The goal of ecommerce is to convert site visitors into paying customers. And the more often visitors become buyers, the better the conversion rate. This ratio is called the “ecommerce conversion rate,” and the act of improving it is called “conversion rate optimization.” But what is an ecommerce conversion rate exactly, and how can you optimize it to drive more sales?
In this guide, we’ll break down everything you need to know about ecommerce conversion rates. You’ll learn:
- How to calculate your ecommerce conversion rate
- How rates differ by industry and what to consider when setting a goal
- Tips, tools, and strategies to track and improve ecommerce conversion rates
- How Amazon can help improve ecommerce conversion rates and increase sales
What is an ecommerce conversion rate?
An ecommerce conversion rate shows the percentage of website visitors who take a desired action, like making a purchase. You can calculate it by dividing the number of purchases by the total visitors and then multiplying by 100 to get a percent. So if you had 5,000 visitors and 250 made a purchase, your conversion rate would be 5%.
Why is your ecommerce conversion rate important?
Your ecommerce conversion rate is important because it’s an indicator of your online store’s success. For example, a high conversion rate often shows that your marketing is effective, your website is user-friendly, and your products are attractive. In contrast, a low conversion rate might mean you have opportunities to improve your marketing strategies, user experience, or product offerings.
Every bump in your conversion rate means more sales. For example, if you get 10,000 visitors a month and have a 2% conversion rate, doubling that rate to 4% means you double your sales. It also means if you increase the conversion rate, you can increase revenue without more traffic.
4 steps to calculate your conversion rate manually
To calculate your ecommerce conversion rate, follow these steps:
- Count the number of conversions: Identify the total number of purchases or completed desired actions.
- Count your total visitors: Track the number of unique visitors to your website.
- Divide the number of conversions by the total visitors: Number of conversions / total visitors.
- Multiply by 100: Take the answer from step 3 and multiply it by 100 to get a percent.
Here’s an example:
- Let’s say your business received 250 purchases from your website during a period.
- During the same period, your site also had 5,000 visitors.
- 250 divided by 5,000 equals 0.05.
- 0.05 multiplied by 100 equals 5, so the conversion rate is 5%.
Tools for tracking conversion rates
To track and calculate your conversion rate effectively, you need the right tools and technologies. Here are some types of tools you can use:
- Web analytics tools: These tools give you a full look at your website traffic and how visitors behave. They track things like page views, unique visitors, and conversions.
- Conversion optimization platforms: Platforms designed for ecommerce-conversion-rate optimization can track specific conversion actions, run experiments, and analyze website interactions to help you spot areas for improvement.
- Heatmaps and session recording tools: Heatmap tools show you where users click, scroll, and hang out the most on your site. With session recording tools, you can watch videos of visitor sessions to see their behavior and spot any friction points that might affect conversions.
- Funnel analysis tools: Funnel analysis tools let you map and analyze your sales funnel stages, showing where users drop and how they navigate your website. The analysis helps spot bottlenecks and highlights areas where adjustments can boost conversion rates.
- Behavioral analytics tools: While heatmaps and funnel analysis tools give you a visual peek into user behavior and conversion paths, behavioral analytics tools go further. They offer detailed and actionable insights into how users interact with the site.
- Survey and feedback tools: Surveys and feedback forms are great for figuring out why visitors aren’t converting and what you could refine to make their experience better and boost conversions.
What is a good ecommerce conversion rate?
A good ecommerce conversion rate can vary by industry, but it usually hovers around 2% to 3%. That said, the best ecommerce sites can hit conversion rates of 10% or higher. To set a realistic goal, it’s a good idea to benchmark against your specific industry’s standards.
How ecommerce conversion rates differ across industries
Conversion rates can differ across various sectors because of things like the type of products or services, the average price, and the buying behavior and expectations of customers. Every industry has its own challenges, so you need custom strategies to improve conversion rates for your products.
Here are a few examples of industries and their respective conversion rate ranges:
- Food and beverages: 3.7%
- Beauty and skincare: 3.3%
- General apparel: 2.6%
- Home, dining, art, and decor: 2.4%
- General footwear: 2.4%
- Sporting goods: 2.3%
- Toys and learning: 2%
- Active apparel: 1.9%
- Electronics and accessories: 1.9%
- Home appliances: 1.6%
Factors influencing industry-specific conversion rates
Various factors influence conversion rate differences, like how complex the product is, the average order value, and how customers shop. Things like customer trust, the time of year, and market competition also play a role.
For example, industries that people trust or have strong brand loyalty often see higher conversion rates. Also, industries with spikes of demand, like during the holidays, might notice their conversion rates go up and down throughout the year.
By understanding the factors that influence conversion rates in your industry, you can adjust your marketing and optimization efforts to tackle these variables.
Be sure to:
- Look at your industry ecommerce conversion rate benchmarks and think about things like product complexity, customer trust, seasonality, and market competition.
- Build customer trust by being transparent and using customer reviews to identify opportunities to improve your business.
- Adjust your strategies to handle fluctuations in demand and stay competitive with promotions or unique selling points.
10 tips for boosting your conversion rates
Add these tips to your ecommerce strategy to help boost your conversion rates, which could lead to more sales and delighted customers.
1. Improve website speed
Faster loading times can help reduce bounce rates and keep customers interested. The bounce rate is the percentage of visitors who come to your website and leave without clicking on anything or exploring other pages. To help reduce bounce rates, boost your website speed by compressing images and choosing a reliable web hosting service.
