Obtaining eCommerce conversions is never easy. No matter how great your product is, there are often a variety of physical and psychological elements at play that drive a consumer’s retail decisions. Some of these roadblocks, however, can be avoided with a few simple application tweaks.

In this article, we’ve identified three online app optimization hacks that you should be utilizing in order to avoid common conversion rate killers, stay ahead of competitors, and improve your customers’ experience.

3 Online App Optimization Hacks to Consider

1. Using Consumer Validation Tools to Increase “Add to Cart” Button Clicks

Did you know that 70% of purchases, whether purchased offline or online, are initially researched online? Whether you have an online retail channel or a brick and mortar establishment, it is important that customers can find product information when they need it.

One critical type of information the consumers utilize when researching a product is customer reviews. Product reviews and ratings, combined with additional online information like the quality of a product, help consumers make purchasing decisions. Q & A forums, like on Amazon.com and HomeDepot.com, can also have a huge impact on conversions.

The more customer tools you build out, like a Q & A forum and customer review section, the more success you will see. Just don’t expect results overnight. These tools tend to be expensive to build and difficult to implement in terms of developing the technology and growing that community, but the increased conversions will be worth the wait.

2. Remove the ‘Out of Stock’ Roadblock to Reduce Abandonment

Retailers obsess with optimizing the checkout process, but fail to realize that having a product listed as ‘out of stock’ is one of the biggest conversion rate killers! If you’re not monitoring cart abandonment rates for a particular product that may only be out of size or stock, then you better start.

Customers come in with an intent to purchase, but because of industry shortages, may be turned away when the product they want to buy is not available. A lot of the time what will happen is, when a consumer selects the style they want and it’s out of stock, the “add to cart” option disappears entirely. This function has a huge impact on conversion rate.

To stay on top of this issue and reduce cart abandonment, try implementing a product notification tool. Customers can enter their email address and the tool will notify customers when a product is back in stock. As an additional strategy, you may also consider implementing a backorder program.

3. Stay Competitive with Free and Fast Shipping

One of the first things a customer considers when they visit an online retail application is whether or not they offer free shipping. For many, no free shipping equals no purchase. Retailers need to be aware of this in order to be competitive with other online retailers.

The second most important reason people switch retailers is shipping, only after price. Even affluent shoppers will go elsewhere if they can get free shipping for the same product. Take a note from Amazon Prime, who is setting the standard for shipping by always offering free two-day shipping to its members. According to Forester Research, 75% of consumers would buy from another retailer that offers the same product but with free, two to three-day expedited shipping. If you don’t keep your shipping rates up to par with your competitors, you’ll be sure to lose conversions.

In the end, retailers need to put themselves in the mind of the consumer and create a shipping strategy that benefits both them and their consumer.

If you utilize these 3 app optimization hacks, you will be well on your way to keeping your online app optimized in order to increase conversion rates and improve your customer’s experience. If you want to know even more hacks to increase eCommerce conversion rates, download the full ebook, 5 Proven (& Often Ignored) Tactics That Increase Conversion Rates for eCommerce, by clicking the button below.