The eCommerce Conversion Rate - What Influences It?

These days, people are buying online more than ever.

eCommerce businesses cover a wide range of industries and product types as well. From clothing to electronics to food, consumers can buy anything online.

Additionally, with the convenience of mobile, more and more of eCommerce purchases are happening on mobile devices.

These points may seem unrelated, but they aren’t - all of these things factor into your conversion rate - the percent of people who make a purchase after landing on your website. This is one of the most important metrics to keep an eye on when running an eCommerce business.

There are lots of things that can influence your conversion rate. Let's look at a few examples.

The first example is that mobile devices have a much lower conversion rate than desktop computers do. Smartphones convert at just 1.8% on average, while desktops have an average conversion rate of 3.9%. This means that if you're getting lots of traffic on mobile, your conversion rate might appear to be lower than average.

The industry you’re in has just as big of an influence on your conversion rate as the device does. eCommerce stores that sell food and drinks convert at 3.6% on average, but the conversion rate for online furniture stores is under 1%.

Another thing that factors into your conversion rate is your traffic source. This has the biggest influence on your conversion rate. “Warm” traffic sources like email and referral traffic convert at 5.2% and 5.4% respectively, while traffic from “cold” sources like paid advertising converts at around 1%.

This is why the question of what a “good” conversion rate really is can become complicated. Good eCommerce developers and marketers know that while the average conversion rate overall is around 2-3%, there are many variables you need to consider when determining your website’s potential for sales.

To help you determine what a good conversion rate might look like for your eCommerce business, take a look at some important conversion rate data points in the infographic below.

eCommerce conversion rate infographic