39 ways to improve conversion rates on your eCommerce product pages
A few weeks ago, we showcased some of the brands we’ve worked with in the past and why their product pages are able to convert so well. Today, we’ll go a step further, with a more comprehensive list of ideas for improving the conversion rate of your eCommerce product pages.
We’ve segmented this post into three sections, covering design, copywriting, and the overall customer experience of your product pages. Feel free to open your product page side-by-side and follow along or simply skip to the section you’re having the most trouble with. Once you're done, go a step further by downloading our Ultimate Guide to CRO to start increasing conversions across your entire eCommerce business.
How to design your eCommerce product pages for conversion.
1. / Carefully select the images you use on your product page.
Choosing images for a product page helps you push customers towards a sale by giving them a better idea of what they’re spending money on. From your eCommerce store, the product images you choose are often all a potential customer will see before they buy. Great product photos are high-res and show the product from all angles. Remember to include at least a few photos that show your products in use as well, ideally by the same kind of people you’ve already identified as your target market. Happy, smiling, attractive people seem to work best and can help lead to better conversion rates.
2. / If you have it, include video to help with the sale.
Video is another fantastic way to show your products in motion and can help explain how to use your product as well. Just like with your product photography, opt for video that aligns with your brand guidelines and if you have models in the shot, ensure they match up with your target demographics.
3. / Point people in the right direction.
You can also use imagery and good page design to point customers in the right direction. Use photos where the model’s eyes appear to be looking at your ‘Add to Cart’ button and your users’ eyes will naturally follow. You can also contrast, color, and other stylistic elements to help guide customers where you need them to go.
4. / Use trust signals and badges to help customers feel safe.
Post-pandemic, online shoppers have more confidence in eCommerce than ever before. However, trust signals like “Verified by Visa” can still go a long way to help customers feel like they’re making a safe transaction. It’s also a good idea to include a word or two about privacy—make it clear that you’re only collecting their information for internal purposes and aren’t planning to share or sell their data to third parties.
5. / Include user-generated content, especially product testimonials.
Along with your social media marketing team, try curating a selection of the best user-generated content around your products. There’s lots of ways to get this ball rolling, such as creating an affiliate or rewards program, offering discounts on future purchases when someone tags you online, or simply running a contest on social media.
6. / Make sure your “Add to Cart” button is unmissable.
Your ‘Add to Cart’ button is the single most important button on the entire page. Make sure it’s more than visible—it should be 100% unmissable. Use good page architecture, contrast, color, and leading imagery/design to make sure that it pops.
7. / Personalize product pages to each user.
If a user has logged in before or has already allowed full use of cookies, you should be able to personalize product pages when they visit. For example, if you’ve previously gathered preference-based information such as taste (for food/beverage brands) or sizing (for apparel brands), you can rearrange the photos you display to match.
8. / Keep conversion elements above the fold.
Don’t make your customers scroll for days when they’re ready to buy. Important components of your product page like description, imagery, and of course the all-important ‘Add to Cart’ button should be placed above the fold where they’re impossible to miss.
9. / Use labels to make your product images even more persuasive.
Use labels like ‘bestseller’ or ‘new’ on images of products that meet those descriptions. If you’re running low on a particular style (apparel) or flavor (food/bev.) you can induce a little scarcity by adding labels like ‘limited stock’ directly on top of your images.
10. / Optimize for mobile devices.
Ten years ago, this was an issue that plenty of stores faced. Fortunately, these days most D2C eCommerce brands understand the importance of designing a mobile-first store. It’s simple—the majority of online purchases are now done through cell phones and mobile devices. Make sure your D2C store is up to the task.
11. / Display progress bars throughout the checkout process
As your customers dutifully fill out their information and head ever closer towards a sale, help them avoid impatience by showing them how far they’ve come. A progress bar or even a simple completion percentage can go a long way in making sure new buyers fill out every form field and hit submit.
Writing high-converting product copy
12. / Match your product page copywriting to the user journey
How did your customers find this product page? If they followed an offer from a Facebook or PPC ad, you’ll want to make sure they’re landing on a version of your product page that has copywriting to match. The headline should be similar, if not the same as your ad copy. The offer and pricing on your product page should match, too. Basically, you want potential customers who land on your page to feel like they’re in the right place so they’re able to ‘add to cart’ confidently.
13. / Have a great return policy for your products.
We’ve actually spoken about this before in the past (see #3 on this page), but it’s definitely worth repeating—your return policy is a CRO tool! By offering a competitive, clearly-defined return policy you can help overcome objections and persuade customers to buy. Make sure you use language that’s easy to understand and that feels reassuring.
14. / Keep your unique selling proposition top of mind.
What is it that sets this particular product of yours above your competition? Why buy from you, instead of any of the thousands of D2C brands across the net? By defining your unique selling proposition and making it clear throughout your copy, you can set your brand apart in the eyes of your buyer. This is key.
