What Is A Good Shopify Conversion Rate And How to Increase It?
Are you wondering what the industry standard for conversion rates is and how to increase your Shopify conversion? You want more people browsing your online store to end up buying but need to know where to start when it comes to increasing your eCommerce conversion rate.
A good Shopify conversion rate is one that's higher than the average conversion rate, which is around 1.3% for most eCommerce businesses, so a good conversion rate for a Shopify store would be above that. But it also depends on the industry/niche you're working on.
We've got you covered. Here, we'll break down exactly what makes up a good Shopify conversion rate and provide all kinds of insights on how you can get your shop's conversions into top gear. From understanding customer engagement metrics to optimizing product pages—read on to get the inside scoop on boosting your sales with higher conversion rates.
1. Support multiple payment options
Giving customers a range of methods to pay provides flexibility and convenience, making the checkout page experience seamless and allowing them to choose what suits them best.
Credit cards, Apple/Google/Amazon/Shop pay, Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL), cryptocurrencies, you name it. The more accessible the process is, the more likely the customer is going to complete a purchase. Plus, this helps tremendously to reach potential customers from diverse backgrounds and countries.
How to add payment options on Shopify:
- Go to Shopify Admin > Settings > Payments.
- In the Supported payment methods section, click Add payment methods.
- Search by either payment methods or payment providers.
- Pick an option and then click on the Activate button.
- Connect your account credentials with the provider.
- And lastly, click Activate once again.
A word to the wise: If you only set Shopify Payments AND activate a guest checkout option like PayPal or Amazon Pay, you're good to go.
2. Leverage email marketing strategies
Email marketing is no longer a new concept but remains an important source of conversions. In fact, Mailchimp reveals on its 2022 Email Marketing Statistics & Benchmarks that the typical open rate for emails across all industries averages out at a phenomenal 21.33% and around 3% for conversion rates for every 1,000 subscribers.
The right strategies encourage customers to come back and complete their transactions, engage more with your Shopify store, and make more purchases.
Through cart abandonment emails, special promotions, and other unique offers tailored for specific audiences, you'll generate higher conversions and develop customer loyalty that drives repeat transactions. When you have a solid email marketing plan in place, you can extend customer reach beyond initial visits to significantly boost conversion rates.
You can use Attrac's email signup bar as part of your next move to capture email addresses and sends them directly to your email marketing tool – Mailchimp, Klaviyo, or Omnisend. And then create better-targeted automated email campaigns.
Go to Attrac > Integrations to get started, then connect your tool.
Check out this Mailchimp guide: How to Create an Email Campaign, where you'll learn all about email A/B testing, writing, design templates, performance measurement, and more.
3. Share user-generated content (UGC)
As the name suggests, user-generated content (UGC) is content made by users rather than a recognized brand or a typical social media influencer. This type of content often sparks discussion and interaction among online communities and incentivizes engagement.
A 2019 survey by social content marketing platform Stackla found that 79% of people say user-generated content highly impacts their purchasing decisions.
UGC, in the form of text, audio, images, or videos, can create an inviting and infectious atmosphere for potential buyers, fans, and advocates by showcasing direct insight into shoppers' wants and needs – an attractive attribute for anyone about to make a purchase. Furthermore, sharing UGC adds authenticity and personality to a business's online presence.
For example, Bombas is an essentials store that sells ridiculously comfy underwear, socks, t-shirts, and slippers. On social media, a huge part of their content is nurtured by photos, videos, and tweets from shoppers sharing how much they love Bombas, especially the socks.
People tag the brand with the hashtag #BombasInTheWild.
User-generated content includes but is not limited to:
- Social media posts
- Product reviews
- YouTube videos
- Testimonials
- Blog posts
Want to know more about how to implement UGC? Take a look at this article by Sproutsocial: User-generated content: 5 steps to turn customers into advocates.
4. Produce high-quality product images
No one can physically touch or try out a product online, so detailed photos/images that appear as close to tangible reality as possible are the smartest way to tackle this. Think of 3D resources, videos, and even written instructions/details of your products on a graphic piece. Help your customers visualize the product in their hands to reduce the barrier to purchase.
Just like the Scandinavian watch brand Nordgreen does.
