READING TIME: 9 mins
Unleash the Power of Magento E-commerce With Our Sales-Boosting Tips & Tricks
September 6, 2023
Alex Burmey
Senior Back-End Developer, Magento 2 and Laravel expertise
With over 250,000 online stores worldwide, Magento generates $155 billion in annual gross merchandise volume. It’s crystal clear that this platform has great business potential.
But here’s the deal: success in e-commerce isn’t just about having a Magento store; it’s about making it work for you.
Our team has gathered together tips and tricks to crank up the sales in your Magento e-store. Our article is a deep dive into strategies that can genuinely elevate your sales figures.
Not sure where to start optimizing your online store?
What to prioritize to optimize your Magento store sales?
As trends are changing and new technologies emerge, you need to make sure that your online store keeps up with the most recent updates.
We suggest that you focus on 7 main areas of your website and why they are important:
-
UX and UI
Companies that prioritize UX and UI design see a 32% increase in customer retention rates. -
Mobile optimization
More than 59% of users shop for goods using their mobile devices. -
Fast checkout
Online stores can achieve a 35% increase in conversions solely by improving checkout flows. -
Performance
If the page load times increase from 1 second to 5 seconds, the probability of bounce (abandoning the site) increases by 90%. Use our guide to Magento 2 Performance Optimization and improve your site speed properly. -
Reviews
79% of customers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. -
Abandoned cart reminders
Emails about abandoned carts may generate a 10.7% conversion rate. -
Loyalty programs
Customers enrolled in loyalty programs spend 12-18% more per year than non-loyalty members.
By slightly improving at least one of these facets of your store, you can achieve a significant increase in sales and a reduction in bounce rates. Further in this article, we provide actionable tips to help you in your e-commerce journey.
User experience (UX) and user interface (UI)
Investing in UX and UI design improvements can yield substantial returns. A well-thought and carefully designed user interface can increase conversion rates by up to 200%.
How can you benefit from better UX and UI?
Reduce bounce rates | Enhance users’ trust |
---|---|
A clean and user-friendly design encourages visitors to explore your website further. Around 38% of people stop interacting with a website if it’s not visually attractive. | Users are more likely to feel confident about making a purchase when the website appears credible and reliable. Around 19% of users leave sites that do not look trustworthy. |
What can you do to improve your store’s UX/UI?
-
Implement PWA
Thanks to PWA technology, your Magento store can offer a seamless, app-like experience on mobile devices. -
Become accessible
Your website must be accessible to all users, including those with disabilities. Implement WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) recommendations to make your store inclusive. -
Strive for a personalized experience
According to a report by Accenture, 91% of consumers are more likely to shop with brands that provide relevant offers and recommendations.
By prioritizing UX and UI improvements in your Magento store, you can create a more enjoyable and user-friendly shopping experience. As a result, boost your customer satisfaction and drive higher conversion rates.
Optimization for mobile devices
The stats tell the story – 59.8% of global online shoppers use their mobiles to buy products (DataReportal, 2023). That’s why, your Magento store must seamlessly adapt to various devices and screens. By slightly improving at least one of these facets of your store, you can achieve a significant increase in sales and a reduction in bounce rates.
Around 40% of users abandon a website that takes longer than 3 seconds to load.
Checkout and shipping
By simplifying the path to purchase, you can increase your conversion rate. Baymard Institute claims that the average cart abandonment rate is 70.19%.
Let’s consider the most common reasons for cart abandonment in 2023:
The majority of the issues in the infographics above can be resolved.
Firstly, consider improving the interface of your store to make it look more trustworthy and reliable as described earlier in this article. You also need to make your checkout process seamless.
Here are 4 steps that will immediately improve your store’s checkout:
-
Enable guest checkout.
Many customers prefer a quick one-time purchase without the commitment of registration. Allow guest checkout in your Magento store to ensure that users can complete a purchase without creating an account. -
Simplify the checkout process.
If possible, use a one-page checkout to minimize the number of steps required to complete the purchase. Eliminate all unnecessary fields, checkboxes, and other elements.
If it’s impossible, use a progress bar or step-by-step indicators. In this way, users will understand how many steps are left in the checkout process. This reduces anxiety and the risk that your customers will abandon the checkout halfway. -
Add diverse payment methods.
Offer a variety of payment methods, including credit/debit cards, digital wallets (e.g., PayPal, Apple Pay), and other local payment options. In this way, you’ll accommodate diverse customer preferences. -
Provide different shipping options.
Present shipping options with estimated delivery times and costs. Provide options for standard, express, or free shipping, if applicable.
By following these 4 recommendations, you can reduce your cart abandonment rate and recover the revenue you have been leaking due to these checkout gaps.
User reviews and rating
Integrate user-generated reviews and ratings into your product pages. Studies show that 89% of consumers trust read reviews for local businesses. By showcasing positive feedback and ratings, you can build trust and encourage hesitant buyers to make a purchase.
