Conversion Quick Wins: 8 Easy Ways to Increase Sales

February 9, 2023
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In 2021, eCommerce businesses did pretty well. First of all, the median conversion rate went from 4% to 5.2%, which is a big jump of 30% in just one year. Second, just under 20% of all retail sales in the world were done through eCommerce. Third, the number of digital buyers reached an incredible 2.14 billion in 2021. This means that almost one-third of the world's population bought something online in the past year. This information shows that more and more people are using eCommerce to do their everyday shopping. But the truth is that many people still prefer to buy things in person. PWC says that in December 2021, 47% of people who bought things did so in a store. Keeping this in mind, eCommerce businesses need to find ways to make shopping online just as easy as browsing and buying in a store, if not easier. And it turns out that some techniques for conversion optimization could help them do that. What's the best? Several strategies for increasing conversions can give you quick wins with little effort or money. So, if you want to boost eCommerce sales without breaking your back in the next few months, the eight tips below are a great place to start.

Gamification

Gamification is an original and effective way to increase conversions. The word "gamification" refers to the process of adding game-like elements to things that aren't games. Assigning rewards to activities is a good way to encourage learning, boost both extrinsic and intrinsic motivation, and make boring tasks more interesting. And people have been using gamification to increase sales for a long time. For example, the star-per-dollar system at Starbucks lets customers get their favorite perks just for being loyal customers and interacting with the brand.

Source: starbucks.com It's a pretty simple system, but it seems to work: In 2021, there were 24.2 million people who used Starbucks' loyalty program in the United States alone. When you look at the numbers, it's clear that businesses that use gamification correctly can benefit from it. But you might be wondering why gamification actually works. One reason why gamification works so well to boost sales is that it makes it clear that shopping leads to rewards. Dopamine is released in the brain when people buy things, which gives them a rush of pleasure. But research shows that buying online increases the amount of dopamine that is released. In fact, 76% of Americans say that waiting for their online purchases to arrive makes them more excited. Now think about how excitement and anticipation go up when the reward is unknown. It's easy to see why gamification has so much potential for increasing online sales.

How to apply Gamification easily to eCommerce?

With the right add-ons, gamification in your online store can be pretty easy. Sony has a rewards and loyalty program that actively encourages people to spend money to earn points. Then it offers prizes that people want. The result is more than just a rise in sales. But it also shows up in a higher customer lifetime value (CLV) and average order value (AOV) (CLV).

Source: sony.com Gamified discounts are another great way to get people excited and looking forward to online shopping. They help online stores get people's attention by offering a prize and making them play a game to "earn" it. Games like "spin the wheel" is a great example of how gamification can be used to boost sales. If you go to the Dress Forms USA website, you'll see that this online store gives discounts and free shipping to first-time buyers.

Source: dressformsusa.com The best part about this brand's approach is that it's made possible by a Shopify add-on that lets business owners add interactive elements to their stores to encourage conversions and generate leads.

Product Gallery Expansion

A 2017 survey found that 67% of men and 77% of women would rather buy in-store than online because they can touch, feel, and try the products. Even though e-commerce stores can't compete with brick-and-mortar stores in every way, they can still do their best to make shopping a fun and interesting experience. We're talking about a shopping experience that appeals to customers' senses and gives them a good idea of what to expect from their purchase. With this in mind, a great way for brands to boost their online sales is to add more images, illustrations, and videos to their product galleries. With just a few easy steps, e-commerce businesses can match (or even beat) the in-store experience and, as a result, increase sales. When you want to improve and add to your product gallery, you don't have to do a lot to see results. Even science has shown that small changes can have a big effect on a person's decision to buy.

Photography

For example, a 2014 study found the exact features of product images that helped increase sales on eCommerce websites. The paper says that the best way to improve product images for sales is to:

Display objects in a large size.
Reduce the amount of disorder in product photos.
Use warm colors and high contrast.
Use a higher depth of field (avoid too much bokeh).
Show people using the advertised products.

Dowse is a great example of an eCommerce brand that follows (almost) all of these rules. As you can see, its product gallery doesn't have a lot of pictures. Still, each image lets website visitors learn more about the blankets Dowse sells, subtly nudging them toward making a purchase without making them feel like they're taking a risk.

Source: dowsedesign.co.uk

Videos

You can increase sales by adding more photos to your product pages, but you should also look for other ways to get people interested in shopping on your site. It turns out that videos are a great way to do that. Especially since more than half of customers use online videos to help them decide what to buy. Find ways to add videos to your product pages. This is an easy way to use this information to get more people to buy from your online store. Herman Miller does it beautifully with a 10-second video that shows its most popular office chair from different points of view. The great thing about this video is that it gives a lot of information without making people read long blocks of text to learn about the chair's features.