If photography isn't your forte, there are plenty of pro photographers out there. All you have to do is search "product photography near me" and shortlist possible providers. As long as you make sure that the images' mood and style align with your eCommerce message and brand identity, everything will be all right.
Data from Etsy's Ultimate Guide to Product Photography shows that what influences 90% of online shoppers to actually buy is the quality of the images.
5. Integrate customer experience tactics
At the heart of every interaction with your customers lies customer experience. Leveraging dynamic personalization, feedback, and omnichannel presence can help build relationships with shoppers, making them more likely to return for future purchases.
Loyalty can be hard-won but easily lost. According to Emplifi, two to three bad experiences are enough for 86% of consumers to walk away from a brand they were once loyal to.
Some ideas to consider implementing:
- Responding to customer inquiries faster.
- Keep refund/return policies stupidly simple.
- Having a detailed FAQ page or help center.
- Creative touches to enhance product packaging.
- Adding automation with an eCommerce chatbot.
- Better payment/shipping options and delivery times.
If you find eCommerce customer experience strategies too much work or are unsure how it should be done, outsourcing is a practical solution. High-quality customer service cuts off some of the legwork and prepares you for any issues that may arise with buyers.
When customers feel heard, respected, and taken care of, it leads to greater customer satisfaction and boosts store reputation, driving conversions in the mid-long term.
Overall, investing in designing a superb customer experience will yield significant returns and give assurance that your customers are receiving the best care from your business.
6. Optimize your store's checkout process (Shopify Plus)
Easy and straightforward. Those are the key words. Research by Baymard Institute suggests that 17% of online shoppers abandon their carts if the checkout is too long/complicated.
The default checkout process provided by Shopify may not be optimized for your customers' experience. However, as a Shopify Plus merchant, you have more options to optimize your checkout process.
Instead of putting your almost customers and regular customers in a never-ending checkout process that'll make them eye-roll at the screen, do this instead:
- Reduce the number of fields to fill out.
- Show checkout progress in stages/steps.
- Make it easy to review carts before purchase.
- Offer express checkouts with PayPal or Amazon Pay.
- Allow guest checkout.
- Activate the Saving cart information option.
Where? You might be wondering.
- Open your Shopify admin and go to Settings.
- From there, click on Checkout and accounts.
- Modify what you see fit and save the changes.
Look at Layered Lounge for a second—clear four-step process with two express checkout options. Far from being something clunky. And nobody has a bad time ordering.
With these simple yet actionable changes, you make room for a better customer shopping experience and accelerate your conversions without frustrating anyone.
7. Offer free shipping on reasonable deliveries
Oh, the beauty of free shipping. This is a compelling element for potential customers, as it lowers the cost associated with shopping online. Offering free shipping also encourages people to buy more of your products, as there are no extra fees for additional items.
A strong marketing push around this offer across your site and on other channels can help increase conversions – 73% of consumers purchase based on the presence of free shipping, meaning your business could be losing out if that option is not on the table.
In order to tick free shipping off your to-do list for increasing Shopify conversions, you have to A) set up your shipping rate and B) follow the 13-step guide to offer free shipping. That's a topic in itself, so it's best if you open a new tab, go through that reading, and then come back.
Take your time. We'll be patiently waiting for you.
Once you're done with the previous configuration, you can use either the announcement bar or embedded banner – with the Attrac app – to promote free shipping across your Shopify store.
What's also true is that the availability of free shipping to every single customer around the world isn't sustainable, so establishing certain criteria (like a minimum order value) is crucial.
Bookmark this for later Shipping Strategies: How To Offer Free, Flat Rate, and More.
8. Work on website search bar optimization
Customers very rarely take deep dives into Shopify stores, often navigating only the top-level pages and menus. But globally, the share of orders placed in eCommerce websites using site search is 20% (The Shopping Index – Salesforce).
This is why fine-tuning your search bar makes a difference in how well website visitors can find the products they're looking for and, ultimately, contributes to improved conversion and reduces the chance of someone leaving your Shopify store empty-handed.
Sorting options, synonym searching, auto-completing words, and product recommendations are some of the features that allow people to narrow down their results to what they want.