Enable product reviews
Ensure that product reviews are enabled. You can learn more about activating product reviews in this Magento article.
Default Magento product reviews also include both written feedback and a star rating. So, visitors can quickly see how other customers rated a product and check out more detailed reviews.
In the Magento admin panel, you can also create custom ratings, for example, by quality, price, value, etc.
Set up moderation of reviews
With review moderation, you ensure that only legitimate reviews are displayed. This helps maintain the credibility of your reviews section.
We also recommend allowing only registered users to leave reviews. This helps build trust, as reviews are tied to actual users.
Provide clear guidelines for writing reviews. Specify what is considered a helpful and informative review and what content is not allowed (e.g., offensive language, personal information).
Encourage users to leave reviews
Encourage customers to leave reviews by offering incentives such as discounts, loyalty points, or entry into a contest.
You can also set up an auto-sending of emails to customers inviting them to review the products they’ve purchased. Make the process as simple as possible with a direct link to the review form.
Allow users to easily share their reviews on social media platforms. This can expand your reach and encourage others to leave reviews.
Abandoned cart recovery
Implement an abandoned cart recovery strategy in Magento. Send automated emails to customers who have left items in their cart, reminding them to complete their purchase.
Start sending out email reminders
Implement an automated email series to remind users of their abandoned carts. Send a series of well-timed emails (e.g., 1 hour, 1 day, 3 days after abandonment) with compelling subject lines and clear calls to action.
Ensure that your emails have a clear and prominent CTA button that leads directly to the checkout page with the abandoned items preloaded in the cart.
Here are two tips to ensure that your emails do not get filtered out as spam:
-
Personalize reminders
Individualize your abandoned cart recovery emails by addressing customers by name and including images and details of the abandoned products. Make the email content relevant to the individual’s browsing and shopping history. -
Provide opt-out option
Include an option for customers to unsubscribe from recovery emails. Respect their preferences and avoid sending excessive follow-up emails.
Add value to your emails
To make your email reminders compelling and appealing, you can:
-
Recommend products
Include product recommendations based on the abandoned items. Suggest related or complementary products to entice customers to return and complete their purchases. -
Offer discounts or incentives
Offer discounts, promotions, or exclusive offers in your recovery emails. A time-limited discount code can create a sense of urgency and motivate customers to take action. -
Notify about limited stock
Use scarcity tactics to alert customers if the abandoned items are running low in stock. This can create a fear of missing out and prompt immediate action.
Sending emails about abandoned carts can win back lost sales. Such emails remind customers about their left-behind items and urge them to finish their purchases.
Loyalty programs
Encourage repeat purchases by implementing a loyalty program in your Magento store. Offer rewards, discounts, or exclusive access to loyal customers.
By default, Magento offers a convenient points-based loyalty model. Buyers earn points for each purchase and exchange them for discounts or free products. According to LoyaltyLion, businesses with points-based loyalty programs saw a 24% increase in annual revenue.
However, you can also opt for third-party solutions to implement other loyalty models, like referral programs. Such extensions offer flexible rewarding mechanisms and easy management.
Ways to make your loyalty program more effective:
-
Define Clear Rewards
Offer rewards that genuinely motivate your customers. For example, discounts, free products, early access to sales, or exclusive content. -
Personalize offers
Market offers a wide range of AI tools to send personalized offers and rewards tailored to each customer’s preferences and behavior. -
Promote Your Program
Use email marketing, social media, and on-site banners to promote your loyalty program. Highlight the benefits of joining and how customers can earn and redeem rewards. -
Spice it up with gamification
Incorporate gamification elements, such as badges, challenges, and progress bars. So, your customers will become more engaged in the program.
You can also encourage customers to share their loyalty program achievements and rewards on social media. -
Find partners
Consider partnering with other businesses for cross-promotions in your loyalty program. This can help attract new customers and reward existing ones.
Starting a loyalty program in your Magento store can be an effective way to boost customer retention, increase sales, and build brand loyalty. A well-executed loyalty program can deliver an ROI of up to 150%, as reported by Annex Cloud.
To wrap it up
To make your Magento store thrive, you need a strategic approach to make it work for you.
So, what can you do to increase your online sales?
-
Start by auditing and improving your UX and UI. This can instantly reduce bounce rates and build trust in your brand.
-
If you notice that visitors spend little time on the mobile version of your store or mobile sales are low, focus on mobile optimization.
-
Accentuate your store’s speed to attract customers and rank higher in search results. Choose a reliable hosting provider, enable caching, and optimize your store.
-
Streamline the checkout process, implement user reviews and abandoned cart recovery for higher conversion rates.
By focusing on these aspects of your Magento store, you can create a more appealing and efficient shopping experience for your customers. And ultimately increase your sales and revenue.
Alva Commerce provides a full range of services for online stores.
Featured Articles
Take a look at our latest blog posts to find out more about how our collaboration can empower your eCommerce business