5 best practices to improve your mobile eCommerce conversion rate

There is no denying that customers are inclined towards mobile eCommerce platforms for online shopping now more than ever, thanks to rapid smartphone penetration and improved internet connectivity. In fact, statistics tell us that by the end of 2021, global mobile eCommerce sales will hit $3.56 trillion. Over 79% of smartphone users have made an online purchase in the last six months. And, the most important one, 50% of online traffic is derived from mobile phones.

Statistics apart, as a consumer, there is nothing more comforting and convenient than browsing our preferred stores, adding products to our carts, and closing purchases on our mobiles. Such tremendous growth and recognition place the mobile eCommerce funnel as a leading sales channel for merchants and retailers. Yet, there are still several brands not taking advantage of the promising mobile eCommerce conversion rates.

Undoubtedly, the mobile eCommerce conversion funnel has led to higher sales than desktops ever can. We’ve worked with several eCommerce retailers and merchants, assisted them with mobile eCommerce conversion rate optimization, and helped eCommerce leaders to grow their mobile eCommerce sales. Over the years, our experts have tried and tested several eCommerce strategies to find the ones that boost eCommerce funnel performance and deliver promising results.

With that in mind, the following are our experts-recommended best practices for mobile eCommerce sales funnel optimization that merchants can quickly implement in their mobile eCommerce platform.

But first, what is an eCommerce funnel for conversion?

In simple terms, an eCommerce funnel is a visual representation of a visitor’s online buying journey from first landing on the page to completing a purchase.. A visitor enters an eCommerce conversion funnel from the top, goes through the funnel, stage-by-stage, ultimately exiting the funnel as a customer, repeat customer, or brand loyalist.

The eCommerce funnel for conversion remains the same for mobile and web shoppers, with each visitor moving through an eCommerce website UK and getting closer to being converted into a customer. Every visitor has to move through this eCommerce conversion funnel during their buying journey; however, not necessarily at the same pace. Some might slide through the funnel quickly while others might need more nurturing, taking weeks or months to reach the checkout and purchase process.

When properly planned and executed with the right strategies, an eCommerce conversion funnel helps drive traffic to your site, improves eCommerce conversion rates, expands your customer base, and grows brand awareness in new markets. It doesn’t matter what you call each stage (here we refer to them as landing page, category page, product page, shopping page, and checkout & purchase page) in this eCommerce funnel. Every brand has a unique eCommerce conversion funnel; however, what customers make out of it and how it impacts their buying behavior matters.

Now that you know what an eCommerce conversion funnel is and how it impacts your eCommerce goals, let’s move on to the best mobile eCommerce conversion rate optimization practices.

#1: Optimize your mobile eCommerce conversion funnel for lower shopping stages

During a consumer’s online buying journey, a buyer goes through several stages before completing a purchase, and each of these eCommerce conversion funnel stages is important. It’s not just the product recommendations page, cart page, or the checkout page that matters for eCommerce sales funnel optimization; every shopping stage does. When merchants analyzed their pain points, they found a common need to convert more first-time visitors, browsing visitors, and window shoppers other than shoppers and regular buyers. One of the best mobile eCommerce optimization tips is to focus on the lower eCommerce funnel stages through add-to-cart, pre-checkout, payment, and shipping solutions.

An eCommerce conversion funnel stage consists of:

• Strangers: first-time visitors, exploring the homepage. 
• Browsing shoppers: Have visited the mobile store several times, browsed category pages, but never completed a purchase. 
• Window shoppers: These have visited the store before, added items to their shopping carts, but never completed a purchase. 
• Shoppers: These are ready to complete a purchase and are currently on the checkout page
• Buyers: They have completed purchases several times before and have passed the checkout stage. They might even be regular customers and loyalists.

The eCommerce conversion optimization strategies for such customers include:

The eCommerce conversion funnel looks after the various stages of an online buyer’s journey and optimizes experiences to boost eCommerce conversion rate and drive more revenue.

#2: Add floating add-to-cart buttons to improve eCommerce conversion rate

Product pages include lengths of product information, from product images, price, name, discounted price, relevant offers, size and fit information, product details, shipping and delivery information, product return window, and estimated delivery date to product recommendations. A static add-to-cart button, amidst all these details, can be easily missed on a mobile eCommerce platform.

On the contrary, a floating add-to-cart button catches a customer’s sight, increases the probability of a product added to a cart, and improves revenue per visitor (RPV) metrics. In fact, over 92% of merchants experienced a positive shift in their cart rates, RPV, and mobile eCommerce conversion rates after adding floating add-to-cart buttons.

IMPORTANT METRICS TO NOTE:

To calculate RPV, use the formula: 

total revenue earned during a time duration / number of visitors on the mobile eCommerce platform during that time duration

To calculate cart rate, use the formula:

% of visitors to add at least one or more products to your shopping carts

Both cart rate and revenue per visitor are critical metrics for a positive and growing eCommerce funnel conversion rate. They provide smart insights about buyers in different stages of their online journeys, purchasing behavior, preferences, and consumer demands.

#3: Show cart total (in dollars) in the header section of your mobile eCommerce platform to boost revenue

The tradition of displaying the total number of items in the cart in the header or navigation bar is very common. In fact, customers nowadays do not even look at the cart item total and keep on adding products, even if they’ll end up buying only one of those added product items. However, displaying the cart total in dollars would be a visual cue for customers to view the total dollars to be paid and avoid any surprises during the checkout process.

Implementing this feature allows shoppers to add products to their cart and check the total dollar value of the items displayed in the header or below the cart icon in the navigation bar. It leads to positive lifts in the cart value, eCommerce conversion rate, and RPV metrics in mobile-made eCommerce sales.

Visitors are more likely to complete cart purchases when they have the full visibility of what they will have to pay in the header or navigation section.

#4: Hide the live chat icon in the cart and checkout pages

After tedious browsing, adding, and deleting items in the cart, now a customer finally reaches the end of the process- the checkout page of the eCommerce funnel. And, you certainly don’t want them to distract them with a live chat option that can very quickly pull a visitor away from their intended purchase, affecting the eCommerce funnel conversion rate. That is why hiding the live chat function from the cart, and checkout pages can help them focus on purchase completion.

Implementing an automatic function on your mobile eCommerce platform that removes the live chat option from cart and checkout pages can have a significant impact on your mobile eCommerce conversion rate, cart rate, and RPV metric.

#5: Auto selecting the shipping method to streamline the eCommerce funnel checkout process

For global merchants with an eCommerce website in the UK, offering localized experiences to customers of different regions is a priority. Depending on a user’s location, an mobile eCommerce platform must auto-select the right location along with the cheapest shipping option. As most customers mostly pick the most economical shipping option, it removes an additional step in the checkout process. More so, it allows users to change their selection as per their needs manually. In this implementation, mobile eCommerce funnel conversion rate is an important metric to consider since this practice takes place at the buying stage of the eCommerce funnel. Therefore, implementing the auto-shipping method is a way to improve the eCommerce conversion rate.

Ready to champion your mobile eCommerce funnel?

When brainstorming on how to improve the eCommerce funnel for the mobile, these best practices will drive your mobile optimization initiatives, enhance your online presence on the mobile, boost mobile-led eCommerce sales, and connect your brand with the on-the-go shoppers. With better mobile shopping experiences, you secure your eCommerce funnel through the test of time and changing market dynamics and create splashes instead of ripples.

Implement these mobile eCommerce conversion rate optimization strategies and become the best eCommerce website in the UK. For any issues, our experts are ready to assist you every step of the way.