In ecommerce, success is often a game of turning visitors into customers—a process called conversion rate optimization (CRO). Let’s dive into what is conversion rate optimization (CRO), why it’s essential, and how to increase the conversion rate for your online store with actionable strategies and top conversion optimization tools.

What is Conversion Rate Optimization?

Conversion rate optimization involves improving your website to increase the number of visitors who take a desired action, such as purchasing, signing up, or engaging with content. Since even a slight uptick in conversion rates can have a big impact, optimizing CRO has become an essential part of ecommerce growth.

With consumer expectations higher than ever, today’s online shoppers demand fast, seamless, and personalized shopping experiences. Focusing on CRO not only makes your store more efficient but also keeps your business competitive.

Key Strategies to Boost Your Ecommerce Conversion Rate

 1. Prioritize Mobile Optimization

With 67%  of ecommerce orders coming from mobile devices, it’s critical to ensure that your site is optimized for mobile shopping. Fast load times and a seamless checkout process are essential for converting mobile users, who typically expect instant access to content and simple navigation.

Related: Ecommerce Product Page Optimization

 2. Personalize the Shopping Experience

Personalization can yield up to a 10% increase in revenue, and hyper-personalized campaigns can increase conversion rates by 60% in comparison to traditional campaigns. By analyzing browsing history, purchase behavior, and even geographic data, you can offer tailored product recommendations that resonate with individual shoppers. Personalization isn’t just about showing relevant products; it’s about creating an experience that feels tailored and welcoming, which leads to higher engagement and conversions.

 3. Simplify the Checkout Process

Research shows that 22% of customers abandon their carts due to a complicated checkout. Simplifying your checkout by offering guest checkout options, for example, can drastically reduce cart abandonment rates. Consider adding digital wallets, like Apple Pay or Google Pay, for one-click checkout convenience. 

 4. Use Clear and Compelling CTAs

Your call-to-action buttons need to stand out. Make sure CTAs like “Buy Now” or “Add to Cart” are visible, engaging, and action-oriented. A/B testing can help you determine which CTA colours, placements, and wording resonate best with your audience. Remember, subtle changes to your CTAs can significantly boost your ecommerce conversion rate.

 5. Leverage Social Proof

Building trust is essential in ecommerce. Displaying product reviews, testimonials, and user-generated content helps foster credibility and authenticity. In fact, 70% of consumers trust peer reviews right after word-of-mouth recommendations. Use this to your advantage by showcasing positive reviews prominently.

 6. Use Top Conversion Optimization Tools

A range of conversion optimization tools can give you insights into how visitors interact with your site. Here are some to consider:

• Google Analytics (GA4): Track real-time data like traffic sources and goal conversions, helping you identify where visitors drop off and optimize accordingly.
• Crazy Egg: Use heatmaps to visualize user behavior, helping you pinpoint areas for improvement and test changes to boost conversions.
• HubSpot: HubSpot’s CRM and marketing automation tools help capture leads, nurture them, and convert abandoning users through forms and landing pages.
• Hotjar: With heatmaps, session recordings, and user feedback tools, Hotjar helps identify pain points and where users drop off, providing actionable insights to improve conversions.

 7. Optimize Product Pages with High-Quality Media and AR

High-quality product photos and videos are crucial for online shoppers. As the rise of augmented reality (AR) has shown, shoppers who can interact with products virtually are often more likely to buy. Try adding interactive images, 360-degree views, or even virtual “try-on” features for products like furniture or accessories.

 8. Retarget Visitors with Personalized Ads

Only about 2% of website visitors make a purchase on their first visit. Retargeting ads remind customers about items they viewed, increasing the chance they’ll return to complete a purchase. Pairing retargeting ads with personalized product suggestions is a highly effective CRO strategy.

 9. Prioritize Security and Transparency

Shoppers need to feel secure on your site. Displaying trust badges, outlining secure payment options, and clearly communicating shipping and return policies can improve trustworthiness and drive conversions.

