How to boost conversion with Product Detail Pages (Clone)

When managing multiple products in your digital storefront, it’s essential to create a dedicated product detail page for each item. This strategy is pivotal for furnishing comprehensive information that persuades visitors to make a purchase. It’s precisely for this reason that product detail pages are instrumental in exerting online influence.

These pages bear a resemblance to landing pages, and as such, many strategies and tactics discussed in the preceding blogs are applicable here. However, there are also specific recommendations and practices uniquely relevant to product detail pages. This blog will detail these, primarily focusing on tangible goods available for online purchase. Nonetheless, it’s worth noting that the majority of these strategies are equally effective for digital products.

Product Detail Pages: Your Digital ‘Center of the Universe’

Navigating an online purchase can be a complex task for customers, primarily because they lack physical interaction with the product and direct communication with a seller or advisor. In this scenario, your product detail page becomes the cornerstone of their decision-making process.

Studies have indicated that product detail pages with high conversion rates are those that effectively address the visitors’ queries. Identifying these questions is key and can be achieved by scrutinizing customer service interactions or through targeted research, as elaborated in the “Conversion Research” blog.

Interestingly, these inquiries often extend beyond the product’s features, delving into aspects of the ordering process itself:

1. “How will the product be delivered to me?”
2. “What options are available for delivery?”
3. “Are there any additional costs involved in the purchase?”
4. “If I’m not at home, will the package be delivered to my neighbors?”
5. “Does the delivery service include assembling the product, or is that something I need to handle myself?”

A common oversight among many online retailers is relegating delivery information to a general page. However, it’s important to recognize that visitors often land directly on a product detail page through search engines, comparison sites, or ads. 

It’s essential to view your product detail page as ‘the center of the universe; of online shopping. To ensure it effectively serves this role, there are certain elements it should invariably include:

• Product Photos
• Product Information
• Customer Reviews
• Buying Process Insights
• Final Price Details
• Provider Information

Let’s delve deeper into each of these components for a more thorough understanding.

The Power of Product Photos in Online Shopping

Images play a pivotal role in online shopping, bringing your products to life for the visitor. The ability to vividly visualize owning and using your product can spark Anticipatory Enthusiasm (also see the blog about this principle). 

Numerous studies have demonstrated a direct correlation between the size and realism of product images and the likelihood of a sale. Websites featuring larger, more lifelike pictures consistently outperform those with smaller images. Additionally, offering a variety of photos, capturing the product from multiple angles and in close-up detail, significantly aids in helping customers mentally grasp the product.

Top-performing webshops often display a series of thumbnail images which visitors can easily click to expand. This technique is effective because larger, detailed views of products can emulate the experience of physically holding them. Research by consumer experts Joann Peck and Suzanne Shu suggests that physical interaction with a product can increase its perceived value and desirability.¹

To enhance the sense of product use, consider including images of people unpacking or utilizing the product. It’s crucial that the people in these images resonate with your target audience; otherwise, it could have the opposite effect. For instance, avoid using images of very young people if your target demographic is the over-50s.

Another pro tip: capture photos and videos from eye level. This perspective helps your visitors realistically envision owning and using your product, thereby boosting their enthusiasm and inclination to purchase.

The Cheerleader Effect

Here’s a fascinating tidbit: when we see someone in a group photo with attractive individuals, we tend to perceive that person as more appealing compared to when they are pictured alone. This phenomenon occurs because we subconsciously attribute the appealing characteristics of the group to each individual within it. In psychological terms, this is known as the ‘cheerleader effect.’²

[Insert image OI, p 342] 

As someone skilled in behavior design, you have the unique opportunity to utilize the ‘cheerleader effect’ to elevate the perceived value of your products (also see the blog about this principle). One practical application is grouping a product with a collection of items that are already popular among your visitors. For instance, a basic frying pan becomes more appealing when presented as part of a high-end, complete pan set. Similarly, a charging cable appears more desirable when showcased alongside a sleek iPhone, as opposed to being displayed by itself:

[Insert image OI, p 343] 

Product Information 

Effectively answering potential questions about your product reduces the need for visitors to seek further clarification. When detailing product information, focus on these key areas:

• How does this product benefit the customer?
  The sports drink is designed to energize during workouts and aid in muscle recovery post-exercise.

• What are the key features or ingredients that make this product effective?
  The cream is formulated with argireline, a compound that helps relax facial muscles, thereby reducing the chances of wrinkle formation.

• What distinguishes this product from its competitors?
  Among our city bike selection, this model stands out as the most affordable option.

Additionally, a concise bullet-point list of a product’s main features often proves helpful, especially for practical and technical items like gadgets or nutritional supplements. However, for luxury or designer products, such lists might detract from the perceived value. In these cases, an elegantly composed narrative might be more effective.

To keep your product detail pages user-friendly and scannable, consider summarizing the most vital information. You can place less critical details (like in-depth specifications) behind a clickable link. This approach aligns with best practices discussed in the “Landing Pages” blog.

Reviews 

In the current online marketplace, the significance of trustworthy reviews cannot be overstated. In the “Social Proof” blog, you’ll find an array of tips designed to assist in showcasing reviews most effectively. 

A common question is about the number of reviews necessary for effective social proof. Truthfully, there’s no universal minimum. The required number of reviews varies depending on the nature of your product. Generally, more expensive items warrant a higher number of reviews for adequate buyer reassurance. As a general guideline, remember: the more reviews, the better. Peer reviews are particularly influential.

In cases where a product has fewer than ten reviews, leveraging general feedback about your online store can be an effective way to establish trust and provide the necessary social proof.