15. / Fill product descriptions with benefits and emotion.
After your product imagery, one of the most important elements of a high-converting product page are your product descriptions themselves. When you sit down to write these, remember that emotions, storytelling, and benefit-driven language are what will sell your products—not dry facts and long-winded explanations about materials.
16. / But don’t forget to provide valuable details and features.
In contrast to the above, it is still important to include product details in addition to benefits. Some customers have unique requirements. For example, allergy information for food/beverage brands or specific sizing information (such as inseam length) for apparel. Include as much information as possible, to help customers feel confident that they’re purchasing exactly what they’re looking for.
17. / Sell with scarcity—show available stock
Tie your backend logistics into the frontend of your store and you’ll be able to convert customers using FOMO (fear of missing out). You’ve likely already seen this on Amazon with their messages about availability, “Only 5 left in stock - order soon.” This can push customers towards a sale who may have otherwise waited a few days and possibly never completed their order.
18. / Add a detailed FAQ or Q&A section.
An FAQ page can work wonders for products that may require instructions to use, or that have some kind of story behind them. Comb through emails you’ve received from customers, look at conversations around your products on social media, or simply ask existing customers what kind of concerns they had before making a purchase. Then, provide answers to these questions on your product pages. You can even make it possible for customers to ask a question before they buy, and have those questions automatically added to your FAQ.
19. / Use your reviews—use Okendo to prominently display customer feedback.
Okendo is hands-down one of the best ways to gather and display reviews on your product pages, especially if you’re running a Shopify-based eCommerce store. Make sure you’re following up with customers after a purchase, and collecting as many five-star reviews as possible. Then, make those reviews visible (and searchable) from your product pages to add some highly-persuasive social proof.
20. / Clearly communicate your money-back guarantee.
If you’re able to offer a money-back guarantee, make sure the copy you use to explain it is clear, to-the-point, and persuasive. If your major competitors don’t offer one, there’s nothing wrong with calling them out and mentioning how you’re “the only brand” that’s willing to stand behind the quality of your products so brazenly.
21. / Make your delivery & shipping estimates transparent.
If you charge for shipping, you’ll want to include some kind of a calculator so customers can understand the full cost of their purchase without needing to go all the way through your checkout process first. Same goes for delivery times. Keep estimates transparent, so users know exactly when they can expect to receive product from you.
22. / Display your contact details clearly and prominently, especially your phone number.
Some people may want to give you a quick call before they’re ready to pull out their credit card. If they can’t easily find your phone number, that may be the last you ever see of them. Make sure your contact details are easy to find, especially the number for your customer service department.
23. / Minimize secondary “Calls to Action”
Your number one CTA on any product page will almost always be your ‘Add to Cart’ button. After that, your second most important button is ‘Checkout’. Outside of those two CTAs, you should try to minimize secondary call to action buttons as much as possible. It’s tempting to include links to ‘Our Story’ or ‘Follow us on Instagram’, but keep in mind that any potential buyer who follows these links, may never find their way back to your initial product page. If you absolutely must include multiple CTA buttons, try to minimize their attractiveness by playing with contrast, color, and positioning.
24. / Keep the copy on your checkout form as simple as possible.
Once you’ve managed to snag a buyer, don’t make the mistake of losing them at checkout with overly-complicated copy or design. Keep language clear and simple, with as few steps in your process as possible. You’re so close to a sale, don’t talk your way out of it by getting too cute or creative at checkout.
25. / Don’t forget to check for spelling and grammar issues.
“OK duh,” you’re thinking, but we’ve seen plenty of otherwise perfect product pages that make the mistake of publishing the first draft without going through the copy with a fine-toothed comb. Grammarly won’t catch everything. You do need to look through your product page copywriting carefully, ideally a day or two after approving it so you’re coming to the page with fresh eyes.
Providing a customer experience that leads to purchases.
26. / Reduce bounce rate by working on your site speed.
We all know how frustrating it is to land on a website that takes forever to load. And that idea “forever” isn’t necessarily a long time. A whopping 25% of users will abandon your product page if it takes longer than four seconds to load. At that point, it doesn’t matter how great your design or copy is, you’ve already lost a potential sale simply due to site performance. Speed is one of the first things we test during an eCommerce Business Assessment, because until it’s fixed, there’s no amount of great marketing, imagery, or copywriting wizardry that will help you keep an impatient customer in your funnel.
27. / Provide limited time coupon codes and use countdown timers.
Coupon codes are great for convincing new customers to buy, but it’s important that you’re careful in how you use them. Ideally, you want to trade for something in return—email, SMS information, a referral, social media post—so you’re not simply offering a random discount. It’s also a good idea to limit the amount of time a coupon code is available. Make it obvious how long a discount is available, by adding real-time countdown timers to your product pages, ideally near the ‘Add to Cart’ button to induce a little urgency.
28. / Do your market research and price your products competitively.
