Optimising your Shopify store's international conversion rate can reap rewards, with orders from shoppers in countries you hadn't even imagined! Doing it perfectly will take significant time and money, but getting the fundamentals right need not, and could still give your international sales a major boost.
More and more people are shopping online and there’s been a significant increase since the COVID-19 pandemic started, as people are forced to shop from their sofa rather than on their high street.
Shopify predicts there will be $4.8 trillion USD of online sales by the end of this year across the world. So, the time to maximise your international sales has never been better.
But what if you’re getting loads of hits from overseas website visitors but no sales? What’s stopping them from completing their carts and ordering from you?
Firstly, the way you record international web visits Vs sales is called International Ecommerce Conversion Rate (iECR). This is measured by working out the percentage of visitors that make a sale.
As an example, if you have three transactions/purchases for every 100 sessions, your international ecommerce conversion rate would be 3%.
So, what problems might affect your Shopify international ecommerce conversion rate and how can you solve them? Here are the five we think are the most important:
Problem: Abandoning basket
Are people in certain countries abandoning their carts more than others, could this be because you don’t offer sales in their local currency? FuturePay found that 16% of shoppers will simply go elsewhere if they can’t pay in their day-to-day currency.
Solution: Look at platforms like Shopify who can offer checkouts in multiple currencies.
Problem: Exiting when reading shipping information
Let’s start with two possible problems, that have one solution:
- Delivery time and cost
- Local courier knowledge
How you get your items to your customers is of course going to be very important. They want to trust it’ll get to them safe and secure but also in an acceptable time frame and at price they’re willing to pay, although the Ecommerce Fulfilment and Free-Shipping Guide found that 39% of shoppers would go elsewhere if shipping wasn’t free.
While price and time could well be something, you’re on top of, one factor that you might have missed is who you’ll use once your items arrive in the customer’s country. Large couriers like Asendia don’t just know how to get your item across borders but once in a new territory they have a network of local courier partners that will know local customs, the local area and maybe even be familiar (and a favourite) of your customer already.
Solution: Speak to an international e-commerce parcel specialist like Asendia who have the network and experience to deliver your items safely, securely and quickly across the world.
Problem: Lots of exits from your returns policy page
Customers need to know they’re not going to be out of pocket, or highly stressed, returning an item that isn’t what they expected, doesn’t fit, or has something wrong with it. Your returns policy needs to be clear, suitable for multiple locations and, if possible, free.
Solution: Free, fast and easy returns. Yes, it’s annoying that a customer may have to send something back, but giving them a clear returns policy, and covering costs for them, will make you more sales. Shopify have a great guide to writing a returns policy, but also talk to a well-established international courier like Asendia who can help provide the returns logistics demanded by your customers.
Problem: Home page bouncers
How many customers go no further than your home page, and where do they come from? Are a high percentage from a specific country? Could it be because your website isn’t presented in their language?
Solution: If you want to sell overseas, your website has to look local to your customers wherever they are. There are some really good plugins available now to help translate your website into another language, and a quick popup on your site will help direct customers to a website dedicated to their location. It’ll make them feel welcome and that, in turn, will increase your international ecommerce conversion rate.
While this list isn’t extensive, there will always be multiple reasons why a web visitor doesn’t end up buying from you, we feel this are the ones that will make a big difference with a little effort and you’ll soon have an international ecommerce conversion rate that our competitors will be truly envious of.
To find out more about how Asendia's e-PAQ international parcel and returns services can help increase your Shopify international ecommerce conversion rate, drop us a line.
