eCommerce Unscripted: Mastering WooCommerce

Returns can be a major expense for all retail businesses—especially eCommerce businesses. In this episode of eCommerce Unscripted, we address all things returns. Host Sam Greenspan is joined by two WooCommerce experts: Tabitha Turton, a GoDaddy Product Manager, and Marcus Burnette, a WooCommerce care team member for GoDaddy, to discuss product returns. 

The panel shares statistics and anecdotes on just how much returns can eat into eCommerce margins, what motivates customers to make returns, and how many customers are making returns. 

From there, they cover several strategies to help with returns, including setting up a return policy, how to keep returns easy on both customers and merchants, the Returns and Warranty Requests WooCommerce extension, using pick lists and address validation, the WooCommerce Product Reviews Pro extension, better images, and return window and cost optimization. 

Finally, in the Q&A, the panel addresses whether using too many hooks can slow down a WooCommerce site and what to look for in choosing a marketing agency. 

Check out GoDaddy’s Managed WordPress Ecommerce hosting which includes many of the premium extensions discussed in this episode for free! https://www.godaddy.com/hosting/ecommerce-hosting  

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Extensions and services referenced (* - included in the GoDaddy Managed WordPress Ecommerce bundle) 

Returns and Warranty Requests* - https://woocommerce.com/products/warranty-requests/  

WooCommerce Print Invoices & Packing Lists* - https://woocommerce.com/products/print-invoices-packing-lists/  

WooCommerce Product Reviews Pro* - https://woocommerce.com/products/woocommerce-product-reviews-pro/  

Postcode/Address Validation* - https://woocommerce.com/products/postcodeaddress-validation/  

WooCommerce 360º Image* - https://woocommerce.com/products/woocommerce-360-image/  

Strategy of only charging for refunds - https://www.loopreturns.com/blog/should-online-brands-offer-free-return-shipping/  

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Submit questions for future episodes 

https://forms.office.com/r/SFk0b9Xjg5 

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Sources for statistics: 

https://www.invespcro.com/blog/ecommerce-product-return-rate-statistics/ 

Industry benchmark: 15-40% of products ordered online returned (versus ~9% of things bought in-store) 

67% will check returns policy before making purchase 

92% will buy from a store again if return process is easy 

https://www.salecycle.com/blog/featured/ecommerce-returns-2018-stats-trends/ 

57% of retailers say returns have a negative effect on their day-to-day business 

https://www.easyship.com/resources/ecommerce-returns 

Cost of processing a return can be up to 65% of the total selling price 

https://savemycent.com/ecommerce-return-rate-statistics/ 

48% of online shoppers returned an online order in the last 12 months 

https://magnetoitsolutions.com/infographic/e-commerce-product-return-rate 

Reasons for returning something 

https://www.ups.com/us/en/services/knowledge-center/article.page?kid=art16e12c5bc15 

Elements that create a positive return policy include free returns, free shipping, easy to print labels, timely refunds, label on the box. 

https://loopreturns.com/blog/the-fallacy-of-the-30-day-return-window/ 

80% of returns happen within first 14 days 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/business/wp/2016/01/22/the-surprising-psychology-of-shoppers-and-return-policies/ 

Longer return policy reduces returns 

Theory: "Endowment effect.” The longer someone has a product in their hands, more attached they feel. Plus, less urgency to return so they live with it and get used to it. 

A solid checkout flow is a crucial step in getting customers to complete purchases—eCommerce businesses can improve conversion rate by more than one-third by optimizing checkout flow. In this episode, host Sam Greenspan is joined by two WooCommerce experts: Simon Porter, a GoDaddy support engineer, and Léa Oriol, a GoDaddy product manager, to discuss checkout flow optimization. 

The panel shares statistics and anecdotes on pet peeves with online checkouts, checkout features that improve the odds of a sale, reasons for cart abandonment, and website trust indicators. 

From there, they cover several strategies to help with checkout flow: Reducing unexpected costs and checkout roadblocks like account creation, streamlining forms and coupons, offering customers estimated delivery dates, adding payment gateways to a site, and diagnosing checkout flow issues with Google Analytics Pro. 

Finally, in the Q&A, the panel addresses how to set up products that customers can purchase one time or via a recurring subscription, and the most important metrics for a WooCommerce store to track. 

