Shopify Conversion Rate Optimization: The Ultimate Checklist

To date, Shopify is powering over 2 million live stores. That is to say, the odds of stumbling upon a new Shopify store are nearly the same as winning a lottery. While heavily investing in ads, you definitely don’t want to let go of those who’ve already shown interest in your products. You should implement the best CRO practices to get as many conversions as possible.

Want to master all Shopify conversion rate optimization strategies as soon as possible? Don’t miss this article based on the speech of Channelwill’s head of CRO (Conversion Rate Optimization), Tom, in the Channelwill x BigSpy webinar: Key Strategies for Increasing Shopify Store Conversions. You may also watch the full video here below.

3 Main Challenges in CRO for eCommerce

Unlike selling on online marketplaces like Amazon, Walmart, and Temu, selling on eCommerce platforms like Shopify requires more effort in CRO. This section is dedicated to the major challenges that every Shopify merchant needs to understand.

1. Low Checkout Rate

Here’s an awakening fact—over 70% of carts are abandoned (Statista 2025). That explains the low checkout rate. At a closer look, you’ll realize that the depressing checkout rate is due to abandoned carts or abandoned payments.

An abandoned cart means that users add items to the cart, but they don’t complete checkout, while the abandoned payment is self-explanatory—users go to the payment page but don’t complete the payment. 

That’s why an increasing number of Shopify Plus merchants attach great importance to the checkout page design.

2. Few Repeat Buyers

Don’t underestimate the revenue from repeat buyers. The average order value of loyal customers is 67% higher than new customers (Forbes). At Channelwill, we notice that many Shopify merchants don’t have a good funnel or system to cultivate long-term customer relationships, and most of their customers only buy once. 

To conclude, if you’re not getting anywhere if your Shopify store isn’t getting enough repeat buyers. 

3. Low CTR on Category Pages

Compared with product pages, brands tend to drive a lot more organic and paid traffic to category pages as the latter are optimized around more generic search terms. That’s the difference between “Adidas Pureboost Light 24” and “men’s running shoes.”

But most category pages are not optimized for user experience—the design doesn’t help people quickly discover the product they want.

Suppose you’re selling clothing. This can be the problem that people can’t filter by color, material, or style. It’s also like the frustration of wasting a lot of time rummaging through your closet for a long-forgotten accessory. You can take bounces as sighs and grumbles of “I quit!” 

eCommerce owners facing these challenges are often troubled by low Return on Ad Spend (RoAS) and High Customer Acquisition Costs. What’s worse? They can be trapped by a vicious cycle of increasing ad spending and shrinking profit margins. Such is an impasse—it’s nearly impossible to scale and reinvest the cash flow.

Now, you’re off to a good start. Next on your Shopify CRO learning path is the first rule of thumb you should remember.

How to Increase Checkout Rate?

1. Add Trust Signals

Customers prefer to buy from high-trust websites. Trust signals are value propositions that tell customers why they should trust you and enter their credit card information. Online marketplaces like Amazon and Alibaba dominate eCommerce for this reason.

Trust signals lie in how you present products, what customers think of your brand, how you encourage users to actually check out, etc.

In a word, high-trust websites deliver a consistent experience, have transparent policies, and easy navigation/payment.

Trust Signals Checklist

• Website SSL Certificate (HTTPS)
• Payment Gateway SSL Certificate
• Refund/Exchange Policy
• Satisfaction Guarantee
• Money Back Guarantee
• Third-Party Reviews (Google, Trustpilot, BBB)
• Awards, Certifications
• Years in Business
• Professional Website Design
• Fast Page Speed

With all these things in place, you can make users feel more comfortable, remove the friction, and ultimately close sales.

If you’re running a small Shopify store, it’s recommended to look at larger competitors and just try to copy what’s working for them. For example, you may go to Amazon’s product pages. Everything is very clear here—Return & Delivery policies, “Secure Transaction,” and Refund/Exchange Policy are put in a high-attention zone, i.e., near the price.

2. Encourage Social Proof

Customers prefer to buy from established sellers’ stores that are already popular. Social proof is anything that showcases that your brand is popular. Normally, this comes in the form of user reviews and testimonials. It can also come from celebrity or influencer endorsements, as well as things like social mentions, awards, and rankings. 

Social Proof Checklist

• User Ratings/Reviews Plugin (we recommend using Trustoo)
• Celebrity/Influencer Endorsements
• Social Mentions (As Featured In)
• Awards/Rankings (e.g., #1 Seller in Category A, #1 Rated in Survey B)
• Number of Customers/Orders
• Recent Customer Orders
• Featured User Testimonials

For instance, if you were mentioned by a prominent magazine or industry publication, it would be great to showcase it on your website because this demonstrates to your target audience that your product is already established in the industry. 

You can also include things like awards or rankings. If you have won a prestigious award or a design award, show it prominently on your website.