Conclusion

CRO is a continuous process, so tracking metrics like bounce rate, time on page, and cart abandonment is essential. With ongoing analysis, you can adjust and fine-tune strategies to meet changing consumer expectations and stay competitive.

From using conversion optimization tools to tracking key metrics and optimizing customer journeys, Tenovia offers a tailored approach to boost your ecommerce conversion rate. Reach out today to see how we can help transform your site into a high-performing sales channel.

Improving conversion rate optimization can seem daunting, but with these strategies, you’ll be on the right path. Keep refining, keep testing, and watch your conversions climb!

The e-commerce landscape is dynamic and constantly changing driven by the constantly evolving consumer preferences, technological advancements, and upcoming market trends. To stay ahead of the plethora of choices available in the industry, brands find the need to constantly innovate and differentiate themselves from the crowd. 

From sustainable choices that appeal to eco-conscious consumers to personalized experiences that attract the trend-conscious, the opportunities for growth and differentiation are immense. 

In this blog, we’ll be exploring unique strategies that are tailored toward the footwear industry, exploring everything from product customization to community engagement initiatives. Read on to know more.

Setting the path to growth for footwear brands in E-commerce

1: Cookie cutter solutions don’t cut it anymore!

Customization is everywhere, so how does one use this word to attract more traffic to your website? Adding convenience and detailing. Offer real-time customizations using virtual fitting tools for your customers to see how your product will look on them. This provides a personalized approach for every customer while also solving for the most common decision breaker – the perfect fit for every unique foot.

2: The only footprints left are of the wearer!

In the world of consumerism, the one constant thing is the evolution of trends. One such trend that is ever-evolving but is here to stay is sustainability. Sustainable brands are high in demand and are on top priority for brands that are looking to reduce their carbon footprint. Footwear brands can invest in sustainable material innovation to introduce more eco-friendly alternatives like bio-based leathers, and recycled plastics. This will help brands appeal to eco-conscious consumers without compromising on quality or style while contributing to a greener future.

3: Time to think inside the box!

Movies? Subscribe. Skincare? Subscribe. Custom clothes? Subscribe.
In an era where everything can be subscribed to, why not bring in subscription boxes for Footwear? Combining convenience, curation, and customization bring new styles and trends to your customers with subscription boxes. To reduce packaging costs, brands can introduce an option to return the boxes after delivery. Subscription boxes can offer personalized selections tailored to preferences, lifestyles, seasons, and geo-locations using data analytics. You can also provide subscription services for professional shoe care products, such as cleaning kits, polishes, and protectants, directly to customers’ doorsteps regularly.

4: Look for the right ‘market’ fit!

By identifying niche markets that are exclusive to you, you can establish yourself as an industry leader and carve out a unique position within the competitive landscape. For example, audiences with specific needs and interests, such as footwear for specific orthopedic purposes like a flat foot. With the help of the right data analytics tools, you can identify these niche gaps in the market and also keep a close monitor of what your competitors are up to.

5: Not just another product up for sale

Think beyond just making another sale and delivering it to the doorstep of your customer. Offer services that can be clubbed with your products to assure brand loyalty. For example, offering services like restoration, cleaning, and reconditioning can help customers revive their beloved footwear and feel a sense of attachment to your brand. Stay connected with your customers through ORM and innovate with services that go beyond just the product.

6: Be the ‘Tech’ of the town

Technology is your best friend. Bring in innovation, functionality, and trends through tech integration of smart sensors, augmented reality (AR), and 3D printing. From personalized fit adjustments to personalized experiences, use tech to enhance the utility and value of footwear products, catering to tech-savvy consumers seeking cutting-edge features.

In conclusion, tailoring unique strategies that are aligned with the needs and interests of your audience can help your brand differentiate and stand out from the competition. From custom shoe fit experiences to shoe subscriptions, the possibilities for innovation are endless. In the face of an ever-evolving eCommerce landscape, it’s important to push the boundaries of creativity, sustainability, and technology to make your mark in the industry.