Check out GoDaddy’s Managed WordPress Ecommerce hosting which includes many of the premium extensions discussed in this episode for free! https://www.godaddy.com/hosting/ecommerce-hosting  

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Extensions and services referenced (* - included in the GoDaddy Managed WordPress Ecommerce bundle) 

Jetpack - https://wordpress.org/plugins/jetpack/  

Checkout Field Editor* - https://woocommerce.com/products/woocommerce-checkout-field-editor/  

WooCommerce Social Login* - https://woocommerce.com/products/woocommerce-social-login/  

URL Coupons* - https://woocommerce.com/products/url-coupons/  

WooCommerce Shipping Estimate - https://www.skyverge.com/product/woocommerce-shipping-estimates/  

WooCommerce Lead Time - https://barn2.co.uk/wordpress-plugins/woocommerce-lead-time/ 

WooCommerce Google Analytics Pro* - https://woocommerce.com/products/woocommerce-google-analytics-pro/  

WooCommerce Subscriptions* - https://woocommerce.com/products/woocommerce-subscriptions/  

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Submit questions for future episodes 

https://forms.office.com/r/SFk0b9Xjg5 

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Sources for statistics: 

https://baymard.com/lists/cart-abandonment-rate 

Optimizing checkout process can increase conversion rate by 35% 

Top reasons customers abandon carts 

Roughly 70% of carts are abandoned 

Ideal flow has 12-14 form elements, but average eCommerce store in U.S. has 23.48 

One out of 12 people who abandon a cart do so because preferred payment option isn't available 

https://www.fundera.com/resources/shopping-cart-abandonment-statistics 

Mobile abandonment rate is even higher than desktop (above 80%) 

https://cxl.com/blog/social-login/ 

More than three-quarters of customers prefer social login 

https://www.barilliance.com/10-reasons-shopping-cart-abandonment/#t-1616705503877 

8% of people cite not being able to find a coupon code as the primary reason for abandoning their cart 

https://www.campaignmonitor.com/resources/knowledge-base/how-do-you-calculate-email-marketing-roi/ 

Email marketing ROI can be as high as $44 for every $1 spent 

The online shopping journey continues to become more personalized—leading to a better experience for customers and more lucrative results for merchants. In this episode, host Sam Greenspan is joined by two WooCommerce experts: Tamara Zuk, a GoDaddy support engineer, and Benjamin Green, a GoDaddy support specialist, to discuss personalization with WooCommerce. 

The panel shares statistics and anecdotes on good versus bad uses of personalization, the tradeoff of giving up personal data for a more customized shopping experience, and what the near future may hold for personalization. 

From there, they cover several strategies to help with personalization for a WooCommerce site including: Showcasing cross-sells and recently-viewed products, targeted in-cart cross-selling, automated emails, retargeting ads based on shopper behavior, and on-site recommendations. 

Finally, in the Q&A, the panel addresses whether it’s possible to use WooCommerce as a CRM tool and whether it’s worth learning to code to manage a WooCommerce store. 

Check out GoDaddy’s Managed WordPress Ecommerce hosting which includes many of the premium extensions discussed in this episode for free! https://www.godaddy.com/hosting/ecommerce-hosting  

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Extensions and services referenced (* - included in the GoDaddy Managed WordPress Ecommerce bundle) 

Cart Add-ons* - https://woocommerce.com/products/cart-add-ons/  

AutomateWoo* - https://automatewoo.com/   

Recommendation Engine - https://woocommerce.com/products/recommendation-engine/  

Product Recommendations for WooCommerce - https://woocommerce.com/products/product-recommendations/  

The toilet seat tweet - https://twitter.com/GirlFromBlupo/status/982156453396996096  

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Submit questions for future episodes 

https://forms.office.com/r/SFk0b9Xjg5 

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Sources for statistics: 

https://www.coredna.com/blogs/the-importance-of-personalization-in-ecommerce 

94% of companies say personalization is critical to success, but three-quarters marketers struggle to do it 

Adding personalization to eCommerce increases sales by 7.8% initially, longer term 19% 

75% of customers like it when brands personalize promotional messages 

56% more likely to use online retailer with "good personalized experience" 

https://c.smarterhq.com/resources/Privacy-Personalization-Report.pdf 

63% will stop purchasing from company after creepy interaction 

Creepiest tactics: AI chat popups, push notifications on behavior, ads with products or brands, being targeted too many times or for too long 

Why customers will share personal data: Discounts, promotions, suggestions, replenishment reminders, cart abandonment reminders 

Customer nurturing is the essential process of turning leads into customers, customers into repeat customers, and repeat customers into brand advocates. In this episode, host Sam Greenspan is joined by two WooCommerce experts: Léa Oriol, a GoDaddy Product Manager, and Simon Porter, a GoDaddy Support Engineer, to discuss customer nurturing. 

