Online conversion rates up but satisfaction down

New research reveals that online retail and ecommerce businesses have improved their conversion rates in the past 12 months, but far from all are happy with their conversion rates.

by Helen Leggatt

That is just one of the findings from a recently released joint study from Econsultancy and RedEye. Titled "Conversion Report", the study presents the results of a survey of 700 company and agency respondents about their approach to conversion rates

The good news is that 70% of client-side respondents reported better conversion rates in the past year, despite the recession. However, 39% weren't happy with the conversion rates they had achieved.

Not surprisingly, those who were happy and those that were not correlated closely with those that tested and segmented and those that didn't. Can you guess which were happier?

"Those who have a structured approach to conversion, and at least one person directly responsible for this, are more likely to have improved conversion rates in the last 12 months," explained Econsultancy's Sarah Clark.

Why? Because, entrusting the bettering of conversion rates to an individual who can monitor, test and develop conversion strategies is far more effective and creates a sense of ownership.

"Conversion rates are hindered by a lack of ownership," said Linus Gregoriadis, research director at Econsultancy. "If an organization has someone directly responsible for conversion they are more than twice as likely to have experienced improved conversion rates in the last 12 months. Yet 40% of client side companies said they didn't have anyone directly responsible for conversion."