If you’re wondering why your visitors aren't buying…
This is where we fix it.
For small retailers, ecommerce conversion rate optimization (CRO) is all about improving the strategic design, user experience and using targeted marketing to encourage more visitors to convert into paying customers. And if while you are at it, you can increase the average order value (AOV) even better!
Key strategies include optimising for mobile, prioritising social proof and user generated content (UGC), simplifying the checkout process, improving product presentation and monitoring data and analytics.
By improving these areas, small independent retailers can significantly improve their conversion rates and increase AOV too.
1. Optimise Your Shop for Mobile:
Did you know - over 50% of purchases now happen on mobile?
- According to Venn Apps “As of 2025, about 59% of all online retail sales worldwide come from mobile devices, overtaking desktop.”
Check your own data here to know your own stats, but mobile shopping isn’t something you can ignore.
On mobile your shop needs to:
- Load quickly and look good
- Be really easy to navigate
- Be easy to buy from
Check your website is fully responsive and displays correctly on all devices today.
2. Make Social Proof and UGC a priority:
Did you know - consistent social proof can increase revenue by 62% per customer?
- Also, according to Datapins 92% of consumers hesitate to buy when no customer reviews are available and 88% of consumers trust user reviews as much as personal recommendations.
Do everything you can to collect social proof and UGC for your product sales:
- Encourage your customers to provide reviews and UGC with incentives
- Display customer reviews, photographs, videos and ratings prominently on product pages
- Encourage social sharing and integrate social media buttons to showcase social proof
Collecting social proof and UGC isn’t easy, but it IS worth it!
3. Streamline the Checkout Process:
Did you know - the average shopping cart abandonment rate is 70%?
- According to Baymard Institute roughly 7 out of 10 online shoppers abandon their carts before completing their purchase
How to make it easier for your browser to buy:
- Reduce the number of steps required to complete a purchase
- Ensure all the information required to buy (delivery/shipping costs/returns) is all clearly displayed before checkout. Free shipping over a specific spend is a great way to encourage a higher purchase
- Allow guest checkout and remove all barriers to purchase.
- Provide a variety of payment methods (PayPal, credit cards, Klarna etc.) to cater to different preferences
- Make it as easy as possible to buy ensuring the "add to cart" and "checkout" buttons are prominent
If your customer has any doubts or concerns, or things are complicated they will go and look elsewhere.
4. Enhance and improve Product Presentation:
Did you know - high quality photos have a 94% higher conversion rate than low quality photos?
- This is according to Business Dasher, who also state that 50% of online shoppers believe that large high quality product images are more important than product descriptions, ratings and reviews!
You can improve your product detail page by:
- Using high-quality images and videos to showcase products in detail
- Enable customers to zoom in on product images to see details
- Provide clear, concise, and informative product descriptions
- Include clear details about shipping costs, returns and delivery times
- Include care instructions if required
- Feature product reviews and UGC
- Give them a understandable reason to buy today
Give your browser everything they need to be confident enough to buy today
5. Monitor data and analytics:
Did you know - by tracking key metrics and data you can make informed decisions and increase your competitive edge?
- According to SalesFire, the Global Insights Manager at Awin says ‘ There is no doubt that modern businesses are sitting on a goldmine. Their data isn’t just numbers, it’s the prime opportunity to find those golden moments that give the upper hand across almost all aspects of your business… trends are discovered that can be tracked, monitored and optimised, risks mitigated and avoided, and help provide light when the situation may look bleak…”
The best free tools to use for data are:
- GA4
- Microsoft Clarity
- Google Search Console
- Insights / Analytics on any platform you use
Key metrics to track are:
- Conversion Rate by site and by product
- Average Order Value (AOV)
- Customer Lifetime Value (LTV)
- Cart Abandonment Rate
- Bounce Rate
- Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)
Monitoring visitor behaviour and actions pinpoints areas where visitors are facing friction or abandoning their purchase and to identify patterns and trends. Fix those, and you will improve your ecomerce conversion rate.
Ecommerce conversion optimisation for small retailers means removing friction points, building trust, and helping customers buy easily - on whatever device they are using.
Identify what they need to know and present it well, give them a great user experience, use data to spot areas that need fixing andensure your shop is fast on mobile and watch your conversion rate improve.
And once you've sorted your CRO, then it's time to incrase your traffic... because now you're playing the numbers game:
Visitors X Conversion % = Sales
