E-commerce bounce rate is the percentage of users who land on your website that decide to leave without going to a second page. High bounce rates are not good for e-commerce businesses. It means you were not able to convince your prospects to stay and purchase a product or avail of a service.

It is considered a bounce when your website visitor does or encounters the following situations:

• Clicking a link to another website
• Clicking the back button to leave your website
• Closing the window or browser tab
• Types a new URL
• Session time out

Bouncing from one website to another is normal online behaviour. But, in order to sell, one must reduce their e-commerce bounce rates to a lower percentage and turn it into engagements that lead to conversions.

Here are 15 easy ways to not only reduce e-commerce bounce rates but also increase engagement.

Determine the pages with the highest bounce rate

The first strategy that you can perform is to find which page has the highest bounce rate. Knowing the top bounce rate pages will help you address the problem. You can do this by using Google Analytics. Click Behavior then Site Content then Landing Pages. 

Optimize the size of your search bar

Something as simple as the size of your website’s search bar can contribute to your bounce rate. Make your search bar as visible to the visitor’s eyes as possible. The ideal width of a search bar should be 27-character wide. 

If you can’t devote more real estate on your page layout for a larger search bar, there is an option for a search bar that automatically grows in size as you type longer queries. For instance, a query like warehouses from LSCR should fit in your search bar so your visitors can review what they typed in.

Fast loading wins

A pretty basic concept in e-commerce is speed. Your website has to load quickly because for every second your website takes to load itself, the lower your conversion will drop.

According to research by Decibel Insight on page load time, slow loaders have a 72% higher bounce rate than fast loaders.

Test modal box timing

The modal box is the pop-up graphic that usually indicates a query if a visitor would like to sign up for updates via email, furthermore, include a promo or discount promotion. Split test the timing of when your site’s modal box pops up on the screen. To time it accordingly to let your visitor explore your homepage but not too late that he or she is already on another page.

Display top deals, discounts, & limited-time offers

Consider placing your best deals and offers on your homepage. Engage visitors on the homepage by having them at a prominent standing. These discounts can hook many visitors so utilize them.

Remove distractions

Avoid bombardment of information on your web pages. Remove the unnecessary details and retain only what the visitors need to know.

Customer support

Consider having a 24/7 chat support to help your customers. It will help a lot to know what you haven’t taken into account or queries that you never expected.

Let your CTA stand out

It’s imperative that your visitors can identify the call-to-action buttons easily. Without a noticeable CTA, they may feel stranded and just leave.

Give visitors an option for further engagement

Feed your prospect more information about your products, just in case they are still on the fence on buying. Provide links for manuals as well as show reviews about the product they are thinking of purchasing. Make sure there’s a CTA button present on the links that you provided so they can make the purchase as soon as they feel convinced.

Turn off auto-play

Yes, product videos are a proven conversion increaser but try not to annoy your prospects with auto-play. Coming back to a tab and suddenly seeing a video play may take your visitors off-guard.

Ensure that the ads are not intrusive

See to it that the ads placed on your webpages are not intruding your prospects’ navigation. Place them strategically where they don’t block any important information on your page.

Navigation should be easy

Create a sitemap, design a clear navigation menu, and place them where visitors would come looking for as soon as they land on your site. Test the placements, for one position might work for you better than the other.

Create good design

Good design boosts your site’s credibility. Prospects look at how well you designed your website as part of their experience. Find design inspirations that suit your brand and increase your credibility!

Invest in responsive design

Having a responsive design provides visitors with optimal viewing experience across different browsers and devices. It ensures the layout of your site is resized in a manner where the text doesn’t break.

Have a strong site-search solution

Having a strong site search solution is also a simple but effective way to reduce e-commerce bounce rates. Something as common as auto-complete can assist your prospects to easily find what they’re looking for.