2. Optimize for mobile
Make sure your website is mobile-friendly because a lot of traffic and sales come from mobile devices. A fast, responsive design can improve the customer experience on smartphones and tablets, which could mean higher conversion rates for you.
3. Simplify the checkout process
Reduce the number of steps and fields needed to complete a purchase. Make it easy for customers to check out by offering options like guest checkout, autofill, and multiple payment options.
4. Offer multiple payment options
A variety of payment options, like credit cards and digital wallets, can help reduce cart abandonment. In other words, when customers see their preferred payment method, they’re more likely to complete their purchase, which means higher conversion rates.
5. Offer free shipping
One of the biggest reasons for cart abandonment is unexpected shipping costs. Consider offering free shipping or flat-rate shipping to reduce friction in the buying process.
6. Use high-quality images, videos, and more on product pages
High-quality images, video, and other types of engaging content can help customers visualize the product and determine if it will meet their needs. Show different angles, use zoom features, and include videos if possible. Augmented reality is another option customers can use to visualize products in their own environment before purchasing.
7. Build trust with customer reviews and testimonials
Authentic customer reviews and testimonials can help increase trust and credibility. Shoppers are more likely to convert when they see positive feedback from other customers who have already purchased your products.
8. Personalize the shopping experience
Use data and analytics to provide personalized recommendations and tailored product suggestions. Personalization can make customers feel understood and valued, leading to higher engagement and an increased likelihood of conversion.
9. Implement live chat support
Live chat capabilities on your website can help with customer queries and concerns instantly. The immediate assistance can smooth the purchasing process, delighting customers and making them more likely to buy.
10. Experiment
Try experimenting with different headlines, images, and call-to-action buttons to see which combinations work best. A/B testing, for example, can help you optimize your website for better conversion rates based on what’s most appealing to customers.
If you’re a brand owner enrolled in Amazon Brand Registry—a free resource to help build and protect your brand—you can also access advanced SEO resources like the Search Query Performance dashboard and Top Search Terms dashboard.
How Amazon can help with ecommerce conversion rates
Amazon provides a range of services to help you improve ecommerce conversion rates. Here are a few and how to use them:
Enhance your own website
Amazon Pay
With Amazon Pay, customers can check out easily and securely using their Amazon account information. Because shoppers are using a familiar and reliable payment method, they may be more likely to complete their purchases, helping you increase overall sales.
Buy with Prime
With Buy with Prime, you can offer fast, free delivery, a trusted checkout experience, and showcase reviews from Amazon. This can help build trust and covert more shoppers because they know they’re getting the reliable Amazon experience.
Improve your product detail pages
A+ Content
A+ Content lets you take product detail pages to the next level with informative videos, enhanced images, customized text placements, shoppable product-comparison charts, and more. These upgrades can help improve the shopping experience by offering lots of info, answering questions, and helping customers make informed purchasing decisions. A+ Content can help drive brand awareness, encourage repeat purchases, and increase sales.
3D and augmented reality (AR)
3D and AR lets customers see a product from all angles and experience it virtually. With AR, customers can place a virtual version of the product in their own space with View in Your Room. For example, they can see how a chair looks in their living room. Or they can see themselves in shoes and eyewear in real time with Virtual Try-On. These features can help make shopping more fun and let customers feel more confident about their purchase, which can lead to higher conversion rates.
Manage Your Experiments
Manage Your Experiments lets you run A/B tests on product detail pages. You can test titles, images, descriptions, A+ Content, and more. By comparing different versions, you can see what resonates with customers and drives the most sales. And by using data-backed insights to optimize content, you can make informed decisions that can improve conversion rates.
Optimize for Amazon search
In the Amazon store, using the search bar to find products is a popular way for customers to shop. So here are four things you can do to boost the visibility of your products in search and help increase conversion rates:
- Polish product detail pages: Ensure product titles, descriptions, and keywords are optimized for search, and include relevant keywords to increase the chances of your products appearing in search results.
- Use cost-per-click (CPC) advertising: Amazon Ads can help products appear at the top of search results, increasing visibility and the likelihood of conversion.
- Get customer reviews: Positive reviews can boost a product’s ranking and build trust with shoppers.
- Use high-quality images and videos: Visual content can attract attention in search results and provide a better understanding of the product to help drive conversion.
Build customer trust
Vine
When you use Vine, you provide products to a trusted network of reviewers who can try them and leave honest feedback. Then the reviews show up on the product page. More positive reviews can help other shoppers feel more confident about buying the product, which can lead to higher sales and better conversion rates.
Customer Reviews
The Customer Reviews tool helps you track reviews, resolve customer issues, and gain insights to improve your products. When customers leave reviews, you can see what they liked and what needs fixing. By resolving any issues, you can show that you care about customer satisfaction and help to build brand loyalty.
I’ve actually been really impressed—and kind of surprised, quite frankly—at how much Amazon has helped us build the brand; not just on Amazon, but outside of Amazon.
Improve your ecommerce conversion rates with Amazon
Achieving optimal conversion rates can be tricky. But with services for your own channels like Amazon Pay and Buy with Prime, and those that help you optimize your Amazon offerings like A+ Content and 3D and augmented reality, you can make shopping easier and more fun for customers, and—ultimately—boost sales.
