13 proven ways to increase shopping cart conversion rate [+ examples]

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Site performance optimization

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Modern shoppers are impatient and expect a seamless user experience. That’s why one of the essential steps when optimizing for higher conversion rate is optimizing your site’s performance.

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For the modern shopper, fast loading is a MUST

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If a website doesn't load in three seconds, 53% of mobile users will abandon it. 

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To make sure your website loads faster, try these best practices: 

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• Choose a good hosting provider. Virtual Private Servers (VPS) are probably the best option for a fast-loading website. 
• Optimize image size. Tools like ImageOptim can help you reduce the size of your images. 
• Implement website caching. This will help you when there are too many users visiting your site, like during holiday discounts. 

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Adapt to shopper behavior and prioritize mobile experiences

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A lot of shoppers, especially Gen Z browse and shop on mobile. Having a mobile-optimized website and shopping experience is a non-negotiable.

Here’s what to look out for: 

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• Make images responsive
• Use drop-down menus
• Minimize the number of pop-ups
• Pay attention to text size
• Reduce the amount of information required for checkout
• Use Apple Pay or Google Pay for faster payments

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Make smarter decisions by leveraging A/B testing

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The truth is, you’ll never know what works until you test it. 

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If you’re using a Shopify or WordPress template, don’t rely on it and expect it to work. Every store has a different target audience, and every audience has different preferences. 

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You still need to do some thinking and the earlier you start doing it, the better. 

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Test CTA copy, button colors, checkout steps, and everything else you can. It might seem irrelevant now, but it can make a huge difference in your shopping cart conversion rate. 

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Copy, page layout and information hierarchy

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Finally, even if shoppers find what they need, they won’t consider buying if you don’t provide them with enough (and visible) information. 

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Use a clear & visible CTA

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One of the most important aspects in determining whether or not a user will place the product in their cart is the CTA (call to action) button. 

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If a consumer wants to add a product to their cart but can't find the add to cart button, they will become dissatisfied and exit your website. 

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The CTA button should be prominently displayed and stand out amongst the other elements on the page.

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Use a contrasting color and pay attention to the button’s size - don’t forget to optimize it for different devices.

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Write smart product descriptions

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Here’s how to write top product descriptions: 

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• Focus on how the product solves the buyer’s problem
• Highlight the benefits
• Include adjectives but avoid using superlatives
• Make descriptions scannable for mobile user
  
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Build optimized product pages

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The interface of your product page is very important for your shopping cart conversion rate. Here’s what to look out for when building your product page: 

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• Add more images that show different aspects of the product
• Include multimedia formats like videos
• Make sure it’s not too congested with different elements
• Use consistent brand elements

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Suggested read: Product Page Examples That Work in 2024

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Use social proof 

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To show that people find your product useful, use social proof like reviews and ratings. 

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Place ratings on top of the product page so users don’t have to scroll down. 

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Also, make sure the best ratings are first on the list so people can focus on the benefits right away. 

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Highlight free delivery (if you have it) 

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Your shipping policy has to be transparent and easily visible. If visitors want to buy an item and they see that you charge more than they thought during checkout, they’ll leave. 

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If you have free shipping, make sure you highlight it, like the example below: 

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Personalize the customer journey 

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Creating a personalized journey helps you create a store that customers fall in love with and enjoy browsing. 

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Use AI recommendations 

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Sephora does a great job using similar recommendations.

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Offer the user items related to the one they’re looking at. This tactic could delight customers and increase your shopping cart conversion rate. 

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Make sure the products you offer are relevant and personalized to the user behavior. This way, they’ll be motivated to add more items and your store will get an increased Average Order Value (AOV).

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Optimize the checkout process

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These are some things you can do to customize the checkout process: 

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• Provide a short overview of important product details
• Make sure the customer always knows the shipping price
• Explain how shipping works
• Minimize the amount of information necessary
• Allow users to check out without registering

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Add a live chat option

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Include a chatbot or another live chat option on your website. This allows potential purchasers to obtain answers to their inquiries immediately without having to look for your contact details.

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If customers have to look for contact details for too long, they may grow bored or conclude that you aren't legitimate and go on.

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Conclusion

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Increasing your shopping cart conversion rate is essential to a successful online store. 

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We hope we’ve given you a few ideas on how you can optimize your store to retain customers, create a seamless experience, and increase revenue.  

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If you’d like to learn more about how to use AI personalized recommendations and visual search to delight website visitors and make sure they discover products quickly, schedule a custom demo with our team today. 

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