Which Off-Site Factors Affect eCommerce Conversion Rates?

It's hard to pinpoint exactly when I first started thinking deeply about customer behaviour and the patterns that influence website performance. I believe it was sometime around 2007-2008, during the onset of the UK recession. At the time, there were widespread discussions about government funding cuts in various sectors - one of which was the arts, a field I was heavily involved in. My work revolved around researching, designing, and developing online experiences for several theatre companies and arts organisations.

I was fortunate to be surrounded by a great team of creative thinkers, and our conversations often drifted towards customer behaviour. We explored how we could influence experiences through design and interaction, which led us to an intriguing discussion: how does the time of day impact audience engagement? We began to notice how the times people read about theatre differed from when they actually purchased tickets.

Through casual yet insightful discussions, I started to recognise the factors that affect ticket sales and, by extension, eCommerce conversion rates overall.

Conversion rates, of course, are a key performance indicator for any eCommerce business, including ticket sales. This metric offers insight into how effectively a website turns visitors into customers. To put it simply, a conversion rate of 1% means that for every one hundred (100) website visitors, you’ll make one (1) sale.

However, conversion rates are far from static. They vary significantly depending on industry, user location, and, as we discovered, even the time of day. Understanding these variations allows us to optimise marketing and personalisation strategies, improving sales performance while considering and planning for seasonal fluctuations in demand.

What affects eCommerce conversion rates?

Several factors can influence conversion rate, and these can vary hugely depending on the industry. If we consider two vastly different sectors, such as grocery and luxury fashion, to highlight how conversion rates fluctuate.

Grocery shopping tends to have high conversion rates (11.1%) as consumers make repeat purchases of essential goods. With familiarity and necessity driving transactions, the path to purchase is a matter of need and, therefore, shorter, and you could perhaps argue less considered. Familiarity with a brand has more than likely been established either from an in-store experience or a previous online purchase.

Luxury fashion, by contrast, often has a much lower conversion rate (The benchmark is typically around 5.17%). With longer consideration phases, higher prices and possibly a more research-heavy buying process spanning multiple sessions or visits.

Understanding these helps businesses refine expectations and set realistic targets for conversion rate optimisation.

Regional differences in UK eCommerce conversion rates.

Conversion rates can also fluctuate based on location, influenced by income levels, shopping habits, and culture. For example, over the years, I've studied and analysed investment audiences, discovering pockets of wealth across key areas of the UK and identifying opportunities to achieve greater conversion and higher average order values.

This, speaking from a first-hand perspective, goes some way to direct marketing and personalisation strategies to regional preferences, enabling us as businesses to improve engagement and conversions.

How time of day impacts eCommerce conversion rates.

As I talked about earlier, time is another factor that I take into consideration and demonstrate that patterns and trends of time-based purchase behaviours can heavily influence conversion performance through timed marketing and merchandising strategies.

I've summarised some observations based on a recent analysis we've carried out at blubolt, perhaps not apparent for all industries, yet they still add context and food for thought:

• Peak shopping times, evenings (6pm - 9pm) tend to show the highest conversion rates, as consumers are more likely to complete transactions in slower periods at the end of the working day.

• Morning vs. afternoon: mornings tend to have high research activity but lower conversions. Peaks in conversion start to rise after midday, commonly peaking in the evening.

• Weekday vs. weekend: midweek and weekday campaign spikes often drive higher conversions, whereas weekends tend to have more browsing activity but lower purchase intent.

Having this level of detail available and the internal capacity to support it can influence the schedule of promotions, campaigns and merchandising strategies.

The impact of the retail calendar on conversion rate.

Seasonality or Time in a broader context plays a critical role in eCommerce conversion rates, with “feast or famine” cycles defining much of the industry. This is something that is very apparent in the lead-up to Christmas, with many eCommerce articles and podcasts discussing and commenting on that all-important third quarter (Q3).

Again, there are some key insights to take from this, all of which will impact our marketing activity and conversion rates, for example:

• January - February. We hit a post-Christmas slowdown, which affects most industries, yet fitness, health and wellbeing brands see a boost.

• March - May. Temperatures rise, and going outdoors feels good again, so demand picks up for the fashion, outdoor, and home sectors.

• June - August. Summer spending shifts towards travel and leisure, whilst B2B tends to slow down due to a rise in holiday and annual leave.

• September - October. We're back to school and driving sales in education-related sectors, electronics, and apparel.

• November - December. Is our magical Q3 (third quarter) and a peak period for most eCommerce businesses, driven by Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Christmas shopping.

Through these basic observations, we, as eCommerce retailers, have to align our promotional efforts and stock management with these fluctuations to maintain a steady conversion rate throughout the year. Using Google Trends is a fantastic method of identifying these periods around search demand to steer campaign activity and bring products to market. Read more about conversion rate optimisation here.

Conclusion.

We know that eCommerce conversion rates are shaped by multiple factors: sector, region, time of day, and the retail calendar. While I’ve not discussed it here, ‘weather’ all plays a role in influencing consumer behaviour. Understanding these variations is essential for businesses looking to optimise their strategies and improve performance.

By benchmarking against sector-specific rates, tailoring approaches for regional differences, and timing marketing efforts to align with consumer habits, businesses can push their conversion potential.

If you need help with your eCommerce optimisation strategy, we can help! Get in touch with blubolt to optimise your customer journey and improve your conversion rates today.