The panel shares statistics and anecdotes on first-time buyers, the allure of loyalty rewards, the transition from one-time customer into repeat customer, and what businesses can do to create significant brand loyalty. 

From there, they cover several strategies to help with nurturing including lead gen and lead capture, automated email marketing, setting up loyalty points and rewards in WooCommerce, and encouraging brand advocacy. 

Finally, in the Q&A, the panel addresses backup frequency for WooCommerce sites and the role of AI for small- and medium-sized eCommerce businesses. 

Check out GoDaddy’s Managed WordPress Ecommerce hosting which includes many of the premium extensions discussed in this episode for free! https://www.godaddy.com/hosting/ecommerce-hosting  

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Extensions and services referenced (* - included in the GoDaddy Managed WordPress Ecommerce bundle) 

OptinMonster - https://optinmonster.com/  

MailOptin - https://mailoptin.io/  

AutomateWoo* - https://automatewoo.com/  

WooCommerce Points and Rewards* - https://woocommerce.com/products/woocommerce-points-and-rewards/  

ReferralCandy - https://www.referralcandy.com/  

AutomateWoo Refer-a-Friend add-on - https://woocommerce.com/products/automatewoo-refer-a-friend/  

SurveySparrow chatbot - https://surveysparrow.com/products/chatbot-for-website/  

Chatfuel - https://chatfuel.com/ 

Product Recommendations - https://woocommerce.com/products/product-recommendations/  

The famous flannel top - https://www.landsend.co.uk/Womens_Brushed_Flannel_Shirt/pp/P_38136.html  

The famous popcorn - https://www.bepopcorn.ch/ 

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Submit questions for future episodes 

https://forms.office.com/r/SFk0b9Xjg5 

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Sources for statistics: 

https://www.smallbizgenius.net/by-the-numbers/lead-nurturing-statistics/#gref 

96% of visitors to a website aren't ready to buy 

Companies that blog 11+ times per month get 4x the leads of companies that blog 4-5 times per month 

https://www.aicpa.org/press/pressreleases/2016/survey-reveals-americans-not-redeeming-travel-rewards.html 

Up to 12% of people have made a purchase just for points 

https://www.salesforce.com/blog/customer-retail-statistics/ 

Half of repeat buyers make their second purchase within 16 days 

https://www.experian.com/blogs/insights/2018/06/customer-loyalty-using-data-to-keep-the-love-alive/ 

Loyal customers worth up to 10x their initial purchase 

https://www.campaignmonitor.com/resources/knowledge-base/how-do-you-calculate-email-marketing-roi/ 

Email marketing ROI can be up to $44 for every $1 spent 

http://content.adestra.com/hubfs/2016_Reports_and_eGuides/2016_Consumer_Adoption_and_Usage_Study.pdf 

What incentivizes people to subscribe to a brand’s email 

https://techjury.net/blog/lead-nurturing-statistics/#gref 

Usually around 10 lead nurturing steps are needed for a lead to convert to a paying customer 

https://www.smartpassiveincome.com/what-i-learned-from-growing-my-email-list-3418-nearly-200k-in-just-11-days/ 

The Sublime Text contest giveaway 

https://www.marketingprofs.com/articles/2017/32621/your-customers-second-purchase-is-the-most-important 

Only 20% of first time buyers will make a second purchase 

Second purchase most important. If you can keep just 10% more of existing customers, double your revenue. 

https://www.referralcandy.com/blog/referral-marketing-awesome-infographic/ 

83% of satisfied customers are willing to refer friends to a store 

https://www.skyverge.com/blog/secure-backup-woocommerce/ 

Blog post on real-time backups 

Gift cards are really popular items among online shoppers, which is why selling them can be very lucrative for eCommerce stores. On this episode of eCommerce Unscripted, we take a deep dive into offering gift cards at a WooCommerce store. Host Sam Greenspan is joined by two WooCommerce experts: Ian Misner, the head of GoDaddy’s WooCommerce care team, and Erica Ross, a GoDaddy Customer Support Specialist, to discuss gift cards. 