Unless you’re selling something incredibly, utterly, one-of-a-kind unique, there’s likely a horde of other D2C brands selling a similar product. Take a look at the rest of the market and ensure your offer is competitive. If you’re absolutely unable to compete on price alone, look for ways to offer competitive upsells or leverage tactics like ‘Free Shipping’ in order to stand out.
29. / Add software and tools to your eCommerce store to help prevent cart abandonment.
Unfortunately, once a customer adds something to their cart, that doesn’t always mean the sale will quickly follow. Current statistics show that somewhere between 68–73% of carts end up abandoned across the apparel and eCommerce retail industry. That’s a lot of potential revenue; gone. Fortunately, there’s tools like Klaviyo that can be set up to send automated emails to customers who’ve forgotten something in their cart. You can also use tools like exit intent pop ups (see below) to help remind folks to make a purchase before they go.
30. / Use chatbots and live chat to overcome objections or answer questions.
Providing multiple customer service options is a smart way to both set yourself apart from the competition and provide a better customer experience. While live chat is certainly ideal, it’s also a good idea to have a chatbot installed in order to answer some of the more basic questions you’ll receive from buyers. This can also help take a load off your customer service team, and ensure they’re not answering the same questions over and over again.
31. / Structure your site so visitors can easily find the products and variations they’re looking for.
Sometimes, a site visitor who lands on your product page may be interested in an item from your catalog, but not the exact product they’re currently looking at. While building your page and considering your information architecture, make it clear what category, type, or class a product is a part of. This way, you can help guide users towards a purchase by making it easy for them to find their way through your store.
32. / Use recommender systems, both manually built and powered by AI.
With the success of Amazon, we’ve all come to expect something similar to their “customers who bought this also bought…” section. On your own product pages, consider using AI-powered recommender systems that can automatically suggest best selling cross-sells based on your data. You may also want to consider including manually-curated systems, such as a ‘Shop the Look’ section for apparel brands or a ‘Other products in this flavor’ for food/beverage.
33. / Implement an exit-intent pop up
If someone has been browsing your product page for a while, you don’t want to see them leave before they’ve managed to make their first purchase. Looking at your data, you can get a good idea of how long it people will navigate your site before dropping off. Try adding a pop up just before, so you can stop them in their tracks with a timely 5% discount. Alternatively, track their mouse movement and display the pop up once they reach up towards the ‘Close Tab’ button.
34. / Experiment with a ‘floating’ shopping cart.
You may have noticed that as you add items to your Amazon shopping cart, they’ll show up in a sidebar that follows you around the store. The idea is that you’ll be more likely to continue shopping for complementary items as you browse. This is a tactic you can steal. Experiment with a persistent cart that continues to display items a customer has already added to cart. At the very least, it can serve as a reminder to finally hit that checkout button instead of abandoning the site without making a purchase.
35. / Remove unnecessary form fields from checkout.
Getting someone to your checkout isn’t easy. But once there, aim to make it easy for customers to check out by removing as many form fields as possible. Keep checkout as quick & painless as possible and where you can, try to automatically populate data so customers don’t have to type it manually.
36. / Let customers checkout as guests.
While yes, it’s extremely important to collect data from customers via a login, it’s still critical that you offer some kind of guest checkout that won’t require setting a username, email address, or password. Once the purchase has gone through, incentivize a sign up by offering to send tracking information or a receipt to their email address.
37. / Allow for third-party checkout like Facebook or Google
We’d suggest A/B testing this and only once you’ve tried absolutely everything else in this guide. Ideally, you want to own customer data like names and email addresses. While a third-party sign in from Facebook or Google can potentially induce more people to checkout, it’s not ideal as you’re giving up control over your customer file. However, if you’re at wits end, this is as good an idea as any.
38. / Offer multiple ways to pay
Outside of credit cards, what other payment alternatives are you offering? Can customers pay with Paypal? How about buy-now-pay-later options like Klarna? If it makes sense for your brand and target audience, perhaps a cryptocurrency option could work. By giving customers multiple ways to complete their purchase, you can help ease friction and help provide a more inclusive customer experience.
39. / A/B Test – Always Be Testing
And finally, perhaps the most important piece of advice of them all—test everything, always. A/B testing is an age-old advertising tactic, from the days when brands would run two different newspaper ads, each with a unique phone number attached. By tallying up the total number of calls to each phone number, marketers could determine which of their ads was resonating the most with their audience. You can do the same thing using modern A/B testing tools. Try running different versions of your product pages against one another, and see which results in the most purchases.
Don’t stop there—make sure your entire D2C business is primed to convert.
Your product pages are easily one of the most important elements of your eCommerce funnel. However, even with the most conversion-friendly, battle tested product pages on the market, you could still be losing potential sales if the rest of your Shopify store is lacking in some way. To help close the gap, download our free CRO guide to learn how profitable eCommerce brands use proven tactics to increase conversion and plug gaps across their entire funnel.
