WEB DESIGN

How to Increase Your Shopify Plus Sales

30 October, 2024

Proven Strategies to Boost Conversions (from people whose job it is to boost conversions)

If you have an e-commerce business on Shopify Plus, you already know you have unparalleled access to a powerful platform designed to handle high-volume sales, complex operations, and growing businesses effortlessly. But what does any of that matter if you don’t have anyone buying? If you’re looking/needing/desperate to increase your sales, it’s time to plunge into UI/UX optimization. Cue the Psycho shower scene sound effect. 

UI/UX can be daunting, and when you start researching how to optimize, it can get overwhelming quickly. That’s why we wanted to share actionable tips and proven strategies anyone can implement to boost their Shopify Plus sales

Also, if you’re not paying for Shopify Plus and are curious about the hubbub, we got you.

Why UI/UX Is Critical for Driving Sales

Picture this: you’re on a website that’s slow to load, hard to navigate, or so busy and messy it gives you a headache just looking at it. Chances are, you’re gonna dip out fast, and the likelihood of feeling confident that buying something is a good choice is next to zero. Cue: UI/UX design. The overarching principle here is simple: proper UI/UX design ensures your website is intuitive, attractive, and easy to navigate, which keeps buyers on your site.

First, a few definitions to make sure we’re on the same page:

  • UI (User Interface) encompasses the visual elements of your online store, including, but not limited to, buttons, colors, fonts, images, and layout that compose your website.
  • UX (User Experience) focuses on how visitors interact with your store. It emphasizes the ease of finding products, navigating through pages, and completing the checkout process.

UI and UX come together seamlessly to deliver a positive shopping experience and keep potential clients on your page longer. Which, according to Harvard Business Review, increasing customer retention by 5% can increase profits by 25% to 95%. If that wasn’t enough, according to Forrester research, well-designed UI can increase a website’s conversion rate by up to 200%, and a better UX design can achieve upwards of 400%. 

It literally pays to keep eyes on your site, so do what it takes to keep them there.

The Benefits of UI/UX Optimization for Shopify Plus Stores

So, how exactly does UI/UX optimization make the subjective experience better for the user and push them to buy again and again? Anecdotally, I think the answer is quite simple: it doesn’t allow time for doubt to creep in.   

  • A clean, easy-to-understand interface helps guide users through your store, reducing friction and breezing them to the checkout with fewer distractions from the task at hand.
  • Complex or confusing checkout processes are one of the top reasons for cart abandonment. A streamlined UI/UX helps minimize this issue (AKA what’s the absolute minimum number of buttons I have to press to buy something?). 
  • When users have a positive experience on your site, they’re more likely to return and make repeat purchases. Granted, this assumes that a brand’s product is worth buying again in the client’s eyes. If the product is trash, UI/UX optimization won’t be enough to bring them back. 
  • A well-designed store reflects fosters trust with your customers, making them more likely to engage with your brand. Simply put, a busted website is a red flag to buyers.

Strategies to Increase Shopify Plus Sales

We want you to be successful, so here are some actionable tips you can implement TODAY to start improving your UI/UX. Companies can charge upwards of $15,000 for UI/UX audits, so take notes (and thank us later).

1. Optimize Your Website Speed

One of the fastest ways to lose potential customers is with a slow-loading website. Studies show that 53% of mobile users will leave a site if it takes longer than three seconds to load. Shopify Plus provides some built-in features for fast performance, but you can also take extra steps to make sure your site is lightning-fast.

Actionable Tips:

  • Use compressed images and videos to reduce load times.
  • Leverage lazy loading so content only loads as users scroll down.
  • Utilize a content delivery network (CDN) to deliver assets more quickly.

2. Simplify the Checkout Process

A complex or lengthy checkout process is a major bummer for Shopify Plus sales. As previously stated, simplifying this process can dramatically improve conversion rates. Shopify Plus allows you to customize the checkout experience, providing flexibility to make it as streamlined as you can imagine it.

Actionable Tips:

  • We beg you – limit the number of form fields and steps in your checkout process.
  • Offer multiple payment options, including digital wallets like Apple Pay, Google Pay, and PayPal.
  • Enable guest checkout to allow customers to make purchases without creating an account.

3. Make Sure You Optimize for Mobile

Statistics show 57% of e-commerce sales come from mobile devices, and projections indicate the mobile e-commerce share will reach 63% in 2028. Ensuring your Shopify Plus store is mobile-optimized is critical. A responsive design ensures that your website looks and functions perfectly on any screen size, from desktops to smartphones.

Actionable Tips:

  • Test your store on various devices to ensure a seamless experience.
  • Implement touch-friendly navigation for easy scrolling and product browsing.
  • Use large, easy-to-click buttons for call-to-actions like “Buy Now” or “Add to Cart.”

4. Utilize Social Proof

This is Marketing 101, but it’s so often overlooked. Social proof, like customer reviews, ratings, and testimonials, is a powerful tool to boost your Shopify Plus sales. Customers just want to make a smart decision, and having others vouch for the product is one of the best ways to do that. 

Actionable Tips:

  • Display product reviews prominently on your product pages.
  • Incorporate user-generated content, like photos or videos of customers using your products.
  • Highlight customer testimonials on your homepage or dedicated sections.

5. Run Limited-Time Promotions and Discounts

Creating a sense of urgency while the user is on your site can drive more sales by encouraging customers to BUY NOW! Limited-time deals, flash sales, or exclusive discounts really help to boost sales.

Actionable Tips:

  • Use Shopify’s built-in tools to create countdown timers for flash sales.
  • Promote your limited-time offers on social media and via email marketing.
  • Offer exclusive discounts to loyal customers or email subscribers.

6. Analyze and Optimize with A/B Testing

In order to continually boost your Shopify Plus sales, it’s important to test various strategies and determine what resonates best with your audience. A/B testing enables you to try out different aspects of your store, like headlines, product images, and call-to-action buttons, to identify which versions lead to higher conversion rates.

Actionable Tips:

  • Test different product page layouts to see which converts better.
  • Experiment with varying levels of discount offers to find the sweet spot.
  • A/B test email subject lines and formats to maximize open rates and click-throughs.

7. Partner with UI/UX Experts Like Us

Good news – it won’t cost you $15,000.

There’s so much you can do on your own to improve your UI/UX successfully. Comprehensive website audits can easily cover over 500 parameters, and unfortunately, identifying a problem doesn’t necessitate an easy solution. 

Here at Coura, we specialize in conducting comprehensive UI/UX audits and designing websites. For $3,200 (heads up, prices are increasing in 2025), we identify issues in your store’s design and usability and recommend how to address them in order of priority. Forrester’s Research has also shown that every $1 invested in UX design yields a return of $100. To put it simply, having experts like us at Coura audit and provide our professional insight could lead to significant revenue increases quickly.

Conclusion

There’s plenty you can do to optimize your UI/UX experience now to prepare for your next quarter. But if you’re looking for drastic, measurable improvements to your website before the end-of-year buying spree, book our audit now.