Published 24 March 23
Why Your Shopify Store Gets Traffic but No Sales: 9 Conversion Mistakes to Fix
Driving traffic to your Shopify store is just the first part of the challenge. It doesn't matter whether you get hundreds or thousands of visitors monthly; if they don't end up becoming customers, simply boosting traffic might not help you much. Instead, the real challenge lies in finding out what is going on once the visitors arrive. Conversion mistakes, from poor copywriting to slow mobile performance, can lead to lost sales without anyone knowing about it. These are nine Shopify conversion mistakes that you should be aware of.
1. Your Homepage Doesn't Clearly Explain What You Sell
When someone lands on your homepage, they shouldn't be left wondering what your company does. In the first few seconds, your visitor needs to know:
- Your products/services
- Target customers
- What sets you apart
- What should happen next
If there are many large pictures and general messaging/competing offers on your homepage, visitors will most likely close your site without checking your products. Solution: Clearly state your value proposition and provide an action point, such as Shop Now, Explore Products or See the Collection.
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2. Your Product Pages Don't Answer Customer Questions
It should not be the responsibility of the customer to go through your site to determine if the product suits their needs. Your product page should include everything the customer would need to make an informed decision, such as:
- Detailed product descriptions
- High-quality pictures
- Pricing
- Product variations
- Delivery details
- Returns details
- Reviews/FAQs
Consider what kind of questions customers would ask prior to buying the product and answering them on the page. The more questions that are answered by your product page, the easier it will be for customers to buy.
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3. Your Calls-to-Action Aren't Clear
The customer should not have to guess what to do next. When you have multiple competing buttons on a page, undefined terms or unclear calls-to-action, then you are adding unnecessary obstacles. Rather than having visitors guess, guide them. A call-to-action needs to stand out, be specific and relevant to where the consumer is in their journey. Examples of clear CTAs are Add to Cart, Buy Now or Shop the Collection.
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4. Your Store Doesn't Build Enough Trust
Not only are Visitors assessing your products. They are also determining if they should trust your company enough to invest their money. Elements that contribute to building trust include:
- Authentic customer reviews
- Testimonials
- Delivery details
- Returns policy details
- Payment security measures
- Contact information
- Social proof
This becomes especially crucial for first-time buyers who have never used your products before.
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Where Hackney Digital Comes In
At Hackney Digital, we consider the Shopify websites not only from the development side. To be effective, an e-commerce website should have a nice look, good functionality, but most of all should convert visitors into clients.
Working in the sphere of Shopify, e-commerce, and digital solutions gives us an opportunity to look at the whole picture. Starting from the moment when the visitor appears on the website up to the moment he or she makes the purchase.
It means that instead of looking at the details, we are asking ourselves the right question, does the website help the company to reach the goals set? Usability issues, website architecture, product representation, performance and purchase process are some examples of the questions we are trying to answer.
5. Your Mobile Experience Is an Afterthought
Just because your site looks amazing on a desktop screen, that doesn't mean that it will give customers the same experience using their mobiles. See how your site appears when viewed by customers through their phones:
- Navigation
- Product pictures
- Button sizes
- Text readability
- Pop ups
- Page loading
- Product variety
- Checkout process
When customers have to keep zooming in, scrolling or closing pop ups just to be able to purchase something from your store, you are just making it difficult for them.
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6. Your Store Is Too Slow
Speed is important since users don't like waiting for pages to be loaded before starting to view their products. Heavy graphics, unnecessary applications, many scripts, and other poorly optimized parts can affect the speed of your Shopify website. But the right approach will not be to just remove everything. Start by finding out what slows down your site and focus on those areas where the impact will be the greatest.
7. Your Checkout Process Creates Friction
By the time they get to the checkout page, they will have displayed definite intentions to buy. This makes the customer's loss especially annoying at this last stage. Problems that cause frustration at this stage include:
- Unpredictable charges for shipping
- Unclear information about returns
- Too many steps
- Few payment choices
- Compulsory account creation
- Complex forms
- Absence of assurances
The objective at this point is simple: make the purchase as easy as possible. Do not put any hurdles on the customer’s way at this stage.
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8. You're Giving Visitors Too Many Choices
More isn't always better. A homepage filled with banners, pop-ups, promotional messages, categories and competing calls-to-action can overwhelm visitors. This doesn't mean you need to reduce your product range. Instead, think about decision friction. Can visitors easily understand where to go? Can they quickly find the products they're interested in? Does each page have a clear purpose? A well-structured store helps customers make decisions without making them feel like they have to navigate through a maze.
9. You're Not Looking at the Data
Perhaps the biggest mistake is trying to improve your store based entirely on assumptions. If your Shopify store gets traffic but isn't generating enough sales, data can help identify where the problem occurs. Look at metrics such as:
- Conversion rate
- Add-to-cart rate
- Checkout abandonment
- Top landing pages
- Product performance
- Mobile versus desktop performance
- Traffic sources
- Customer behavior
For example, if visitors are reaching your product pages but rarely adding products to their basket, the problem could be related to product presentation, pricing, trust, or the overall buying experience. If lots of customers add products to their basket but don't complete checkout, the problem may be further down the journey. The important thing is to identify the point of friction before deciding what to change.
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Final Thoughts
It may need to do a better job of converting the traffic it already receives. Start by reviewing these nine areas and looking at your store from the perspective of someone visiting for the first time. Is the value proposition clear? Can they find what they're looking for? Do they trust the business? Is the buying process simple? Can they complete their purchase easily on mobile? And most importantly, are you using data to understand where customers are dropping off? A few small steps throughout the customer journey process can go a long way in how successfully you convert your current traffic to sales. Conversion Audit for Shopify can help you determine where your customers are falling off track and what changes need to be made to optimize your site. Hackney Digital; Shopify, e-commerce and digital solutions built around your business goals.
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