The panel shares statistics and anecdotes on why people buy gift cards, how purchasing behavior differs when a customer is using a gift card, buying gift cards for yourself, and the sheer number of unused gift cards. 

From there, they cover several strategies, like using the PDF Product Vouchers extension to sell digital and physical gift cards, incorporating the Name Your Price extension, and ideas for gift card promotions.  

Finally, in the Q&A, the panel addresses sending cart abandonment emails through wp_mail() and using Facebook Messenger for customer service and promotions. 

Check out GoDaddy’s Managed WordPress Ecommerce hosting which includes many of the premium extensions discussed in this episode for free! https://www.godaddy.com/hosting/ecommerce-hosting  

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Extensions and services referenced (* - included in the GoDaddy Managed WordPress Ecommerce bundle) 

PDF Product Vouchers* - https://woocommerce.com/products/pdf-product-vouchers/  

Name Your Price - https://woocommerce.com/products/name-your-price/  

Cart Add-ons* - https://woocommerce.com/products/cart-add-ons/  

WooCommerce Checkout Add-ons* - https://woocommerce.com/products/woocommerce-checkout-add-ons/  

WooCommerce Memberships* - https://woocommerce.com/products/woocommerce-memberships/  

AutomateWoo* - https://automatewoo.com/  

Facebook for WooCommerce - https://woocommerce.com/products/facebook/  

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Submit questions for future episodes 

https://forms.office.com/r/SFk0b9Xjg5 

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Sources for statistics: 

https://thergca.org/RGCA/Resources/Tips_for_Safe_Gift_Card_Use/RGCA/Resources/Tips_for_Safe_Gift_Card_Use/Tips_for_Safe_Gift_Card_Use.aspx?hkey=3529daa3-2086-447d-b453-04e1c671e3c8 

Gift cards are the most popular gift for 14 years in a row 

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/demand-for-digital-gifting-reaches-all-time-high-new-report-reveals-best-practices-progress-and-areas-for-growth-in-gift-card-ecommerce-programs-301054120.html 

Gift card market saw 14% compound annual growth rate. 

https://www.invespcro.com/blog/10-ways-to-boost-gift-cards-and-wish-lists-conversions-on-ecommerce-websites/ 

Study: For every $1 spent on gift card advertising, merchants get $13 in gift card orders 

Online retailers can get a 10% lift in sales after launching a gift card program 

People with a gift card are 250% more likely to buy things at full price than people who buy in regular currency 

41% will visit a new store because they receive a gift card, 72% make return trip to the store 

https://www.mageplaza.com/blog/gift-card-statistics.html 

Why people buy gift cards 

59% of people spend more than their gift card's value 

https://www.giftcards.com/gift-card-statistics 

69% have purchased a gift card for themselves 

https://www.giftcards.com/gift-card-statistics 

29% received a gift card they never used 

20% forget to use gift cards they receive 

https://www.giftcardgranny.com/blog/gift-card-survey-holidays-2020/ 

33% prefer digital, 29% prefer physical, 38% don't care. 

55% will buy gift cards based on promotions (extra reward points, bogo, etc.) 

Click-and-collect and local pickup options have been growing steadily for years—but the pandemic significantly accelerated that growth. And... all signs point to customers continuing to use local pickup even once the pandemic is over. In this episode, host Sam Greenspan is joined by two WooCommerce experts: Benjamin Green, a GoDaddy care specialist, and Tamara Zuk, a GoDaddy support engineer, to discuss local pickup for WooCommerce businesses. 

The panel shares statistics and anecdotes on the local pickup adoption rate by businesses, using click-and-collect, making impulse buys while picking up a click-and-collect order, and a local pickup option as a marketing tool for businesses. 

From there, they cover several strategies to help incorporate local pickup into a WooCommerce business, including the built-in options in the WooCommerce core, the Local Pickup Plus extension, inventory management solutions, defining a local pickup workflow, and incorporating store finder plugins. 

Finally, in the Q&A, the panel addresses whether it’s possible to turn a WooCommerce site into a static site, and what to look for when hiring influencers. 

