6 Psychological Triggers That Will Double Your eCommerce Conversions

28th Feb 2017 –
Let’s get started.
This principle refers to our tendency to obey authority figures.
Online marketing is changing every day. Between Google updating their algorithm and competitors outranking you for your keywords, there’s more than enough to keep any online business owner occupied and you need more than just keywords to increase your ecommerce conversions.
It’s no secret social proof is a powerful conversion trigger in marketing. But there’s another that amplifies it further:
In today’s fast-paced world, understanding consumer psychology, and, more specifically, your potential buyer, is more than a nicety if you want to get noticed; it’s a prerequisite.
Using testimonials from other online authorities like Wired, Fast Company, and Mashable, they’re able to differentiate their product from their competitors’, and position themselves as a leader in their market:

1. Social proof

Moreover, this trigger applies especially to the way we decide what constitutes correct behavior.

Loss aversion is one of the most powerful conversion triggers in marketing because they are multiple ways to implement it.
Takeaway. Use Facebook retargeting to remarket to buyers who were once interested in your product and need further coaxing.
Sometimes, all that’s needed to turn you into a customer is a gentle reminder of the bargain you’re getting.
Your pricing page.
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They’re all examples of social proof.

2. Authority

Naturebox uses power words like “free” and “gift” in their pop-ups to gain new subscribers:
Similarly, when we are reintroduced to a product over and over again—especially one we’d previously shown interest in—we’re more likely to buy it.
Why we do what we do.
Popularized by Robert Cialdini in his seminal book, Influence, social proof is a means we use to determine what other people like us are doing.
But what if you haven’t been featured in any major media outlets?
Apart from using tiered-pricing (and the decoy effect), they give potential buyers the option of paying monthly or annually. But what’s more interesting is how they frame their annual option:
The goal, of course, isn’t to be dishonest (fake urgency will hurt your brand and betray trust with your customers). Rather, it’s to give your potential buyers all the information they need to make the right decision.
Outcomes like the above are because of what’s known as the framing effect: our tendency to react to a particular choice in different ways depending on how it is presented (e.g. as a loss or as a gain).
Take a look at the pricing page for One Pager. What do you notice?

Each of the principles outlined above will make a noticeable difference to your conversions.
In other words, if everyone is, say, signing up for a service, it’s easier to rationalize, “Maybe I should, too?”
You arrive at the pricing page and are presented with two pricing options: a one-year subscription to the online edition for , or a one-year subscription to the print and online edition for 5.
Facebook ‘Likes’, comments, reviews, testimonials…

One of the best pages to use the framing effect?

3. The decoy effect

Guess what happened?

If you have, it’s because you’ve been retargeted.
Participants were asked to choose between two treatments for 600 people affected by a deadly disease. This choice was then presented to participants either with positive or negative framing:
Be responsible and always remember to look after what matters most: your customers.
It’s no surprise, then, many online stores use tiered pricing (in fact, here at Sleeknote, we use four tiers on our pricing page).
Take Fifty Three, for example, a company that makes digital styluses for iPads.
Harry’s, an online store that specialized in male grooming products, include a more expensive “Family Plan” optin to soften the cost of their “Blade & 1 Gel Plan.”
It’s why final reminder emails convert like crazy, countdown timers nudge us into taking action, and most commonly, offering free trials get more signups:
Takeaways: Introduce a third pricing option on your pricing page to improve your bottom line.
With cart abandonment continuing to plague online stores, remarketing gives owners a chance to close potential buyers who need further persuading…
The principle of authority.

In everyday life, for instance, you might be inclined to follow advice if it’s given by someone with letters before their name (like a doctor) rather than, say, a stranger.

4. The framing effect

In this article, I’m going to show you six psychological triggers you can use in your marketing that will increase your eCommerce conversions, reduce churn, and promote brand loyalty.

• If Program A is adopted, 200 people will be saved.
• If Program B is adopted, there is 113 probability that 600 people will be saved, and 213 probability that no people will be saved.

Imagine for a moment you’re shopping for a magazine subscription.
Online, though, is a little different…
Which would you choose?
Have you ever viewed a product online only to notice it on other sites later?
In fact, according to research by Wishpond, website visitors who are retargeted with display ads are 70% more likely to convert on your website.
One reason why remarketing is effective is because of a phenomenon known as the mere-exposure effect: our tendency to develop a preference for things we’re familiar with.

But to get above-average results, you need to combine as many as you can.

Generally, authority is built through the testimonials of other authorities.


This phenomenon describes our tendency to prefer avoiding losses to acquiring gains.

5. Loss aversion

If you’re new to eCommerce, try peppering a few power words into your copy. Words like “free,” “now,” and “join” do more than just evoke emotion in your readers; they nudge customers to take the desired action (e.g. make a purchase).
In other words, it’s not what you say about yourself. Rather, it’s what other authorities say about you.
Takeaways. Always remind your prospect what they’re going to miss out on if they don’t act now.
Amazon, on the other hand, displaying items are left in stock:
Takeaways. Put authority badges on important pages on your site and always instruct your potential buyers what to do next using power words.

And it’s highly effective. When Ariely introduced a third option—a one-year subscription to only the print edition for 5—the results were remarkable:
Takeaways: Turn existing customers into evangelists for your business by include testimonials on your home and checkout page (pro tip: use specific numbers in your headline when possible).

6. The mere-exposure effect

Which principles are you using on your site?
Sockbox, for instance, creates urgency by having a countdown timer on their homepage to catch last-minute buyers:

But there’s one thing that never changes:
What do they have in common?
Program A was chosen by 72% of participants when it was presented with positive framing.
Why?
Takeaway: Frame your pricing page copy positively by reminding your prospective buyers the additional benefits they’re going to receive when they buy.

Conclusion to ecommerce conversions

Don’t worry, few have.
For example, in one study, participants who were repeatedly shown Chinese characters were more likely to give them a positive meaning than those who were only shown them a few times.
In 1981, Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman investigated how different phrasing affected participants’ responses to a choice in a hypothetical life and death situation (Source: Science).
Because we tend to focus on the relative advantage of one thing over another and estimate value accordingly.