Where did everyone go?!…
At See Fashion, we come across tons of brands who are going through the same problem: high traffic → low conversions.
The story usually goes like this:
“After months of trial and error, I’m finally getting traffic to my website. My social media ads are performing well, I’ve invested in SEO and my instagram followers are growing. Despite this, my add-to-basket conversions are still horribly low and revenues aren’t increasing quick enough!”
If this rings too true to you…don’t worry, you are not alone.
There are some quick fixes, such as reducing load speed or making a few changes to your website copy. However, one of the first things you should consider is where is my traffic coming from and who are they?
It seems like an obvious question, but it’s one that we can completely forget. As e-commerce store owners, we can be so obsessed with getting as much traffic as possible that we ignore who they are and what they might be looking for.
Your shoppers are unique, so don’t treat them the same. Some are just browsing, some are incredibly indecisive, one might be looking for inspiration while the other is on a hunt for a bargain. The trick is to identify them quickly so you can convert them into a sale.
Based on our experience, there are four types of browsers you will find on your website. Here are our tips for converting them
- The Bargain shopper
“I am looking for the best deals”
The budget shopper is all about one thing — the price! They will spend hours searching for the best deals online. If they can find a product that they want cheaper somewhere, believe me they will find it!
How to convert them:
Personalised Coupons
Provide accessible and personalised coupons during their shopping journey whether it’s free shipping, a discount, or a free gift. See Fashion’s dynamic couponing allows you to create personalised coupons based on your customer’s behaviour.
So if you feel they are about to go price-hopping, you can give them a personalised one-off coupon to keep them on your website. You can also add a timer to the coupon, which puts added pressure to buy there and then!
Personalised inventory with sale items
Filter your inventory to show items that are on sale or discounted when they enter your website. With the See Fashion personal stylist, we will personalise the content of the website to purposefully show them products that are on sale.
2. The Product Hunter
“I am looking for this specific product and I want it now!”
The product hunter is goal-orientated. They have a specific item in mind and they wanted it yesterday.
How to convert them:
Dynamic personal recommendations
Personal recommendation tools allow you to show the product hunter relevant content in real-time. For example, if the product hunter is looking for shoes, you can create a personalised banner that directs them straight to the shoes page, or a pop-up that shows them a selection of your new shoe releases.
At See Fashion, we offer a visual search recommendation engine that can do just this. Our personal stylist picks up their browsing habits to quickly recommend products that are visually similar. If a product is out of stock in their size, you can also show them products that are visually similar so that they don’t have to spend time searching.
Shipping/Delivery offers
Offer free shipping or next day delivery so they know they will get it fast. You can use our dynamic couponing to do this. Having a localised banner also means you can show them specific shipping deals to their location.
Easy search
As well as using personalisation tools to filter content, you must also make searching easy and accessible for the product hunter. Create search icons which contrast against your site’s colour scheme, so that it is clearly visible to the product hunter.
Also consider using a search engine that handles longtail semantic searches rather than just plain text. Semantic-based search engines are able to understand the intent behind the user’s search. For example, being able to search ‘green striped shirts size M’ will produce more specific results than just ‘green shirts’. In fact, reports show that sites with a semantic-based search engine have a low 2% rate in shopping cart abandonment, compared to as much as 40% on sites with plain text search.
3. The explorer
“I am just looking for inspiration”
The explorer is not looking for anything in particular but is waiting to be wowed. They will spend time looking at your website until they like what they see.
How to convert them:
Curate rather than list
Don’t just list products…curate. For example, if you are running a fashion e-commerce store, consider filtering content based on styles as well as product categories. Showing how products can be paired together allows you to cross-sell and increase basket conversions.
Create a story
The explorer doesn’t just want to purchase, they want to be entertained. You can do this by building a story around your products.
Make sure you have editorial content such as blogs, videos and image boards that show your products in use whether by models, influencers or your users! Better yet, have some of this content next to the purchase now button!
Update site with new releases
The explorer is after the latest trends so always update your site with new products. Direct them to the latest releases through personalised pop ups or website banners. The explorer also has serious Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO)— so having a list of top selling products or top-rated products is a great way to encourage a purchase.
4. The indecisive shopper
“ I need some help making a choice”
The indecisive shopper needs a little bit of help turning an ‘add to cart’ into a purchase. They get slightly overwhelmed with choice and need a second opinion before they buy.
How to convert them:
Give them a personal touch
Personal recommendation tools are ESSENTIAL to improve the experience for the indecisive shopper. You need to filter content specifically to them, especially if you have an inventory of over 500 SKUs. You can also add extra confidence with a chatbot that can interact with your customer if they have any questions.
Personalised coupons can also provide the extra incentive to buy for the indecisive shopper.
User generated content
The indecisive shopper wants to be able to see what everyone else is doing.
Seeing user-generated videos and photos on your store acts as powerful testimonials that what you’re selling is interesting. If they are able to see users with similar tastes and styles, they will feel more comfortable in making a purchase. As the saying goes, “If it looks good on her, then it must look good on me.”
In summary…
Don’t waste the hard work you have put into building traffic, to lose them on your website. Understand that your users are individuals who require different things. While they are all interested in your products, the reasons for coming to your e-commerce store is different. Once you are able to identify your customers missions, you will be able to use the right tools to convert your traffic into sales!
Ivana Ojukwu is COO of See Fashion — an AI start up that empowers creatives and retailers to make products that their customers want. We offer trend insights and website optimisation tools to help you understand your customers better and increase conversions. To learn more about the conversion tools mentioned in this post, visit our website.