Check out GoDaddy’s Managed WordPress Ecommerce hosting which includes many of the premium extensions discussed in this episode for free! https://www.godaddy.com/hosting/ecommerce-hosting  

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Extensions and services referenced (* - included in the GoDaddy Managed WordPress Ecommerce bundle) 

Local Pickup Plus* - https://woocommerce.com/products/local-pickup-plus/  

Bulk Stock Management* - https://woocommerce.com/products/bulk-stock-management/  

WooCommerce Print Invoices & Packing Lists* - https://woocommerce.com/products/print-invoices-packing-lists/  

Store Finder for WooCommerce - https://woocommerce.com/products/store-finder-for-woocommerce/  

WP Store Locator - https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-store-locator/  

WP Rocket - https://wp-rocket.me/ 

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Submit questions for future episodes 

https://forms.office.com/r/SFk0b9Xjg5 

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Sources for statistics: 

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1132011/click-and-collect-retail-sales-growth-us/ 

Click-and-collect grew 60.4% in 2020 

https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2020/09/30/nearly-44-of-top-500-retailers-with-stores-now-offer-curbside-pickup/ 

5x growth in number of stores offering pickup by end of 2020 

https://www.invespcro.com/blog/buy-online-pick-up-in-store-bopis/ 

2/3 shoppers in U.S. used click and collect last year 

90% of retailers plan to have it by this year 

50% have decided where to buy based on whether they could pick it up 

Why customers like click-and-collect: See a product first, avoid shopping costs, convenience, faster returns, quicker service, better in-stock assurances 

https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/McKinsey/Industries/Retail/Our%20Insights/Perspectives%20on%20retail%20and%20consumer%20goods%20Number%208/Perspectives-on-Retail-and-Consumer-Goods_Issue-8.pdf 

56% plan to continue using click and collect more in the future post-pandemic 

https://www.barilliance.com/click-collect/ 

Half of people who use click and collect make additional purchases when they're picking up 

https://moz.com/blog/7-conversion-lessons-from-the-masters-of-ecommerce 

60x60 rule 

It’s all about subscriptions in today’s episode, a popular business model that’s seeing rapid adoption across the eCommerce world. Host Sam Greenspan is joined by two WooCommerce experts: Nik McLaughlin, a GoDaddy Technical Account Manager, and Tabitha Turton, a GoDaddy Product Manager, to discuss the ins and outs of subscriptions. 

The panel shares statistics and anecdotes on subscription boxes, reasons behind cancelling subscriptions, media and content subscriptions, and streaming services. 

From there, they cover several strategies to help eCommerce businesses incorporate the subscription model and get the most out of it: adding WooCommerce Subscriptions to a site, using WooCommerce Memberships for a more robust subscriber experience, tiered subscription pricing, and subscriber retention techniques.  

Finally, in the Q&A, the panel addresses reasons why a store might see low conversions from advertising as well as the right scenarios to work on localization for a WooCommerce store. 

Check out GoDaddy’s Managed WordPress Ecommerce hosting which includes many of the premium extensions discussed in this episode for free! https://www.godaddy.com/hosting/ecommerce-hosting  

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Extensions and services referenced (* - included in the GoDaddy Managed WordPress Ecommerce bundle) 

WooCommerce Subscriptions* - https://woocommerce.com/products/woocommerce-subscriptions/ 

WooCommerce Memberships* - https://woocommerce.com/products/woocommerce-memberships/ 

WPML - https://wpml.org/ 

Say What? - https://wordpress.org/plugins/say-what/ 

Loco Translate - https://wordpress.org/plugins/loco-translate/ 

Google Language Translator - https://wordpress.org/plugins/google-language-translator/ 

Translating WooCommerce Memberships - https://www.skyverge.com/blog/translate-woocommerce-memberships/ 

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Sources for statistics: 

Product photos just might be the most important aspect of a WooCommerce store’s product pages. On this episode of eCommerce Unscripted, the panel dives into all aspects of product photography. Host Sam Greenspan is joined by two WooCommerce and photography experts: Marcus Burnette, a GoDaddy care specialist focusing on WooCommerce, and Tabitha Turton, a GoDaddy Product Manager, to discuss taking and using better product photos. 

The panel shares statistics and anecdotes on the importance of product photos on an eCommerce site, the downsides of deceptive or low-quality photos, stock photos, and product photo pet peeves. 

From there, they cover several strategies including using larger images, incorporating user-generated photos, adding 360-degree views, using variation images, AB testing images, and taking better photos of your own products. The panel gives a whirlwind lesson on product photography, including cameras, staging, lighting, and camera settings. 

Finally, in the Q&A, the panel addresses setting up subscription-based digital products and the right frequency to email a customer list. 

