How to Increase Sales on Shopify – and Why Your Conversions are Low

Setting up your own Shopify store is only the first step toward a successful online business. The real challenge comes with generating enough traffic and sales to your ecommerce store. Just like with any other platform, sales on Shopify won’t happen on their own. 

With the ecommerce market becoming increasingly saturated, the best strategies have to be utilized if you want to stand out and propel your business to success. It’s now less about the products that you have for sale, but more about the type of experience and satisfaction you can deliver to each consumer.

This guide will show you different marketing tactics you can employ in order to grow your audience and increase sales.

 

16 Reasons Why Your Visitors are Not Converting

Before proceeding to the different strategies of drawing in customers, you need to figure out why you’re unable to do that in the first place and why you end up with tons of products in your inventory that won’t sell. Solving a problem always includes tackling it at its root. Here are some common reasons why your traffic isn’t converting into sales:

 

1. Lack of trust

With the number of scams popping up these days, it’s no surprise that shoppers have become increasingly wary of falling victim to one. They need a reason to be able to trust your online store before purchasing an item. Otherwise, they’ll click out and never bother visiting your Shopify store again.

 

2. Ecommerce store is not mobile-friendly

People have been using a mobile device for everything now, from messaging friends to paying bills. This includes shopping from online stores. If you want a good chance of generating traffic and potential sales to your Shopify store, then you need to make your site is optimized to accommodate mobile users.

 

3. Targeting the wrong market

Sometimes, you might be tempted to pitch your products to everyone and attract as much traffic as you possibly can. But that’s not really possible. Not everyone will be interested in buying your product. You need to choose the right target audience for your product by optimizing your SEO and paid ad strategies, so it attracts the right demographics.

 

4. Unappealing landing page

The landing page is the section of your website that a user ‘lands’ on after clicking through from an ad, an email or any other location on the internet. This is where users develop first impressions of your online store. If your landing page doesn’t stand out or grab attention, then they’re less likely to be encouraged to purchase from your store.

 

5. Poor image quality 

People want to see the products they would be potentially buying. If you’re unable to provide them with visual proof of the products, then it’ll drive them away from your online store. The images need to be of high quality too, so customers can properly get a feel of the products you’re selling.

 

6. Unclear Call-to-actions

Your call-to-actions not only need to be persuasive, but they also have to be clear enough for the buyers to notice and pay attention to. You need to create one that’s striking and stands out on your site. This is usually achieved by incorporating contrasting colors and large text.

To sum it up, CTA’s need to be:

• Written in a legible font
• Clearly communicating the benefits of the product
• Using contrasting colors and a clear design

 

7. Lack of reviews

This is one way to ensure the credibility of your Shopify store. Buyers will always consciously look for proof that you aren’t trying to scam them, and this is usually found in the customer reviews found on your website. If they can’t find any, then it’ll drive them away.

 

8. Poor navigation

You want your customer’s experience with your online store to be as favorable as possible. This includes making sure that your site navigation is easy and convenient. Visitors should be able to quickly find what they’re looking for. If they become too frustrated with how your site works, then it’ll only discourage them from buying your product or visiting again.

 

9. Poor product descriptions

People visit your stores for the products, so you need to put in the effort to describe them in a way that they actually become encouraged to buy them. If you put in mediocre product descriptions, then visitors aren’t tempted to stick around any longer.

 

10. Difficult check-out process

No one wants to be inconvenienced and spend any unnecessary time on things. If you make your check-out processes too long and complicated, then customers become discouraged to go through with their purchases. 

 

11. Brand doesn’t look professional

Always remember that your goal is not only to sell your product but your brand as well to people who might not have heard of you before. If you want to gain the trust of your customers, your brand’s website should look and feel professional. 

Since a website is the best way for you to showcase your brand, there are a few things you need to keep in mind when designing it, so it appears professional:

• Strong brand identity presented in consistent and clear colors and fonts
• Professionally designed logo
• Crisp and clear high-quality images
• Text that is well-organized and easily scannable

 

12. Website copy lacks persuasion

Having a website copy is essential because it serves as the core text that guides a visitor through your website and informs them of everything they would need to know about your brand or your site. 

But creating a website copy isn’t enough. It needs to be enticing, persuasive and powerful. The best way to craft one is by putting yourself in the buyer’s shoes and thinking about how you would be persuaded. You should always keep your target audience in mind.

