Shoptimized claims to be “The best converting Shopify theme”, but here’s the thing: the theme itself is only ideal only for a specific type of eCommerce business. If you’re looking to build trust and loyalty with your customers, or you’re selling products of high value, using the full theme in its entirety might throw up some problems for you.

However, let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater. Shoptimized has based its theme on a very interesting principle of psychology. It includes a whopping 25 features to boost conversion rates (you can find the full list here.) For many businesses, including all these features at once is a bit of an overkill, but you can easily include several of these features and use them in moderation by buying Shopify apps and plugins.

Let’s look at Shoptimized’s theory of persuasion, and explore some of the features used by Shoptimized and when’s best to use them.

Shoptimized’s theory of persuasion

On their website, Shoptimized announced that their theme is based on three core principles of persuasion laid out by Dr Robert Cialdini in his bestselling book ‘Influence the Psychology of Persuasion’. They are:

  • Social proof – What have other people said about your business/ products /services?
  • Scarcity – Will you run out of stock? Are there limited supplies? Is there a special offer that’s about to expire?
  • Authority – Has your business been recognized for its achievements?

The features Shoptimized includes are based on these three principles.

Key Shoptimized Theme features

So which key features does the Shoptimized theme include and should your business incorporate it into your website?

Countdown Timer – Make your customers think that they are losing out on the amazing offers that you have for them. The Shoptimized theme includes a countdown timer for you to select the number of days or hours until your offer ends.

Be careful though. If you overuse this feature, your business may appear to be spammy. Customers are wising up to websites that continually offer “once-in-a-lifetime” offers week after week. Only use this feature when you’re really offering a short-term deal.

GEO-IP Recognition – This feature allows you to identify the countries your shoppers are from so that you can personalize their experience. For a business operating in multiple countries, this is an important feature.

Currency Switcher – International Shoppers can view product prices in their own currency, saving them having to do the conversion for themselves. It’s also an immediate signifier that your business caters for them in their own country.

Email Pop-up – A simple way of creating a solid relationship with your customers is by collecting their emails when they visit your website. The Shoptimized theme includes an email pop-up feature to encourage people to sign up.

A word of warning, these pop-ups should only appear at specific times in the buyer journey otherwise they can interfere with the user experience.

Prominent return guarantee – A frequently asked question on all websites is “what’s your returns policy”. Since the dawn of eCommerce people like to be reassured that, given that they can’t see or touch their purchase in person, they can return their item if they’re not satisfied.

The Shoptimized theme prominently displays the guarantee or returns policy in the footer so that customers feel that there is less risk involved with their purchase. This addition is easy to implement, and a great method of improving conversion rates.

Free Shipping Bar – Shoptimized also prominently displays free shipping in a bar at the top of the screen. Shipping costs are a big detractor for many online shoppers, so if you can, it’s ideal to offer free shipping, even if you put a bottom limit on your offer (e.g. free shipping on orders over $50).

Some things to consider before incorporating features

As we have mentioned, the off-the-shelf Shoptimized theme will work perfectly for a number of eCommerce businesses, principally those whose customers are making an impulse purchase. But as we always say, there is no one-size-fits-all solution.

If your website is crammed with banners, alerts, pop-ups brightly colored Call-To-Action buttons, countdowns and timers, it can feel like a very stressful and manipulative environment for your customers. This is not a good foundation for building customer relationships and brand loyalty. Shoptimized is designed to convert customers, not to retain them. So bear this in mind, and see if this idea aligns with your business model and your business goals.

If you want to create the perfect virtual environment for your business and for your customers, we’re on hand. We can advise you on the best strategy going forward for your business. Get in touch for a free 15-minute consultation and we’ll make sure your next investment creates the most value for your business.