

- Design a filter system based on customer needs.

- Create simple and straightforward navigation.

Product introduction:

- Improve the name, description and characteristics of the product - tell about it in detail and in detail.

- Add high-quality photo, video content, 3D animation.

- Add a reviews section.

- Make important buttons visible.

- Add more product details.

- Add your order information to your shopping cart.

Interaction:

- Install an online consulting service.

- Add a callback order form.

- Specify contacts in detail.

- Post documentation.

- Optimize the registration on the site.

- Add a section about payment.

- Ensure security - install an SSL certificate.

- Duplicate order information to buyer's email.

Increasing loyalty and sales:

- Add pop-up widgets, pop-ups.

- Develop interactive pickers.

- Sell ​​items in bundles.

- Keep a blog, social media.

Here, of course, as in the advertisement for hair shampoo - complex “care” works best of all. To promote an online store, the complex of the above works creates that very safe, fast and comfortable online shopping environment. And this environment, in turn, forms the buying activity and new conversions.

If you are the owner of an online store or service site, leave a request to receive a commercial offer for SEO promotion at AIMagnus.