Source: hermanmiller.com

Context

Another great way to get people to buy from your website is to use images to appeal to their emotions. Lifestyle and hobby brands like Nortvi can use context to make people feel something when they visit their websites and make the things in their stores seem like things people want to have. For instance, the video below uses both wide shots and close-ups to give viewers a good idea of what to expect:

breathtaking design
premium quality
A vague promise that buying a Nortvi product is the first step to becoming a stylish traveler around the world.

Source: nortvi.com

UGC & FOMO

So far, we've talked about two ways to increase sales that have great benefits. But the truth is that these aren't exactly easy ways to get more people to buy from your eCommerce site. So, if you want quick wins, you might want to use user-generated content (UGC) to make your web visitors afraid of missing out (FOMO). Both UGC and FOMO can help brands drive sales when used alone. Let's take a look at how UGC affects sales. The State of User-Generated Content 2022 Report from TINT says:

72% of consumers believe that user reviews and testimonials are more trustworthy than branded content.
76% of people make purchasing decisions based on other shoppers’ recommendations.
6 in 10 marketers feel that buyers engage more with UGC than they do with branded content.

Even a quick look at this data shows that using user-generated content in eCommerce marketing is a good idea. But what about FOMO? Does it really change how people buy? Well, a 2021 study found that both limited-quantity scarcity (LQS) and limited-time scarcity (LTS) made shoppers feel more excited, which made them buy things on the spot.

How to create FOMO on eCommerce websites by using User-Generated Content?

One of the best things about user-generated content is that it lets buyers see how products work in the real world without any filters. And when that unfiltered view shows that a customer had a good experience, it tends to increase demand as buyers see the benefits they can get from buying a product. This is one reason why both Livestream shopping and marketing through influencers work so well. The best part is that adding UGC to your product pages is a simple way to make people feel like they are missing out. Look at how US Fireplace Store uses UGC on its product pages as an example. In the reviews section, the testimonials are arranged so that the ones with photos and videos come first. This gets results because of two things. On the one hand, it makes the brand's products look like things people want. On the other hand, it gives potential buyers a healthy dose of FOMO by making them think about how those products would look in their own homes. Discounts and flash sale banners then give them an extra push to buy.

Source: usfireplacestore.com

Product Comparisons

People want to be sure they are making the right choice when they buy something. This is why, in 2021, 91% of people will read product reviews, 76% of people will think about free returns when deciding what to buy, and "best" and "right now" searches on mobile devices will get more and more traffic every year. And the best part is that there is a very effective marketing strategy you can use to help customers find the best choice for their needs (and increase your conversion rates): comparing products. This strategy works not only because it helps your customers figure out how to get the best deal for their needs, but also because it gives them useful advice. But it also speeds up the rate at which buyers move through the sales funnel, which lets you get more conversions with fewer touchpoints. This method for increasing sales is great because it uses the knowledge you and your employees already have. All you have to do is put together (well-written) content pages that tell your target audience how to get more value for their money. You can do this in a few different ways to get the best results (with the least amount of effort).

Comparing products based on price point

A lot of people decide what to buy based on how much money they have. In fact, getting the best deal is the most important thing to 68% of online shoppers. So, making a comparison page that shows buyers good options at a set price is a great way to get them to move through the sales funnel faster. Rain or Shine Golf compares products based on four different factors, as you can see below. The store gives every person who visits its website the best chance of finding a product that fits their budget, no matter how tight or loose it is.

Source: rainorshinegolf.com

Comparing products based on user needs

Instead of comparing products based on the buyer's budget, you could compare them based on what the user needs. Check out the MAC website to see a great example. On the page for this brand's mascara products, there is a chart that compares the finish, look and benefits of six different products. The execution is great because each column has a CTA button that tells users to buy the items.

Source: maccosmetics.co.uk

Price Anchoring

The tried-and-true price anchoring method is another easy way to make more sales in your e-commerce store. This is a plan that's been used for a long time. The way it works is by setting up price "anchors," which affect customer behavior in two different ways:

On the one hand, anchoring lets you set a price point for what your product is worth. Consumer psychology research shows that the higher the price, the more likely it is that a customer will buy it. For example, a price anchor that says an item is worth $100 will make shoppers more likely to buy that item if it goes on sale for $99 instead of $100, even if they only save $1.
On the other hand, this method lets you actively change how people buy by presenting your offer in a way that makes people think that some products are more valuable than others.

Basically, if you want to use this strategy to get people to convert to your website, you can do it in one of two ways. Both have their advantages, and you might even be able to use them together to get the best results.

Anchoring to communicate value offered

The easiest way to use price anchoring in your e-commerce store is to give your products a higher price and then mark them down. The Orizaba Original website will show you that this is exactly what the brand does. It sets $44.95 as the price for its Baja hoodies. But with a discount, buyers can get the items from Orizaba Original for as little as $34.99. Basically, the store is using consumer psychology to make it more likely that people who visit its website will end up buying something.

