Conversion rate optimization boosts sales

Conversions are generated because the offer is good or the incentive is attractive: Why do I as a customer have to react right now? Because the offer is only valid for one month, for example? Because the customer is being offered a discount, vouchers or free delivery? Or because the quality of the product is perhaps better than that of the competition? In order for the customer to respond as desired, the company should not only clearly communicate the USP and emphasize the motivation - why should customers buy here of all places? -E-commerce customers are put off if too many clicks are required, images are not displayed, the page called up does not load or the ordering process and store do not appear secure and trustworthy enough. If seals of approval such as "Trusted Shops" or "s@fer shopping" placed prominently? Is the protection of data and the way it is used clearly indicated? Are all purchase and delivery conditions as well as the return modalities explained transparently during the ordering process?"A good store gives me the right information in the right place so that I feel comfortable as a customer"says Martin Schröter, Senior UX Specialist at the Berlin-based user experience agency Userlutions. According to the UX specialist, booking.com, for example, has implemented this perfectly, with everything in exactly the right place on their interface. This is because booking.com has understood which information is relevant for customers at which point in order to motivate them to book a hotel, i.e. to convert.

What makes an online store successful?

Whether Zalando, Otto, About You or WestwingNow - most online stores today hardly differ from one another. "They are all pretty good"says Schröter. "As the prices are also quite similar, the key question is: why do I buy from one store and not the other?" Most e-shop companies try to answer this question with A/B testing. The market-leading stores do this very professionally, while the mainstream tends to make decisions based on instinct. "The hypotheses that are tested in the A/B test are often based on pure gut decisions, often as a result of brainstorming sessions"Schröter knows. "Decisions are therefore made in the dark, there is a lack of a clear strategy and, above all, a technically sound basis."

Usability tests for strategic and precise optimization

This is where the specialists at the user experience agency come in. "We work with our tool for usability tests, the RapidUserteststo systematically find out where the shoe pinches and how the conversion rate can be improved," explains Schröter. Do the texts in the other stores seem more appealing? Are the images more convincing? Is the ordering process too complicated? The usability tests can be used to find out precisely what bothers people and to derive specific recommendations for action from this.The usability tests act as a hypothesis generation tool, and the hypotheses obtained are sent to the A/B test. For example, if Schröter and his colleagues find out in a usability test that six out of ten users do not use a certain form field (e.g. with information about their "Birthday") and thus cancel the order process, this is a clear indication that something needs to be changed here.

Reduce forms, explain data collection

Reducing form fields to a minimum or at least explaining why the date of birth is of interest to the company and how it will protect this data would be the specific recommendations for action for the website. Ideally, the theses are sent to the A/B test with corresponding alternative pages (with shorter form fields or with an explanation) against the current live variant, where you would then see that the optimized page has a 10% higher conversion rate, for example.However, a good deal of expertise is often required to make full use of the possibilities offered by usability tests. "We usually work with remote usability tests, simply because they are cheaper than the classic laboratory tests and the problem of social desirability is eliminated, i.e. the testers test alone and anonymously and we receive a video and audio recording of the test for evaluation purposes"explains Schröter.

Classify tester statements - even if it hurts

"You have to be able to recognize or classify tester statements such as 'I'm looking for the shoe size filter and can't find it' even if the tester is only expressing disapproval through facial expressions. This means that you have to pay more attention to the tester's behavior and less to what they say. This is the case, for example, if the tester scrolls and scrolls on the filter and claims that everything is ok, but you can tell from the undertone that this is not the case."To be on the safe side, it is advisable to rely on specialist agencies that can draw on a great deal of experience and expert knowledge in this area. Userlutions, for example, carries out several hundred tests a year, which alone means it knows a lot about best practices in e-commerce and uses a wide range of website optimization methods, some of which it has developed itself.

Systematic and continuous testing - test early, test often

If you want to improve your online store, you need to realize that it's not just about functionality, but also about motivation and persuasiveness. Strategically sensible and systematic testing reveals what is lying fallow here. Only then can the full impact of conversion rate optimization be achieved. And since you don't know what optimization potential can still be unleashed, continuity is also essential. The really successful companies have understood that conversion rate optimization is an ongoing issue and that you should never stop systematically optimizing your website. Just like the big players Amazon, Zalando and Otto. "Because the potential is (almost) infinite"says Schröter. "It can always be better."