Here's how to optimize your store's search bar:
- From the Shopify App Store, install Shopify Search & Discovery.
- Activate the features you find the most convenient.
9. Double-check on mobile responsiveness
Mobile devices alone represent over 58% of website traffic worldwide, so prioritizing this step helps streamline the shopping process by ensuring that customers are able to navigate your Shopify store with ease no matter what device they're using. Fortunately, Shopify makes the responsive side of things quite easy since almost every theme is automatically mobile-friendly.
Check if your store is mobile responsive with Google's Mobile-Friendly Test.
It takes a minute or two to get the test results.
Your website must look, feel and run seamlessly across all devices – desktop, tablet, and smartphone – with no loss of performance quality.
10. Offer discounts for marketing campaigns
Ah, FOMO. We all feel it once in a while: the fear of missing out. You can see it everywhere – for example, in marketing campaigns offering discounts, trying to tempt shoppers with some sense of urgency into making a purchase before they "miss the opportunity."
Discounts encourage shoppers to buy sooner rather than later. This minimizes cart abandonment and entices potential customers who might not have been motivated otherwise.
It undoubtedly has a direct effect on customer acquisition and retention. After all, who doesn't like to save some money? Especially on a product you genuinely want.
83% of US shoppers use coupons for purchases. And what's also true is that a good portion of these people actively searches for coupons online before buying something almost all the time.
Here are a couple of possible discount options for marketing campaigns:
- Coupon code
- Bulk discount
- Loyalty discount
- Limited time offer
- Free shipping offer
- Buy one, get one free
- Percent off promotion
You can actually set up discounts/promotions on Shopify with Attrac.
- From the Attrac dashboard, click on Create campaign.
- Choose whether to display bars or banners.
- Select the type of campaign you want.
- Follow the prompts, and that's it.
This is an example of what a countdown timer bar may look like.
11. Highlight a clear return and refund policy
You don't like being stuck with products you don't like or can't use. Neither do I. If I had to guess, no one – 66% of shoppers go through a website's return and exchange policy before making a purchase decision (UPS). An unclear return and refund policy is a conversion killer.
Make it easy for customers to understand how they can return an item or get their money back. Having policies outlined on your page explicitly spells out how to seek help or resolution in case something goes wrong, reassuring your buyers that their money is safe with you.
Include all applicable terms, conditions, exceptions, and limitations to mitigate potential misunderstandings or complications down the road.
Not sure how to craft your store's return policy? Let Shopify's refund policy generator show you the way – the perfect tool for creating a good return/refund policy in minutes.
Great policies will go far in positively impacting your Shopify conversion rate.
Please note that it's strongly advised to consult with an attorney or legal expert specializing in eCommerce operations' unique requirements and regulations.
Templates for return policies can be helpful starting points. Still, the final policy should be tailored to your business needs and adhere to applicable laws in your jurisdiction.
12. Implement eCommerce popup alternatives
How about re-thinking the eCommerce popup altogether? Interactive and non-intrusive experiences are a great way to capture attention and maximize your Shopify conversion rate and sales with bars, surveys, banners, polls, quizzes, forms, and more.
Canadian maple syrup brand Escuminac has a free shipping bar that illustrates this point.
We made a guide on email popup alternatives for Shopify that covers everything from types of email popups and how to add popups all the way to considerations when creating popups. With these insights, you'll be able to make strategies that achieve better results.
To get the most out of it, aim to match your messages with the purpose of your Shopify store—be it running sale campaigns, introducing discounts, or announcing product launches. Overall, integrating this tactic will grow part of your Shopify conversion rates by offering a less intrusive, more targeted, and more user-friendly experience for visitors.
Add value to your eCommerce store and watch your Shopify conversion rate jump
With the right mix of tactics like supporting multiple payment gateways, email marketing, UGC, optimizing checkout processes, and more, Shopify store owners can use this comprehensive list as a guide when looking at new strategies for Shopify conversion rate optimization.
So try multiple approaches — experiment, adjust and iterate as often as necessary.
The more value-adding features you integrate into your Shopify store, the more customers it'll magnetize and drive conversions in a positive direction. Why wait? Take action now and document your Shopify conversion rate progress. We'd love to hear how that goes.