Ecommerce Conversion Killers: How to Avoid 6 Common Mistakes That Stifle Growth

The average conversion rate for ecommerce websites in 2024 was 2.1% across all verticals. Some industries did better, while others had slightly worse results.

However, while this number aligns with the generalized rule that businesses need to aim for a CR of 3%, it’s still relatively low — especially if you consider that a 3% conversion rate means that 97% of your web visitors are leaving your site without having made a purchase.

So, how do you move the needle in the right direction? Conversion rate optimization can involve a combination of multiple strategies to get you to your desired outcomes. But, more often than not, the best way to reach your goals is to identify and remove the primary ecommerce conversion killers on your website.

The best thing is that removing the common mistakes stalling your brand’s growth won’t just help you convert new customers. Moreover, it can allow you to nurture loyalty (and customer lifetime value). It can help shorten your sales cycle (and thus reduce marketing costs). Finally, it can be an excellent method for establishing your brand’s user-oriented reputation that will attract even more leads without upping your advertising costs.

So, without further ado, here are the six most common conversion killers harming your sales and how to remove them from your ecommerce website.

Poor Mobile Experience

The best way to elevate your brand’s ability to convert new customers is to understand how people shop online.

Consumer behavior data suggests that mobile is taking over ecommerce. According to Statista, the share of global online retail web traffic from mobile devices was 78% in 2024. Even more impressively, these visits generated 68% of online shopping orders.

And, yes, some consumers may feel slightly uncomfortable making bigger purchases on their small screens. Nevertheless, the trend toward mobile-first shopping aligns with the growing availability of omnichannel retail experiences and the increasing role of social media in people’s pre-purchase research journeys.

With this in mind, one of the best methods of removing conversion killers from your ecommerce store is to pay attention to the mobile shipping experience. This can be as easy as simplifying the overall design of your website, optimizing it for speed, and prioritizing responsiveness.

Additionally, it’s a good idea to keep product page content concise and accessible. Take a look at how Showpo does that on its product pages. This brand gets several elements of mobile-first design right. It uses formatting to ease consumption and scrolling. It employs visual formats wherever possible — especially considering they’re far more effective at driving product understanding than text alone. Finally, Showpo ensures that CTAs stand out on small screens by being smart with how it employs color, contrast, and negative space.

Source: showpo.com

Failing to Maximize Customer Lifetime Value

One of the biggest misconceptions about ecommerce brand growth is that it requires a strong focus on customer acquisition. But while reaching, engaging, and converting new customers is a huge part of success, it’s not entirely enough to yield sustainable, long-term results.

After all, the best way to grow your brand is to identify, engage, and target ideal customers. But here’s the thing. There are only so many people who qualify as such.

So, try not to get stuck on one-time sales when you’re exploring conversion-optimization techniques. Instead, do your best to prioritize customer lifetime value by nurturing first-time buyers into loyal brand advocates.

By employing web design and UX tactics that will encourage repeat purchases, you won’t just elevate brand loyalty — a prerequisite for success. You’ll also significantly lower your marketing costs. It takes far fewer resources to reach, engage, and sell to existing customers than it does to convert new leads.

So, what’s the best way to go about maximizing CLV?

Well, try to think about how you can boost repeat purchases by aligning your incentives with consumer wants and needs.

For instance, PWC’s research discovered that the main reasons why people buy product subscriptions include convenience and cost savings. So, why not highlight these benefits on your product pages?

If you check out the Casein Protein page on Transparent Labs, you’ll see that the brand uses several tactics to incentivize repeat purchases. First and foremost, it highlights that a subscription comes with a $6 savings and free shipping. It emphasizes flexibility by stating that customers can cancel or pause their plans at any time. Plus, Transparent Labs gives shoppers control over how often they want to receive their packages, further emphasizing that buying a subscription is much more convenient than manual repurchasing.

Source: transparentlabs.com

Unrelatable Social Proof

Social proof plays a huge role in encouraging (or discouraging) ecommerce conversions.

Most consumers seek it out before buying. Many people won’t even consider a product if it doesn’t have sufficient reviews and ratings. And the majority of consumers know the difference between genuine and inauthentic social proof.

But while you can easily overcome these conversion obstacles by incorporating reviews and ratings (or even user-generated content) onto your ecommerce product pages, you mustn’t waste time collecting and highlighting irrelevant social proof.

At the end of the day, when choosing what products to purchase, people care about how effective they will be at removing their unique pain points. And if the customer feedback you emphasize doesn’t seem relatable to your target audience, it won’t contribute to a higher conversion rate.

