collaborative post // eCommerce is a growing industry that gets bigger and bigger every year. As more people go online to shop for goods and services, more opportunities present themselves for would-be entrepreneurs.
So, you’ve gone and created an online store. Perhaps you’ve used Shopify or Magento as your platform of choice and everything is up and running. You even have a solid marketing plan in place – which is reflected by some impressive traffic stats. Unfortunately, after combing through some data, you realize that your traffic keeps landing and leaving.
Your bounce rate is extremely high as potential customers find your site and leave almost immediately. Why is this happening and what can you do to fix it? Here are the top three reasons customers are bouncing:
Page Loading Speeds
Did you know that 82% of consumers say slow page speeds impact their purchasing decisions? If your pages take over a second to load, there’s a high chance users will just leave. They can’t be bothered to wait around, meaning your eCommerce business misses out on valuable customers.
Work on optimizing your site so the pages load as quickly as possible. It should be almost instantaneous; the moment someone clicks on a page, they see it!
Website Security
Consumers need to know that they’re safe when using online websites. This is all the more important when you sell things online as their payment details will be used. An eCommerce store with terrible security is likely to see a high bounce rate.
At the very least, you need SSL encryption – if people see that your site isn’t secure, they’ll click away immediately. Furthermore, consider things like penetration testing to get down to the nitty-gritty of where any vulnerabilities lie.
This will help you implement things to further secure your site and keep everyone safe. If a consumer knows your site is secure – and there’s visual evidence of this – they’re more likely to stick around.
Responsiveness
Website responsiveness comes in two main forms. Firstly, your eCommerce store must be responsive in the sense that everything works when you click it. If users are trying to add things to their cart or click on menu buttons – and nothing’s loading up – then they’re going to leave.
Likewise, you need to consider responsiveness from a mobile-friendly perspective. Sure, your site works perfectly on desktops – but does it respond in kind on mobile devices?
Sales via mobile devices account for 6% of total retail sales every year, and this figure is rising. If your site isn’t optimized for mobiles, you miss out on a lot of sales.
Ensure your site actually works and responds to user inputs, then double check it does this across all browsers and platforms.
Driving customers to your eCommerce store is the first step in a wider challenge. Once they’re on your site, you could lose them right away. The three reasons above are largely considered the most common reasons users leave websites before buying anything. Focus on fixing them and you will see a better eCommerce store that doesn’t have a high bounce rate.