With the pandemic, ecommerce is seeing an unstoppable boom across all regions and sectors. In India, B2C ecommerce is already a success. For the organized market, it accounts for 20-25% of the business. However, when you look at the total retail market in India, ecommerce only occupies about 8% of market share. The digitization of this massive 92% of offline businesses is what we’re referring to as B2B ecommerce. 

Retailers in B2B marketplaces have changed habits over the last three years. Today, many retailers are looking at the deals being provided by brands in these B2B marketplaces. They’re going to these marketplaces for the following reasons:

• Offers: Obviously an attraction for retailers, offers are beneficial to all parties involved.
  
• Faster servicing: Adopting methods from B2C ecommerce – such as faster and cheaper delivery, being open to accepting smaller minimum order quantities, and easy tracking – are a big benefit to retailers.
  
• Wider range: Brands are given the opportunity to showcase an entire range of collections.
  
• More brands: Retailers can sign up with more distributors and brands, even those who might have been beyond their reach because of their location or size.
  
• Same pricing and credit as offline channels: Retailers and distributors love offline channels because they get better margins from brands for more volumes, showcasing loyalty to the brand. They also get credit based on their long trusted relationship with the brands. With B2B ecommerce, which is integrated to the ERP of the brand, the same feature set is available. 

While B2B commerce is still in its nascent stages, it continues to show great promise. And when you consider the above five factors, the proposition of B2B Ecommerce becomes very compelling. In fact, one of the leading B2B marketplaces touched almost ₹6,000 Cr of annual revenue in FY21.

How B2B ecommerce has grown in India

When high-speed internet and smartphones became ubiquitous, demands for online business transactions increased. With that, came a flurry of B2B opportunities that connected businesses from urban and rural regions all over India. To gain some perspective on the potential scale of this ecommerce market, consider IAMAI-Kantar ICUBE’s report, which projected that India will be home to 900 million active internet users by 2025. Thus began India’s slow transition from physical brick-and-mortar stores to virtual storefronts. 

To grow in B2B ecommerce, companies need fair pricing, large consignments, dependable supply, and efficient execution. What’s more, B2B ecommerce companies operate on much larger order values and volumes so they approach their decision making, customer engagement, solutions, as well as product and marketing strategies differently. 

Thanks to the increased penetration of high-speed internet and smartphones, greater willingness to adopt newer tech, changing business processes due to the pandemic, regulatory steps (GST/CST), etc., the benefits of B2B ecommerce are becoming more and more visible each passing year. Today, the B2B ecommerce market size is seeing a massive explosion in the country, with MarketWatch reporting that 72% of manufacturers are boosting their budget for B2B ecommerce operations.       

How should B2B ecommerce companies recalibrate in FY23?

When working on enhancing B2B ecommerce business, perhaps the most important thing to remember is that a majority of B2B buyers today are millennials. This tech-savvy generation expects quick, seamless, and convenient transactions. B2B companies should focus on enhancing the UI/UX of their B2B ecommerce platform for online dealers and distributors and add rich, relevant, and easy-to-use features to boost adoption.

Naturally, the methodology for marketing will also look vastly different than it did previously. B2B customers now expect the same kind of service as B2C. They prefer personalized interactions, live chats, and other technology-forward channels that can help cement a stronger connection. So it is vital to redirect some spends from physical marketing to digital marketing. 

The big focus on B2B ecommerce going forward

• India’s largest B2B marketplace: It crossed ₹5,800 Cr of sales in FY21 and looked to double it in FY22. Today, it boasts over 30,000 B2B sellers and over 3 million users across industries. These numbers are large, too large for brands to not have their own B2B ecommerce play in place.
  