So, if you want to remove ecommerce conversion killers stifling your growth, try to replace unrelatable social proof with something more engaging.

For example, Bay Alarm Medical knows that its medical alert systems for seniors may seem like an exceptionally complex solution to its target audience. So, it uses social proof to elevate product understanding and brand trust. However, what’s unique about this brand’s approach is that it invites web visitors to “listen to real calls.” This gives prospects a valuable opportunity to hear how emergency calls are handled. It helps set their expectations (which automatically boosts customer satisfaction). Plus, it’s a great way for Bay Alarm Medical to emphasize its dedication to customer satisfaction, which is a massive purchase-influencing factor for most people.

Source: bayalarmmedical.com

Cumbersome Product Comparison Process

Product research is a natural occurrence during a typical buyer’s journey.

In fact, most consumers spend at least 10-30 minutes researching purchases. And about 20% dedicate several hours or even days to the evaluation stage of the buyer’s journey.

Nevertheless, while most brands understand the importance of facilitating product understanding, few take actionable steps to make the product comparison process less cumbersome. Especially when offering a large inventory of similar products.

Naturally, the key to customer success (and brand growth) lies in empowering consumers to make the best purchase decisions. In most cases, this requires at least some degree of product comparison — ideally to help prospects choose between one or two options.

So, if you want to elevate conversion rates and speed up the sales cycle, enable product comparisons on your product collection pages. For example, look at how Golf Cart Tire Supply did that on this collections page:

Source: golfcarttiresupply.com

The brand includes a “Compare” feature on the page, allowing customers to evaluate products without having to click through to multiple product pages. Plus, the entire site is optimized for streamlined selection. The feature images are all standardized. The UX includes a Quick View function that presents shoppers with all relevant product info. Lastly, the site also features a powerful filtering system that helps shoppers narrow their search down in a way that saves time and energy.

Social Media Disconnected From the Sales Funnel

Another common mistake potentially harming ecommerce conversions is the failure to understand the huge role social media plays in the sales cycle.

For one, increasing numbers of young consumers are starting their buying journeys on socials. According to a 2025 report on consumer behavior, 27.3% of people use social networks to find products to purchase. But that’s not all. Statistical data has also shown that sales through social networks accounted for more than 17% of all ecommerce revenue. And the number is expected to grow in the coming years as well.

With social commerce becoming increasingly popular (and embraced by older generations), having your channels disconnected from the sales funnel could lose you valuable conversions.

Fortunately, this is easy to remedy — especially as most popular platforms now offer social commerce capabilities.

For instance, if you check out WholeWoodPlayhouses, you’ll notice that the brand regularly uses Facebook posts to reach and engage its target audience. Then, it uses the integrated “shop this photo” links in the social content to take leads to a relevant product page. This presents potential customers with a clear path from discovery to purchase, rather than allowing them to scroll past the photo and potentially forget about the brand’s offer.

Source: facebook.com

Not Recovering Abandoned Carts

Lastly, when it comes to ecommerce conversion killers, it’s crucial to understand that even a high purchase intention doesn’t always lead to a sale.

According to the latest data from the Baymard Institute, the average documented cart abandonment rate is 70.19% in 2025. That means that 7 out of 10 people who put items in their carts fail to go through with the purchase either due to low brand trust, complex UX design, or insurmountable CX issues.

Naturally, the best way to minimize this number is to focus on making conversions less risky. This can mean surrounding key CTAs with trust badges, simplifying the checkout process, and emphasizing CX benefits like free and fast shipping, free returns, etc.

But it’s also a good idea to develop an email marketing strategy for recovering abandoned carts.

Something as simple as an abandoned cart email with an attractive incentive (10% off, free shipping, etc.) can be a great way to reengage leads still on the fence about buying. It can also be a marvelous way to inject a dose of urgency into the buyer’s journey, capitalizing on people’s natural tendency to make purchasing decisions based on emotional factors.

In Closing

The term ecommerce conversion killers may sound intimidating — especially if you’re looking to grow your brand in the coming months. But the truth is, these mistakes are relatively easy to fix.

So don’t hesitate to implement the tactics described in this guide on your ecommerce site. Adjust them to your brand’s needs and target audience’s wants. Analyze their performance. And see if there are additional opportunities to boost your conversion rates.

Ultimately, boosting sales isn’t something that will happen overnight. But if you approach the process in the right way, you won’t just make temporary gains. You’ll slowly build a loyal set of customers who’ll keep coming back to your brand for years to come, helping you build a genuinely successful business.