Source: orizabaoriginal.com

Anchoring to influence buyer behavior

On the other hand, if you want to sell more of a certain product, you can use price anchoring to make that product seem like the best value to customers. For example, in Penhaligon's webshop, a set of ten fragrance testers takes the top spot. On both sides of the set are perfumes that cost six times as much. This layout choice makes it more likely for people to choose the tester set instead of just one scent. So, the brand makes sure to get the most sales possible by having a product for everyone's budget. Plus, it makes it less likely that first-time buyers won't like anything about the products, which is a step toward a higher customer lifetime value.

Source: penhaligons.com

Customer Concerns

The next easy way to increase sales in your ecommerce store is to look at all the things that keep people from buying. For example, Baymard's research on cart abandonment rates shows that in 2022, shoppers didn't finish their purchases because of high extra costs, slow delivery, not trusting sites with their credit card information, unsatisfactory return policies, and a lack of payment methods. All of these are real problems that keep website visitors from becoming customers. So, you need to think of ways to ease customers' worries and make shopping feel safe and easy. What's the best? This could mean putting more attention on the customer service policies you already have.

Shipping Costs/Time

To do well in the ecommerce business, you need to ship your items quickly and for free. A survey from October 2021 found that 59% of shoppers decide what to buy based on whether or not the item comes with free shipping. Also, 59% of people will spend more so that they can get free shipping. And 90% of them expect their orders to come in less than a week. But the best part is that knowing this gives you a sure-fire, low-effort way to increase sales: be clear about how much shipping will cost. The easiest way to do this is to add a banner to your site like Partake does so that people know how much they have to pay to get the products they have ordered. You should also let people know how long they will have to wait for their orders and highlight any next-day shipping options you may have.

Source: partakefoods.com

Security, Quality, & Returns Trust Badges

Adding trust badges to your homepage and product pages is another easy way to get people to finish their purchases on your site. These things can look like:

Security guarantees for transactions (like pointing out that you accept safe payment options like PayPal, credit cards, and various digital wallets)
Accreditations from the industry, such as saying you're a certified B-Corp or that you use organic ingredients.
Accreditations from the industry, such as saying you're a certified B-Corp or that you use organic ingredients.

Check out the bottom of Tom Bihn's website to see how this trick is used.

Source: tombihn.com

The Human Element

Automated sales processes are a great way to save money and solve problems faster. In fact, a Tidio survey from 2021 found that 88% of web users talked to chatbots the year before. And 7 out of 10 thought it was a good thing. But there are still a few situations where "old school" human assistants are better than AI. These include product returns, fixing problems, and handling complaints.

Win over customers by promising to talk to them

If you want to increase sales without making too many changes to your website, one simple thing you can do is highlight the fact that your customers can talk to real people who can help them. On the homepage of Real Thread, for example, there is a button that says "Talk to a human." This brilliant piece of copywriting takes into account how people feel about automated sales processes. It reassures the audience of the brand that their needs will be met, and it shows that Real Thread is fully committed to making sure every customer has a good experience, even if they need solutions that are completely unique.

Source: realthread.com

The Need for Speed

Lastly, as you look for ways to increase conversions that don't take months to work, don't forget that the technical performance of your website has a big effect on how likely it is that you'll make a sale. For example, the speed of a site is a very important factor in getting people to convert. In fact, a 2020 Deloitte report found that reducing the time it takes to load a mobile site by 0.1 seconds increased conversions by 8.4% and the average order value by 9.2%.

How to quickly and easily improve site performance and load times?

There are a lot of things you can do to improve the technical performance of your ecommerce site, which is good news. Simple choices include:

Switching to a better web host.
Setting CSS, HTML, and JavaScript files to be compressed.
Minifying code.
Optimizing images.
Reducing redirects.
Using browser HTTP caching.
Minimizing the number of external scripts.

If you're not sure how fast your site is, the first thing you should do is test it. The Test My Site tool on Google is a good place to start. It doesn't just tell you where you stand, though. It also tells you what you can do to improve.

In Closing

It doesn't have to be hard to increase sales on your ecommerce site. Most of the things you need to go from average conversion rates to great ones are probably already on your site. If you want to increase conversions, the eight strategies in this article are a great place to start if you want quick wins and a high ROI. But if you want your ecommerce business to be successful in the long run, the tips listed here are just a start. Don't forget to look at how you market your brand if you want to take it to the next level. Pay attention to how you can make the customer experience better. And most importantly, make sure your customer retention strategy is as good as it can be so that you have the best chance of building a base of loyal buyers who will keep coming back to your store.

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Conversion Quick Wins: 8 Easy Ways to Increase Sales

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How to apply Gamification easily to eCommerce?