Check out GoDaddy’s Managed WordPress Ecommerce hosting which includes many of the premium extensions discussed in this episode for free! https://www.godaddy.com/hosting/ecommerce-hosting 

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Extensions and services referenced (* - included in the GoDaddy Managed WordPress Ecommerce bundle) 

Instagram feed - https://elfsight.com/instagram-feed-instashow/woocommerce/  

WooCommerce 360° Image* - https://woocommerce.com/products/woocommerce-360-image/  

WooCommerce Additional Variation Images* - https://woocommerce.com/products/woocommerce-additional-variation-images/  

Name Your Price - https://woocommerce.com/products/name-your-price/  

WooCommerce Subscriptions* - https://woocommerce.com/products/woocommerce-subscriptions/  

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Submit questions for future episodes 

https://forms.office.com/r/SFk0b9Xjg5 

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Sources for statistics: 

https://www.seattlewebdesign.com/blog/seattle-web-design-online-marketing-blog/post/three-huge-statistics-about-ecommerce-product-photography-and-what-to-do-about-them 

75% of online shoppers rely on product photos when deciding on a potential purchase 

Of the products that are returned, almost one in four are returned because the product looks different in person 

https://www.etsy.com/seller-handbook/article/why-product-photography-is-important/147451496051 

Quality of images influences 90% of purchases, more than any other factor 

https://www.nngroup.com/articles/photos-as-web-content/ 

Stock photos are a turnoff; we're trained to ignore stock photos of generic people 

https://www.weebly.com/guides/product-photography-guide/how-important-is-product-photography 

Somatic marker hypothesis: when a customer sees a photo of a product they want to buy, they don't process every single bit of info on which they base their purchase decision, instead relying on emotion. 

https://www.meero.com/en/news/e_commerce/511/How-Great-Product-Photographs-Influence-E-Commerce-Websites-Conversions 

50% of people say large, high quality images more important than info, descriptions, reviews 

360 degree product views lower return rate by 50%, make it 85x more likely to get positive review, and deliver a 30% higher conversion rate 

Product reviews are essential for a WooCommerce store—just one single review on a product can lead to a major jump in sales. Host Sam Greenspan is joined by two WooCommerce experts: Erica Ross, a GoDaddy Customer Support Specialist, and Ian Misner, the head of GoDaddy’s WooCommerce care team, to discuss product reviews. 

The panel shares statistics and anecdotes on what motivates people to leave product reviews, the effect of reviews on sales, whether it makes sense for stores to respond to reviews, and incentivizing customers to leave reviews. 

From there, they cover several strategies to help both add product reviews to a WooCommerce site and to entice more customers to leave reviews. 

Finally, in the Q&A, the panel addresses how to create a custom login page for a WooCommerce store and whether “free plus shipping” is an effective sales and marketing technique. 

Check out GoDaddy’s Managed WordPress Ecommerce hosting which includes many of the premium extensions discussed in this episode for free! https://www.godaddy.com/hosting/ecommerce-hosting 

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Extensions and services referenced (* - included in the GoDaddy Managed WordPress Ecommerce bundle) 

WooCommerce Product Reviews Pro* - https://woocommerce.com/products/woocommerce-product-reviews-pro/ 

AutomateWoo* - https://automatewoo.com/ 

Gravity Forms - https://www.gravityforms.com/ 

Gravity Forms User Registration add-on - https://www.gravityforms.com/add-ons/user-registration/ 

Theme My Login - https://wordpress.org/plugins/theme-my-login/ 

Business Bloomer - https://www.businessbloomer.com/ 

WooCommerce Social Login* - https://woocommerce.com/products/woocommerce-social-login/ 

Better Call Saul - https://www.amc.com/shows/better-call-saul--16 

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Submit questions for future episodes 

https://forms.office.com/r/SFk0b9Xjg5 

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Sources for statistics: 

https://fanandfuel.com/no-online-customer-reviews-means-big-problems-2017/ 

92% of people will hesitate to buy from a store with no reviews 

https://econsultancy.com/ecommerce-consumer-reviews-why-you-need-them-and-how-to-use-them/ 

One review can lead to an 18% increase in sales 

https://spiegel.medill.northwestern.edu/online-reviews/ 

Five reviews can increase sales likelihood by 270% 

Ideal star rating is 4.0 to 4.7 

https://blog.reevoo.com/ebook-bad-reviews-good-business/ 

68% of people trust reviews more when there are both good and bad reviews 

https://hbr.org/2018/02/study-replying-to-customer-reviews-results-in-better-ratings 