A common approach for larger brands is to conduct surveys themselves, but if you’re a smaller brand, you may want to try to find people who can feature you in their articles. By doing this, you can say you’re ranked by a certain company, which will help establish your credibility when you’re just starting out.

In terms of user reviews, we recommend using Trustoo. This is the Shopify review app we developed at Channelwill. It’s designed to help you implement user reviews and ratings and manage them effectively in Shopify. What it does essentially is help you collect product reviews and give you customization options for you to showcase reviews on your Shopify storefront. 

3. Give Customers Reasons to Buy

The next step in improving your Shopify store’s conversion rate is to show a strong reason to buy. This is also called “objection handling.” The idea here is that most users want a bit more clarity around the deal when they’re approaching a sale. More specifically, they want their emotional pain points or barriers removed. 

Common objections might include the price being too expensive, questions about the quality of the product, concerns about the exchange or refund policy, or issues with customer service and after-sales support.

We can handle these objections through various strategies, including:

Reasons to Buy Checklist

• Price Match Guarantee
• Rewards or Cashback
• Satisfaction Guarantee
• Return/Exchange Policy (Free Returns, Free Trial Period)
• Shipping Policy (Free Shipping, Express or Flat Rate Shipping)
• Customer Service (24/7 Support, Fast Response, Friendly Staff)
• Time-Limited Offer (Promotion, Coupon, Countdown Timer)

Things like price match guarantees let potential customers know you’ll offer the lowest price so they don’t shop around. You can also offer a very generous return policy, which could be longer than your competitors’. 

For example, many companies in the mattress industry offer a 180-day return policy. This makes customers more comfortable buying a product because they know they can return it even if they’ve used it for a while. You could also offer generous shipping policies, such as flat-rate or express shipping, or even free shipping on a certain order amount. Additionally, customers might care about post-sale services, such as 24-hour customer support or fast response times.

These measures can help reduce customers’ friction and make them more likely to complete a purchase. 

Lastly, time is another factor. You could create urgency by offering promotions or discounts that are about to end soon. This may encourage customers to buy immediately. 

Let’s look at how Chewy.com does a great job of layering different reasons to buy.  As you can see, at the top of their page, they offer a sign-up bonus for new users, provide social proof, show various shipping options (schedule the shipping or ship one-time), and clarify their shipping and return policies. They even offer a one-year return policy, which is extremely generous in this particular industry.

4. Offer Multiple Payment Options

The last way to increase checkout rates is by simply providing users with their preferred payment options. You may also offer financing options.

Shopify makes it easy to support all major credit cards. Still, you might also want to consider integrating PayPal, Amazon Pay, or buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) options like Affirm and Klarna. The BNPL options are particularly popular for higher-priced products because customers might hesitate to buy them due to financial concerns.

Payment Options Checklist

• Major Credit Cards
• Debit Cards
• PayPal
• Amazon Pay
• Buy Now, Pay Later (Affirm, Klarna)
• Country-Specific Payment Services

Repeat purchases are crucial for Shopify conversion rate optimization. Here are four main strategies to encourage repeat buyers: loyalty programs, post-purchase sequences, email sequences, and retargeting.

How to Increase Repeat Buyers?

1. Loyalty Programs

Loyalty programs are an excellent way to incentivize users to come back or refer friends. To launch a loyalty program, you can use an app like Loloyal from Channelwill.

Set up rewards for actions like signing up, ordering, or referring new customers, and offer rewards like discounts, free shipping, or free products. It’s also possible for you to run a referral program, which is a cost-effective way to get new customers by leveraging your existing audience. Then, you can let word of mouth work its magic!

Additionally, you’ll be able to create membership tiers—such as bronze, silver, and gold—that help encourage customers to make more purchases and move up to higher tiers with more benefits.

Loyalty Program Checklist

• Loyalty Program Plugin (we recommend Loloyal)
• Set up methods to earn rewards (sign up, order, review, share, refer, email, birthday, etc.)
• Set up methods to redeem rewards (discount, free shipping, free product, exclusive offers)
• Set up a referral program
• Create membership tiers/statuses to incentivize repeat purchase

2. Post Purchase

Post-purchase sequences are also very powerful. After a customer has bought from you, it’s a great time to deepen that relationship. You could offer discounts on future purchases, immediate add-to-order options with discounts, or upsells and cross-sells. Try to incentivize people to increase the AOV and CLV (Customer Lifetime Value). 

For example, if someone buys a T-shirt, you could follow up with an offer for pants or jackets that go well with their previous purchase. To do this, you can send emails showing related products or best-sellers.

Post-Purchase Checklist

• Post Purchase Discounts (e.g., get 50% off your next purchase if you order in the next 24 hours)
• Post Purchase Upsells (e.g., get our premium version, buy a bundle)
• Post Purchase Cross Sells (e.g., related products, collections)
• Email Sequences (Best-Sellers, Trending Products, Goes Well With)

3. Email Sequences

Email sequences are another great way to continually engage customers, promote your brand, and encourage repeat purchases. 