• ONDC: The Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) is a government-backed non-profit company that hopes to democratize India’s ecommerce market for buyers and sellers of all scales and segments. With this platform, smaller B2B ecommerce businesses in India can now get access to digital platforms and push growth. Although it is still in its pilot stages, active in just five cities, it is expected to accommodate 10 million merchants and 30 million sellers across 100 cities by October 2022. 

Let your B2B ecommerce business take flight

If there’s one thing B2B marketplaces have done, it is proving the importance of having a direct connection with retailers. That’s why at Tenovia, we’re helping you bridge the gap by allowing your B2B customers to purchase from you across platforms, be it your website, your app, or your WhatsApp business account. 

Our B2B ecommerce solution – 10Commerce – is an integrated solution that covers all stakeholders including retailers, dealers, distributors, and brands. We’re also integrated with fintech companies and multi-tier transport providers to give you a well-rounded solution that mirrors your offline B2B processes. If you’re interested in exploring 10Commerce for your B2B ecommerce business and bettering your reach to trade customers, connect with us today!

As the dawn of reality sets in and businesses embrace the new normal, the fear of COVID-19 remains intact. The government has eased restrictions and allowed for businesses to operate, however, with the condition that stern rules and regulations are to be followed. For businesses of any scale, streamlining flows to reopen warehouses may be a challenge given the complexity of the problem that lies ahead. 

Challenges that need immediate addressing

• Is there a disaster management plan in place?
• How will the business work with suppliers?
• How will the business maintain the workforce and ensure strict adherence to regulations?
• How will the business tackle problems like in warding and movement of goods within the warehouse with minimal contact?
• How will the logistics hand-off take place?
• How will deliveries and returns be handled?

Some sectors have seen unprecedented growth in the past; with ‘essentials’ skyrocketing in demand, the need for the hour is uninterrupted supply. Fulfilling demand, however, does not come at the cost of safety. Every business today, whether in the essential or non-essential space needs to have an action plan to ensure the safety of the workers and consumers while keeping the risk of contracting the virus as minimal as possible. 

How to streamline warehouse operations for safety

1. 360 Sanitization: As many studies suggest, the virus can live on inanimate objects for close to 72 hours and eliminating chances of contracting the virus through surfaces is the first step towards curbing the spread. Thorough sanitization of peripherals, doors, knobs, racks, trolleys, and other objects can cut down any potential risks. Sanitization has to be a mandatory practice and carried out on a regular basis for efficacy.

2. Monitor floor staff: Educating the workforce is the foremost responsibility of businesses. The seriousness of the situation needs to be communicated to the workforce and the steps to curb the spread also need to be addressed. Monitoring the workforce before entering the premises should be made mandatory. As per the government regulations, anyone who is running a temperature over 37.4 needs to be reported to the manager and sent home for a period of self-quarantine. Also, masks and gloves must be distributed for safety. Hand sanitization every 2 hours has to be made mandatory and this is also to be monitored.

3. Social distancing norms: A minimum distance of 6 feet is to be maintained between workers at any given time. At workstations, packing stations, and even leisure time, the norms of social distancing are to be adhered to. 

4. In warding procedure: While sanitization, social distancing, and other mandatory procedures can easily be put in place, the real challenge arises when inwarding products with zero contact. Mandatory temperature checks for drivers bringing in the goods via trucks and a contactless handover of the required documentation, followed by 

5. No-contact racking, packing, and hand-offs: The ideal way to move things around the warehouse while maintaining minimal contact is to assign two people and set paths to carry out tasks. While racking, ensure the GRN entries are made and aisles are sanitized well. Social distancing norms are to be maintained while packing with a minimum of 6 feet between each worker. Packed goods are to be left at designated spots from where assigned personnel can pick them and a hand-off to logistics will be done.

6. No-contacts returns processing: In the case of returns, the package is to be dropped off at the return pay. As a safety measure, the package is to be left at the returns dock for 24 hours and inwarded the next day. Post-pick-up, sanitization, and quality check is to be carried out and the product should be then docked on the respective rack.

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