How to Increase Conversion Rates Like Amazon: 9 Tips for Better Conversion

As a general rule, I do not advise copying the conversion optimization tactics of other sites.

The reason for this is that each site, each target customer, each product, and each industry is different. What works for someone else’s business might not work for yours. In fact, it might have the opposite effect on your conversion rates.

Instead, I recommend that every website conduct their own conversion optimization and split testing, analyze their results, and implement changes accordingly. Every person is different, and so is every business.

That being said, there is one exception to the rule: Amazon. As the world’s largest retailer, Amazon is winning at the ecommerce game. Their conversion strategy is second-to-none, and they are leading the charge in ecommerce conversion innovation. The following list provides nine tips for better conversion, based on Amazon’s strategy.

1. Provide as many products as possible.

Normally, this is not advisable. Most customers are bewildered by too many options, not enlightened. In Amazon’s case, however, providing as many products as possible has worked brilliantly.

Why? Because Amazon knows how to feature and segment the interface and how to provide relevant and searchable purchase options that give customers an easy way to browse. It beats wandering from store to store in a mall.

2. Give your customers variety.

It’s not just the sheer quantity of items on Amazon that accounts for their conversions; it’s the variety of products as well.

I’ll comment on variety later, but for now, notice that for some products, the choices are staggering.

As long as these choices are available for the right products, and organized in an intuitive and unobstructive way, they can enhance the conversion potential of the product, and the site as a whole.

Customers don’t want to feel pigeonholed into buying an item. With brick-and-mortar establishments, you can physically try on the clothing, look through a rack of clothing, and ask questions to a salesperson.

Although Amazon can't replicate the in-store experience, they can give the customer the freedom of choice, putting the decision-making ability in the customer's hands. Customers can zoom in, select, customize, and purchase the item that best fits their needs and wants.

The result? Higher conversion rates and customer satisfaction.

3. Add countdown incentives.

One popular conversion tactic is to increase urgency and motivation with countdown timers.

During the holiday season specifically, Amazon uses this process to improve conversion rates on select products.

Notice how the products below have end dates. 

4. Offer discounts as often and as deep as possible.

Browse on Amazon for a few seconds and you’ll probably see “Save 25%” or “45% off” somewhere on the website.

Discounts are a long-held practice that improves conversions. Amazon uses this technique widely.

5. Let customers share socially whenever they want to.

Social sharing is a significant component of Amazon’s conversion strategy.

You can share products with friends, family, and more. Social sharing buttons are available on any page.

Customers are also prompted to share their most recent Amazon purchase after they’ve finalized deals. This user-generated content and publicity is free of charge for Amazon.

6. Upsell constantly.

Amazon has one of the most famous and compelling upsell strategies of any ecommerce website.

Here’s an example of an upsell pop-up that appeared after adding the Amazon Fire TV Stick to my cart.

If upsells like these aren’t available for a given product, you may see something like this:

After you add an item to your cart, you will be promoted to “proceed to checkout.” The purpose of the subsequent page, however, isn’t necessarily to proceed to checkout, but rather to buy more stuff.

In the example above, I was prompted to consider 14 more items, organized under the following headings:

• Frequently Bought With (product name)
• Customers Who Shopped for (product name) Also Shopped For
• Customers Also Bought These Highly Rated Items
• Customers Who Bought (product name) Also Bought

Anywhere and everywhere, Amazon offers customers possibilities to buy more products.

Evidently, it works.

Aggressive upselling and cross-selling may seem off-putting, especially if you’re not used to it, but it’s proven effective.

In reality, upselling increases customer happiness, and it is incredibly persuasive.

7. Create easy-to-use product filtering options.

If your goal is to sell a wide variety of products, make sure that your filtering interface is easy and intuitive.

Amazon has created thousands of different product category family trees. Take this example for Levi’s Holiday Sale products alone:

When customers are faced with too many, incoherent, or unrelated options, they freeze. When customers are presented with simple and intuitive means of filtering their options, they can easily find what they are looking for and are far more likely to make a purchase.

8. Let your photos sell the product.

Anyone will tell you that better photos result in better conversions.

Let Amazon show you how this works.

Here are a few things to consider about Amazon’s images:

• Use large, high-res images.
• Show details for each product.
• Demonstrate how the product is used.
• Point out special features of the product in the photos. Keep in mind that photos don’t have to be just pictures. Your images can include text as well.
• Use multiple images.
• Allow magnification of images.
• Place the images in a prominent location on the page. (Images on Amazon are positioned in the upper right corner of the page.) Eye-tracking research indicates that the upper right corner of the page is where most web users look first, on average. This is understandable for a Western audience considering how we are taught to read the lines on a page.

9. Allow customers to ask and answer product-related questions.

Amazon’s Q&A interface aids in conversion like few other techniques.

An honest question and answer dialogue among customers or between the customer and seller helps to increase trust, reduce friction, and provide information that is relevant to a purchase decision.

It’s not just the access to public and genuine Q&A that is effective. The easy-to-use system invites users to get as much information as they need before making a decision. This reduces uncertainty and increases confidence of purchase.

Conclusion

You may not be able to incorporate all of Amazon’s tactics into your conversion strategy, nor should you.

The smart thing to do with a list like this is to start considering how you can update your site in a way that fits your customer base, your products, and your revenue goals.

Amazon didn’t get where they were by haphazardly trying a bunch of tactics. They relentlessly test every facet of the website and roll out conversion-boosting changes conscientiously.

That’s the biggest takeaway that I want to leave you with: To increase conversion rates like Amazon, don’t just copy them. Instead, test, test, and test again.

What do you think are Amazon’s best conversion-boosting tactics?