 

13. High shipping costs

A lot of times, potential buyers end up abandoning their carts once they realize how expensive shipping fees are. The rise of ecommerce giants has made people expect fast and free shipping from ecommerce stores. If you notice an increase in the rate of abandoned carts in your store, then you might have to look into how much you charge for shipping. 

 

14. Slow shipping and delivery

Buyers prefer it when their packages arrive quickly. Usually, they expect it to arrive anytime between a few days to a week or two. If your shipping times exceed three weeks, you’re less likely to get any sales and might even gain some complaints from visitors. 

 

15. No use of FOMO

FOMO basically means ‘Fear of Missing Out’ and is a method backed by science to convince people to take action immediately. The idea is that you persuade your visitors to buy your product right away by telling them that might risk missing out on an exclusive collection or losing a limited-time deal. 

When people are faced with the idea of losing something, that’s when they take quick action. Your CTAs should create a sense of urgency for your customers. 

 

16. Lack of blog content about the product

Customers who shop online often turn to blog articles when researching a certain product. It’s why a lot of the traffic often goes to your blog instead of your product page. 

But for that traffic to move to your product page and convert into sales, you need to put more effort into creating blogs that can convince customers why buying your product is a good idea without sounding too salesy and potentially turning them off from your blog.

 

16 Actionable Ways to Increase Sales on Shopify

Now that you have an idea of what could be potentially causing less traffic and sales in your Shopify store, you can then focus on employing the right marketing tactics to attract customers. Here are several ways to increase your sales on Shopify:

 

1. Leverage Search Engine Optimization

The key to increasing sales is always generating more organic traffic to your website. This is why making your Shopify store SEO-friendly is highly recommended because it allows your web pages to be easily findable on the biggest search engines.

 Some tips to turn your web pages SEO-friendly include: 

• Avoiding duplicate content so it doesn’t send confusing and mixed signals to Google
• Writing product descriptions that are unique and answer any questions the customers might have about the product
• Optimize the images attached to bring in a lot of quality traffic
• Make sure to include unique title tags and meta descriptions for your web pages

 

2. Improve loading speed

One sure way to drive visitors away from your Shopify store is by making them wait an unnecessarily long amount of time. If they click a link on an online store, they expect the page to pop up in only a few seconds. Otherwise, they’ll just leave and find a better alternative. 

There are a few things you can do to optimize your page’s loading speed:

• Compress any images on the page as much as possible, while still making sure the quality is intact
• Use a Content Delivery Network to ensure improved performance of your page
• Try to minimize any redirects or broken links

 

3. Add a ‘Shop Now’ button 

Adding a ‘Buy Now’ or ‘Shop Now’ button on your homepage provides customers with a shortcut for making a purchase. This automatically sends them to the page showcasing a collection of products or a featured item that you want to drive sales towards.

It simplifies the purchasing process and can even tempt several ‘impulse buys.’ It also works as a very clear and direct call-to-action, giving customers that last push to purchase your products.

 

4. Launch a cross-sell email or pop-up

Cross-selling is for sellers who offer multiple products on their site. It’s a quick and easy way to increase the Average Order Value of your Shopify store.

When you cross-sell, you are recommending related items to a customer once they have added an item to their carts. With cross-selling, you won’t need to hunt down new customers to boost your sales. 

There are three different methods of cross-selling on Shopify:

• Cross-sell emails that wait until a purchase has been completed before recommending a related product
• Popups that recommend products while the buyer is in the middle of shopping
• Cross-sell product pages that show a “you may also like” section

 

5. Improve your check-out process

Simplifying the check-out process goes a long way in generating sales and even attracting repeat buyers. Buyers will most likely not bother with purchases if they have to go through a complex and confusing check-out process. You have to make it as intuitive and direct as possible. 

Here are some other tips for optimizing your check-out process: 

• As much as possible, try not to have the customers fill out too many fields by not asking for any unnecessary information.
• Make the check-out form as simple and as quick to fill out as possible. 
• Allow them to view their check-out progress or divide it into stages, so buyers are aware of how far they are into the process. 
• Allow the customers to review their carts easily before making the purchase.

