Improving website conversion rate and shopping experience is the key

After the outbreak of the pandemic in 2020 , more consumers began to shop online . At the same time, consumers' demand for online shopping continued to increase. Therefore, retailers further strengthened and upgraded the online shopping experience, including but not limited to website speed , powerful search functions , photos and videos on product detail pages, or a good payment experience.

Digital Commerce 360 ​​estimates that consumers spent a total of $791.12 billion online with U.S. merchants in 2020, up 32.4% year-over-year. This is the highest annual growth in U.S. e-commerce in at least 20 years , and the increase is nearly three times the 15.1% increase in 2019. In fact, the conversion rate for the Digital Commerce 360 ​​Top 1,000 retailers in 2020 was 2.9%.

According to Digital Commerce 360’s 2021 Retailer Conversion Rates Survey, 75% of retailers reported an increase in conversion rates in 2020 despite the difficulties caused by the pandemic , while only 22% reported conversion rates remained the same and only 3% reported a decrease.

Retail respondents in the survey said retailers saw an average conversion rate of 2-3% in 2020. Most retailers Digital Commerce 360 ​​spoke to said their conversion rates were in that range, while some saw big spikes in conversion rates in the late spring or summer , when retail stores remained closed and they added features to their websites to make shopping easier.

For example, online plant retailer FastGrowingTrees.com realized that its search function was inhibiting potential purchases. So in the spring of 2020 , FastGrowingTrees.com updated its search function and noticed an immediate increase in conversions .

The retailer found that shoppers who used the new search feature were six times more likely to convert to the site than those who had not searched on the site at all .

Since the beginning of 2021, FastGrowingTrees.com has collected more data about searches on its site. From January to mid-March, shoppers who used the new search feature converted at a 6.1 times higher rate than the average consumer. Now 30% of the company 's revenue comes from search, and 28% of its orders come from search. The average order value of shoppers without search is $223.45, while the average order value of shoppers using search is $250.38.

Website visitors are to e-tailers what foot traffic is to brick- and- mortar retailers . Not everyone who comes in will buy something , but the goal is to sell to as many people as possible. Therefore, it is very important for online retailers to understand consumer shopping habits in real time, improve the website, and enhance the shopping experience.

Website conversion rate

Shopping Experience