How to optimize your Shopify Plus store's conversion rate
An irony of CRO: To boost conversions, don't obsess about boosting conversions.
Instead, cultivate relationships and build lifetime value. This is something that leading online stores excel at as they invest in tools and skills that allow them to understand their customers' goals, journeys and problems.
Where should a Shopify Plus store that's new to A/B testing or customer experience optimization start?
Kameleoon asked 4 Shopify experts to find out.
Casandra Campbell, Senior Experimentation and Analysis Lead at Shopify
Start with what's above the fold on your website. Most people who visit your website won't scroll. The first low-hanging fruit is to make sure there's something to click above the fold and that your product description and images are spot-on. This goes for both desktop and mobile; your website looks different on different devices.
Enable Shop Pay—it makes checking out so easy. According to studies at Shopify, merchants who have Shop Pay enabled have checkout conversion rates 1.72 to 1.91 times higher. Having to fill out a lot of info turns shoppers off, especially on mobile devices. Purchasing with a single click increases the chance buyers follow through.
Understand your customers so you can provide a great user experience. This looks different for each shop, but creating an extraordinary experience is essential for scaling revenue. For example, Knix, an apparel brand, uses a more diverse range of models than apparel brands typically use. Consumers can see themselves reflected in the product images and better understand how the products will fit their bodies. They also offer a 30-day wash and wear return policy where buyers can actually try their products out before returning if they want.
Rishi Rawat, Founder at Frictionless Commerce
Great stores understand the psychology of their new visitors. First-time buyers behave differently, and exceptional stores know where they are in their lives and where they want to get to. They know how to position themselves as the bridge to that destination.
Focus on the product page, and especially the product description. Optimizing the product page offers a tremendous amount of benefit with a relatively small amount of effort. Break it down into three sections: the opening (differentiate yourself, get over the unfamiliarity hump), middle (demonstrate expertise), closing (bust objections).
On the product page, don't just talk about features and benefits. Think about the product page as a sales pitch. The first thing you need to do is have the reader not close your page. For example, tell them why products in your class are not created equal and incentivize customers to read on.
Matt Abbott, Head of Growth at Swanky
Select the high-value opportunities and execute them well. Invest in a high-quality platform and in your team. Customer problems are different for every organization, and investing in your tools and team allows organizations to identify optimization opportunities.
Utilize and make the most out of your tech stack. The best stores make their tech stack work for the money they invest in it. Don't get carried away with the number of apps and overcomplicate things—subscribe to what you need to make the customer journey as easy as possible.
Don't forget your existing customers and the importance of retention. Do this by considering the entire funnel and bridging the gap between discovery, engagement & conversion. Try running abandonment surveys for funnel drop-offs—ask your customers why they don't progress in their journey.
Val Geisler, Customer Advocacy Lead at Klaviyo
Simplify the message on your website. Avoid ambiguous phrases, and don't get too clever. Be clear about your brand and your product. Smaller brands should build brand equity after they capture the customer, e.g., on your email list, which can be integrated with your A/B testing tool.
Don't assume customers all travel one path to purchase. Every customer is different, so plan accordingly. Don't let one or two customers tell everyone's story. Speak to customers often, and understand your customers evolve. Research is not a one-and-done task.
Improve post-purchase messaging and experience. Brands often bundled messaging after the purchase into a standard "post-purchase flow" or have no messaging after delivery. This is an excellent opportunity to remind customers about things other than their order and that they made a good decision, plus gifting, other deliveries, referrals, etc.
Boosting conversions is not about lifting numbers
Organizations that want to boost conversions in their Shopify Plus stores need to be customer-centric, understand their users, and segment them in a way that solves problems.
The future will come down to how well you can know your customer. Those who can't should remember that there will always be someone waiting in the wings who will.