One-third of hotels increased their rating by a half star or more within six months of starting to respond to reviews 

https://hbr.org/2018/01/how-customer-service-can-turn-angry-customers-into-loyal-ones 

The sooner a store responds to bad reviews, the more likely they are to retain the customer 

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/better_call_saul/s01 

Better Call Saul season one has only 97% positive reviews 

https://gatherup.com/blog/survey-why-do-consumers-leave-reviews/ 

33% will leave review if the experience was really good or really bad; 25% only when it’s good, 5% only when it’s really bad 

https://uk.business.trustpilot.com/guides-reports/learn-from-customers/bad-reviews-why-people-write-them-and-what-they-expect 

Top reasons for bad reviews: To warn people; to help others make better buying decisions; to help the company improve its product. Top reasons for good reviews: To share an experience; to reward company for good service/product; to help others make buying decisions 

https://jamesclear.com/copy-machine-study 

The psychological principle that people are more likely to do you a favor if you give them any reason for doing so 

Conversion rate is one of the most important metrics for an eCommerce store—if not the most important. In this episode, we dive deep into conversions, the causes of low conversions, and techniques to improve conversion rate. Host Sam Greenspan is joined by two WooCommerce experts and GoDaddy Technical Account Managers, Ryan Frizzell and Christine Phu, to discuss conversion rate. 

The panel shares statistics and anecdotes on website issues that can affect conversions, the effect of reviews on conversions, on-site techniques to improve conversions, and the effectiveness of one-click payment gateways. 

From there, they cover several strategies to help with conversions: using Google Analytics and Google Analytics Pro to spot problems and track improvements, improving site copy and images, cart abandonment emails, adding more product details and image options, improving checkout flow with social logins and fewer form fields, adding payment gateways, using wish lists, A/B testing and experimentation, and featuring more robust product reviews. 

Finally, in the Q&A, the panel addresses ways to keep a WooCommerce site secure and when the moment comes that an eCommerce store should switch from in-house fulfillment to a third-party logistics company. 

Check out GoDaddy’s Managed WordPress Ecommerce hosting which includes many of the premium extensions discussed in this episode for free! https://www.godaddy.com/hosting/ecommerce-hosting  

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Extensions and services referenced (* - included in the GoDaddy Managed WordPress Ecommerce bundle) 

Google Analytics - https://analytics.google.com/ 

WooCommerce Google Analytics Pro* - https://woocommerce.com/products/woocommerce-google-analytics-pro/ 

AutomateWoo* - https://automatewoo.com/ 

WooCommerce Tab Manager* - https://woocommerce.com/products/woocommerce-tab-manager/ 

WooCommerce Additional Variation Images* - https://woocommerce.com/products/woocommerce-additional-variation-images/ 

WooCommerce 360º Image*- https://woocommerce.com/products/woocommerce-360-image/ 

WooCommerce Social Login* - https://woocommerce.com/products/woocommerce-social-login/ 

WooCommerce Checkout Field Editor* - https://woocommerce.com/products/woocommerce-checkout-field-editor/ 

Payment gateways - https://www.skyverge.com/downloads/category/payments/   

WooCommerce Checkout Add-Ons* - https://woocommerce.com/products/woocommerce-checkout-add-ons/  

WooCommerce Wishlists - https://woocommerce.com/products/woocommerce-wishlists/ 

WooCommerce Product Reviews Pro* - https://woocommerce.com/products/woocommerce-product-reviews-pro/  

Sucuri - https://sucuri.net/ 

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Sources for statistics: 

https://www.bigcommerce.com/blog/conversion-rate-optimization/ 

Benchmark for eCommerce conversion rate is 2% 

https://baymard.com/lists/cart-abandonment-rate 

Desktop cart abandonment rate ~70% 

Top reasons for cart abandonment 

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/this-is-exactly-how-many-reviews-it-takes-to-get-someone-to-buy-something-2017-08-22-12883123 

92% will hesitate to buy with no reviews 

https://econsultancy.com/ecommerce-consumer-reviews-why-you-need-them-and-how-to-use-them/ 

Presence of reviews increases sales by 18% 

https://spiegel.medill.northwestern.edu/_pdf/Spiegel_Online%20Review_eBook_Jun2017_FINAL.pdf 

Five reviews increases sales by 270% 

https://www.marketingcharts.com/industries/retail-and-e-commerce-68394 

Most important elements of a good eCommerce site