How Ecommerce Conversion Rate Optimization is Impacted by Product Expertise

Current ecommerce conversion rates range from 1-4%, leaving many online business owners scratching their heads about how to improve them. With conversion rates that low, you’d think consumers don’t like shopping online.

But as it turns out, consumers love shopping online. When polled about what exactly they love, shoppers frequently mentioned the convenience is important to them (87%), as well as coupons and discounts (38%), quick checkout process (29.7%), and free shipping (49.7%). What consumers don’t love is a lack of product expertise. Recent data shows that 10% of well-known ecommerce giants miss the mark when it comes to providing detailed product descriptions. More and more studies are pointing out that some of consumer’s biggest frustrations circle around a lack of competence on the part of the business.

The good news is that ecommerce conversion rate optimization is as simple as communicating product expertise with stellar product pages and descriptions. Here are three ways you can use your product expertise to increase your ecommerce conversions.

Method 1: Develop a customer-centric journey—one that communicates product expertise.

The customer journey is becoming an increasingly important part of online shopping. Brick and mortar retailers work to instill consumers with confidence and position their business as the expert in relation to the products they’re selling. But it requires a little work on your site and on your product pages to accomplish that same goal. If done well, there are areas where you can manage this even better than a brick and mortar experience.

One way that brick and mortar based brands communicate product expertise is through their sales staff. From apparel to automobiles, it’s easier to instill consumers with a perception of brand competence with a knowledgeable salesperson who knows the product well and can help customers find the best fit.

But even that personal experience falls…