Ecommerce Conversion Rate Optimization
How clearly sharing your product information and expertise can optimize your ecommerce conversion rate and increase sales.
What is Ecommerce Conversion Rate Optimization?
Ecommerce conversion rate optimization is increasing the percentage of visitors to your ecommerce site that convert into a customer. Conversions most commonly would be recognized as the purchase of a product on an ecommerce site, but merchants may also be tracking other conversions like newsletter subscriptions or other engagements that hold value. For the purpose of this post, we're going to focus on conversion as the purchase of product from an online store and highlight how a merchant's product expertise can be used to optimize ecommerce conversion rates.
Why ecommerce traffic isn't converting
In an ecommerce study conducted by NNgroup, they found that 20% of conversion failures were attributed to great product information not being available to the purchaser.
In our e-commerce studies, we found that 20% of the overall task failures in the study — times when users failed to successfully complete a purchase when asked to do so — could be attributed to incomplete or unclear product information. Leaving shoppers' questions unanswered can derail a sale or even worse, make shoppers abandon not just the purchase, but the site as well.
Not providing clear and accurate product information that is easily accessible isn't only an issue for visitors bouncing — it can also turn what you initially think is a great conversion into a product return or negative review. L.L. Bean found that 75% of complaints had their root in incomplete product descriptions or inaccurate sales copy.
of conversion failures tied to incomplete product information
of negative reviews rooted in poor product descriptions
What the big dogs do differently
- Engage customers with product Q&A above the description
- Use minimalist design focused on visuals and information
- Make product details instantly accessible, not buried
We find that after answering a customer question with an answer that confirms the product is a good fit we generally see an order approximately 75% of the time.
Great product information should engage the customer
Why does Amazon place a "Have a question?" call to action above the product description and product information sections? To engage the customer and answer their specific pre-sales questions as quickly as possible — essential for ecommerce conversion rate optimization.
Some product descriptions make you wonder if you're about to read a novel, and the visual impression alone can make a customer choose not to take the time. The answer is giving them an option to engage and ask for the information they're looking for — and providing it to them.
Answerbase sees that up to 75% of questions answered through this functionality convert to a sale — money left on the table if you don't provide the capability.
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Up to 75% of answered questions convert to a sale
Great product information should be available in different formats
Amazon offers several easy ways for customers to find the product information they're looking for — product images, product description, videos, product specifications, product questions & answers, and product reviews.
Different people have different learning styles and preferences for how they'd like to see information provided. If you're missing any of these elements for each of your products, you may be missing out on valuable conversions.
Product Information Formats
Different learning styles, one clean page
Providing great product information shouldn't clutter
While you need all the information each customer may want to seal the deal, you also need to not clutter the user experience. Huge brands have come to appreciate minimalist designs for their online stores — and platforms like Shopify, BigCommerce, and Volusion moved their default templates to minimalist designs too.
Minimalist design doesn't mean less valuable information. You can use video and image carousels to give many visuals in a small clean space, a concise product summary, a product Q&A feature for quick details and specs, and accordion tabs for deeper descriptions and specifications. These elements keep your page packed with information while keeping the experience clean and uncluttered.
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A concise product summary keeps the page clean while deeper details stay one tap away.
Data on how great product information increases sales
As mentioned, NNgroup's study found 20% of conversion failures were attributed to incomplete or unclear product information. Our own data supports this — we see a very high conversion rate for customers who get questions answered, and customers asking product questions arrive ready to convert.
In a case study, Rvupgrades noticed an immediate impact on their conversions by offering more product information through Q&A content and capabilities:
We find that after answering a customer question with an answer that confirms the product is a good fit we generally see an order approximately 75% of the time.
— Rvupgrades, Answerbase customer
increase from product Q&A content — a top driver of new customer acquisition.
higher for customers acquired through Q&A content vs. Google in general.
Let's land the plane on these ecommerce conversion tips
We hope this post has been informative and helpful to boost the conversion rates of your own ecommerce store. As a provider of ecommerce Q&A software we'd love to be the ones to power this activity on your site — so we'd encourage you to view details about Answerbase Ecommerce Product Q&A, or contact us for a demo or start a free trial to see how your customers engage in creating valuable Q&A content for your site.
Take the next step in your Product Knowledge journey
Now that you've seen how this capability works, explore the next stage of the Product Knowledge platform.