 

6. Allow multiple payment methods

It can be frustrating to potential buyers if they’re unable to purchase a product simply because they do not have the accepted payment method. Don’t just limit the options to one or two choices. Try to include as many payment methods as possible to accommodate all types of buyers and increase your conversion rate.

 

7. Grow a social media presence

Social media is a great free source of traffic. An ecommerce marketing strategy wouldn’t be complete if you don’t take social media into account. Facebook and Instagram, in particular, are powerful social media platforms you can take advantage of to boost sales on Shopify. 

Instagram is particularly effective and used a lot in ecommerce marketing due to the visual nature of the app that allows companies to easily capture the interest of consumers. If you want to grow your brand on Instagram, make sure to:

• Use relevant hashtags on all your posts so they’re easier to find
• Engage with followers of brands that are just like yours
• Interact with the comments on your posts to build trust between you and your target market
• Run contests and different activities that create incentives for your followers
• Post Stories regularly as a different way of engaging with your followers

 

8. Create an email list

With all the traffic you’re gaining, you need to make sure that you have maximized the value of each visitor. You can do this by investing in email marketing campaigns and creating an email list. This allows you to reach customers easily and potentially gain repetitive sales in your Shopify store. 

Having people subscribe to your email list provides a convenient way of sending newsletters, offers, and product updates to customers. Here are several ways you can grow your email marketing list:

• Give visitors a discount code on products of their choice when they sign up
• Invest in different giveaways to build loyalty among email subscribers
• Leverage a sign-up form or popup that visitors can easily see once they access your Shopify store
• Take advantage of social media by embedding your sign-up forms in various ads or social media pages

 

9. Optimize customer’s shopping experience

Keeping customers happy should be the goal of a company. It is also the most effective way of ensuring repetitive sales in your business. You have to make sure that your product exceeds their expectations and that they are provided with a smooth and pleasant shopping experience. 

In order to improve the customer experience, you can:

• Have emails and messages be tailored towards the customers, so they avoid feeling impersonal
• Send them speed up videos for better engagement and personalization
• Offer free shipping and other incentives such as discounts and coupon codes and loyalty rewards (check out some Shopify rewards programs in this article)
• Allow customers to express their thoughts on your store and product and let them leave suggestions
• Add customer reviews to build trust between you and your potential buyers

There are several marketing apps out there that can help you optimize the customer experience. An example of one of the best Shopify marketing apps out there would be Monetha. It’s a great app if you want to build an efficient loyalty program for your store. 

Some benefits of Monetha include:

• A loyalty program that offers rewards to customers that convinces them to stay with your store longer and encourages them to keep buying your products
• The rewards are very simple, clear, and effective. The app was designed to cater to whatever needs the customers might have.
• Its features have no charge. You can enjoy all the orders and loyalty members as much as you want without spending anything.
• Its design is minimalistic so whatever the design of your website is, it can blend perfectly. 
• You won’t need a developer or any coding to enjoy the loyalty and rewards program they offer.
• Your store gets additional promotion on the app, as well as on their social media pages and any paid ad campaigns they run, driving more traffic to your Shopify store.

 

10. Make your site mobile-friendly

You lose a huge opportunity to improve your conversion rate if you put less effort into improving the mobile experience of your store. Most people today conduct their shopping through their phones, and having a clunky mobile experience can drive them away. 

You can invest in a mobile version of your store and be assured that the return on your investment would be more than satisfactory. 

 

11. Upsell your products

For a lot of businesses, upselling and cross-selling their products are often more effective than acquiring a new customer altogether. Upselling refers to the approach of offering the customers a slightly more improved version of the product than the one they were originally intending to purchase.

Upselling often generates more sales because it offers a greater value proposition and higher customer satisfaction, increasing the likelihood of buyers coming back to your store more often. Make sure to ask your customers first if they would consider upgrading, and emphasize the differences between the premium product and the regular product.

When upselling to increase sales, there are a couple of things you have to always consider:

• Your upsells should be related to the original product that the customer was about to buy.
• Make sure to be conscious of the price range that the customers expect.

 

12. Reduce any abandoned carts

Every time a customer changes their mind about purchasing your product and abandons their cart, you end up losing profit. 

It’s not uncommon for visitors to suddenly change their minds once they’re already at the checkout process. Other times, it’s because they end up forgetting pending purchases just waiting to be completed. 

It’s recommended to address as many of the hesitations as you can because some customers might have just needed one final push to complete the purchase. 