Common email sequences include post-purchase sequences to promote related products, seasonal or holiday emails, sale or promotion announcements (clearance), and new product releases. Lastly, there are educational emails to inform customers more about your product or industry to drive sales in the long term.

Email Sequence Checklist

• Post Purchase Sequences
• Seasonal/Holiday Sequences
• Sale/Promotion Sequences
• New Collection/Product Sequences
• Social Media Sequences
• Educational Sequences

4. Retargeting

Retargeting is another powerful strategy to increase repeat buyers. This involves targeting customers who have already purchased from you through Facebook or Google Ads. 

Above all, you need to segment customers based on their previous purchases to set up a retargeting campaign. For example, targeting a person who bought a sweater with ads for related scarves, gloves, or coats.

Retargeting Checklist

• Customer Segmentation
• Setup Tracking Pixel (Meta / Google)
• Create Targeted Offers (If/Then, Related Products, Discounts)

Many Shopify brands have good traffic to their category pages, but they don’t spend much time optimizing those pages for navigation. 

Here are some tips to improve the clickthrough rate to product pages: optimize the layout by highlighting best-sellers, conduct A/B testing on button colors, call-to-actions, product images, and product titles, work on filters and search functions to make it easier for users to find what they want, and provide extra information with additional product fields.

How to Increase CTR on Category Pages?

1. Layout

To increase the click-through rate on your category pages, it’s necessary to highlight your top sellers on category pages to show what’s popular with most of our audiences and organize products into logical subcategories. This way, users can find suitable products faster.

Speaking of subcategories, you can organize products on category pages by product type, material, fit, or collection, making it easier for users to navigate the page. 

For example, the clothing brand we work with organizes products by pants style, fit, color, and material like denim or fleece.

Layout Checklist

Layout Checklist

• Bestsellers / Featured
• Subcategories
  • Type (e.g., pants, shirts)
  • Material (e.g., denim, fleece)
  • Fit (e.g., skinny, baggy)
  • Collection (e.g., fall, winter)
• Trending Products
• Award-Winning Products
• Recommended By Influencers
• Seasonal/Holiday Products

2. A/B Testing

A/B testing is crucial, especially for driving click-through rates (CTR) on category pages. You can test button colors, text, and product images to see what works best for your audience. 

A/B Testing Checklist

• CTA Button Color
• CTA Button Text
• Product Image
• Product Title
• Product Fields

Using tools like VWO can help you conduct these tests effectively.

Don’t underestimate the effect of such small changes. Even changing the color of the “Add to Cart” button can make a big difference. This brand, for example, saw an 11.52% increase in CTR after changing the button from blue to light green.

3. Filter & Search

Your filters and search functions should be robust, offering users various ways to narrow down their search. Otherwise, product discovery is like looking for a needle in a haystack. The rationale is that the more options you offer, the better your customers can navigate the site and find what they want. But you need to see what’s appropriate for your particular industry.

If you know what users are actively searching for, such as a particular style or color, add them to the filter menu to help new users. To avoid making a confusing design, it’s recommended to learn from popular retailers in your industry.

Here’s an extreme case in the skincare & beauty industry, Sephora. The brand offers advanced filtering options, including skin type, brand, and concern, and the design is quite user-friendly.

Filter & Search Checklist

• Check Popular Searches
• Add Filter Menu Options
• Add Quick Menu Links
• Add Subcategory Links

4. Product Fields

Product fields also get users into product pages rather than just scrolling the category pages. These could be size, color, or special badges like “top seller” or “award winner,” which will encourage users to visit the product page and make a purchase.

Here’s an example of a store selling game accounts. On the category page, there are key product fields for each game account, such as skins, points, levels, etc.

Product Field Checklist

• Product Size / Dimensions
• Product Style
• Product Color
• Badges (Top Seller, Award Winner)
• Anything that helps users find the product they want

Final Words

After going through the main points for Shopify conversion rate optimization (CRO), you may ask, “What’s the most effective way to improve store conversion?” Remember, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. 

The most effective way really depends on the stage of your business and marketing channels. 

If you’re running ads, firstly, you need to target the right audience with competitor intelligence and optimize ad creatives with winning insights. Also, you can continually improve ad performance with A/B testing.

If you find that your store Isn’t converting enough, it’s probably because you’re not targeting the keywords with high buyer intent, your ads don’t match your keywords, or users are bouncing. Use tools like Microsoft Clarity and Hotjar to start collecting data and visualize what users are doing on your website. This could be an eye-opener, as you can identify at what stage users are experiencing the most friction and try to create new designs and copies to address it.

Best wishes to all your Shopify CRO experiments!