One way of persuading customers is usually through offering free shipping or discounts. For some store owners, it might not be possible for them to offer free shipping to their buyers. Fortunately, there are a couple of ways to work around that:

• The first one is to only offer free shipping after the buyer has reached a minimum order value.
• The second option would be to increase your product prices, so they can cover the cost of shipping. However, this is only effective if your product belongs to a niche market without any major competitors. 

Running an email recovery campaign can also help reduce the rate of abandoned carts. This way, you’re able to directly keep in contact with your customers to remind them about pending purchases and convince them to complete them.

 

13. Invest in paid advertising

Getting web traffic to your store organically through social media is not as easy as it sounds, the same way having your site be at the top of the search rankings of Google would take a lot of work. 

This is why it pays to invest in advertising campaigns that can help you reach your target market. Paid ads usually end up being at the top of Google search results, which can attract more potential customers and increase the likelihood of that traffic converting into sales. 

Other brands have more success launching their ad campaigns on social media platforms like Facebook or Instagram. With the amount of personal information, you can get from these platforms, you won’t be targeting keywords but your actual target audience instead. 

Facebook and Instagram will show your product ads to the people who are most likely to respond to them. 

When running Facebook ad campaigns, here are a few tips you can use:

• Make sure your ad graphics are designed to be eye-catching and instantly grab attention.
• Keep track of essential KPIs such as click and conversion rates by integrating your store with Facebook pixel.
• In your ad copy, include words that will prompt people to click on it such as ‘hurry,’ ‘buy now,’ or ‘limited time only.’
• If your products are better explained through video, then try out video ads instead.

 

14. Remarket to visitors

More often than not, you get visitors to your site that sign up but don’t actually end up buying anything. Remarketing those visitors through ads can convince them to return to your store and purchase your product. 

With Facebook ads, especially, you can market to specific customer behaviors and increase the likelihood of web traffic converting into sales. 

If you want to implement Facebook ads for your remarketing, there are two ways you can do it:

Autopilot Service

If you prefer to have a third-party run your retargeting ad campaigns for you, Shopify has several marketing apps that are available for you. 

Managing it Yourself 

A DIY retargeting ad campaign can be done through Facebook ads manager. 

You’re more likely to increase conversion rates if you retarget your ads to visitors who have abandoned carts.

 

15. Create high-converting landing pages

First impressions matter, as they say. In the case of an online store, a landing page is where visitors get their first feel of your brand. 

When you’re leveraging SEO, the landing pages are the pages you intend to rank on Google’s search results. With ad campaigns, the landing page is where visitors get redirected when they click on your ad.

Either way, having a dedicated landing page that’s captivating and enticing is essential. 

You get all this traffic and a lot of curious shoppers hoping to check out your store, but you can’t just leave them to figure things out from your homepage. If you want to boost conversion rates, you need to put some effort into your landing page, so those curious shoppers turn into enthusiastic buyers.

To create a successful landing page, here are a few features you need to make sure to add:

• Engaging and creative headline
• Compelling call-to-action
• Captivating design and high-quality images
• Clear presentation of the product benefits and features
• Customer reviews

 

16. Add powerful images, text, and videos 

The highlight of your Shopify store is, of course, your product. You want to do as much as you can to showcase the many features and benefits it has. 

Even if shoppers tend to shop online more often these days, it doesn’t mean that you can’t give them the in-store experience that a lot of them probably miss, where they’re able to hold the products and inspect them as much as they want.

You can create a product page experience that replicates this as much as it can by taking high-quality photos from different angles so you’re able to show buyers every detail of your product. This also allows you to create an atmosphere that lets your product shine by choosing the right model and background.

A video is also another effective tool you can use to properly explain the specific features of your product. Of course, all these visuals need to be accompanied by a detailed and enticing product description. 

Make sure you include the essential product specifications in your product descriptions. A good product description can answer any potential questions a buyer might have while still presenting it in a captivating way, so customers would be tempted to purchase the product. 

 

Final Thoughts

You don’t have to do everything mentioned in the list right away in order to boost your Shopify sales. Figure out what you can do at the moment and start from there. 

The returns on implementing specific strategies will always vary depending on the type of business you have. The most important thing you can do is to pay attention to what your customers want and figure out what works for both you and them.