Information about the buying process

The significance of delivery details in the buying process is often on par with the product information itself for ensuring conversions. It’s imperative to communicate aspects of the buying process before customers place their orders. 

For instance, if someone is purchasing a gift, they need certainty about its timely arrival and the ability to receive it when their partner isn’t home. Unfortunately, many product detail pages fail to address these concerns, leading to lost opportunities.

Moreover, when designing or reviewing your product detail pages, it’s crucial to factor in elements like the payment method and the specifics of delivery. These components play a substantial role in shaping the customer’s purchasing journey. Let’s delve into how to effectively incorporate this information.

Payment method

One key aspect in streamlining the online shopping experience is to inform users about payment options well before they reach the checkout stage. Consider including clear answers to questions such as:

• What various payment methods are available?
• Will there be any additional charges for using a credit card?
• Is there an option to pay in installments?
• Can customers choose to pay upon delivery?

Time

Providing clear answers to these time-specific questions can significantly enhance the customer experience:

• “When can I expect to receive the product?”
• “When will the invoice be issued?”
• “For digital products, when will access be granted?”
• “How long do I have to cancel my order?”
• “What is the duration of the payment term?”

Delivery Method

Clarify the product delivery process. For example, by addressing these key questions:

• “Is the parcel small enough to fit through a standard mailbox?”
• “Can the parcel easily pass through a regular doorway?”
• “Is it necessary for me to be at home to receive the delivery?”
• “What happens to my parcel if I’m not available at home when it arrives?”
• “Does the delivery service include bringing parcels up to the third floor?”

Failing to answer these kinds of questions can lead to potential dropouts, as the longer it takes for a visitor to find this information, the greater the chance they may reconsider their purchase. Therefore, it’s crucial to position such details in easily accessible locations on your website, using clear headings that reflect the customer’s perspective. Let’s look at three examples:

[Insert image OI, p 345] 

Transparency with the Final Price

Ensuring clarity about the cost of your products or services is fundamental. We’ve observed that visitors often navigate through to the final stages of checkout just to confirm the total amount of their order.

Why do they do this? It’s largely because many websites introduce additional costs later in the customer journey. This practice is not advisable. By being fully transparent from the outset, you can save your visitors valuable time. More importantly, transparency fosters appreciation from your customers, boosting both their ability and motivation to make a purchase.

Therefore, it’s crucial to display the total price on your product detail pages. This includes all associated costs such as delivery, administrative fees, booking charges, and any other expenses.

The Appeal of Free Delivery

The notion of paying for delivery is generally unwelcome among customers. In fact, many find the idea of paying extra for delivery more unpalatable than a higher product price. This is why offering free delivery, where feasible, is a highly effective strategy. One way to implement this is by including the delivery costs in the product’s price.

[Insert image OI, p 346] 

However, it’s important to note that this approach is particularly effective for unique products. When customers have the option to purchase the same product from another webshop, integrating delivery costs into the product price might give the impression that your prices are higher. In such scenarios, it’s wiser for retailers to itemize delivery costs separately to maintain transparency and competitive pricing.

Price Perception

Retailers, both in physical stores and online, consistently strive to present prices in a manner that makes them seem as appealing as possible. A key aspect to remember is that our perception of a price being cheap or expensive is influenced not just by the amount itself but also by how it’s presented.³

As an online behavior designer, consider these two fundamental guidelines for influencing price perception:

• Minimize the Visual Impact of the Price
• Highlight the Value Being Offered

To better illustrate these principles, let’s look at some practical examples.

Omit currency characters

A notable practice among many leading online retailers is the absence of currency symbols on their product detail pages. This strategic omission has been found to positively impact conversion rates. However, it’s crucial to ensure that customers can still clearly understand that the numbers displayed represent the price.

[Insert image OI, p 347] 

A word of caution: if your webshop caters to an international audience and supports multiple currencies, it’s advisable to include the currency sign. This helps avoid any potential confusion among customers about the pricing in their respective currencies.

Do not use a large font

When displaying prices on your product detail pages, avoid using a large font. Interestingly, smaller fonts can subconsciously convey a sense of affordability. However, there’s an exception to this rule: for an exceptional deal, highlighting the price prominently can be a very effective strategy.

Do not use decimal places

Generally, the more digits displayed, the more expensive a product seems. If the decimal places are not crucial, it’s advisable to omit them:

[Insert image OI, p 347] 

Use non-rounded figures for useful products 

Utility-based products like batteries and equipment, non-rounded prices (e.g., $4.59) are perceived as more fair compared to rounded ones (like $4.50). This is because non-rounded figures suggest a cost carefully calculated to reflect value, enhancing the perception of fairness in pricing.

Do use rounded figures for luxury products 

When dealing with luxury products, prices with digits after the decimal point can seem out of place. In these cases, a rounded figure (such as $120) is more suitable. Rounded prices in luxury items evoke a sense of simplicity and elegance, aligning well with the product category.

From-for construction

Recall the discussion on ‘anchoring’ from earlier in the blogs: it’s a phenomenon where people perceive a price as more reasonable after seeing a higher amount initially. This concept is particularly relevant in the ‘from-for’ pricing strategy. In such cases, the higher initial price acts as an anchor, setting a reference point that makes the subsequent lower price seem more attractive in comparison:

[Insert image OI, p 348] 

Another benefit of this pricing approach is the enhancement of the product’s perceived value. This is because our system 1 often associates higher prices with superior quality. (Also see the Perceived Value blog).

Repeat the discount

Reemphasizing a discount in your presentation can be a highly effective strategy. By doing so, you allocate more visual space to what the customers are gaining rather than what they are spending.

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Presenting Amounts as More Substantial

There are instances where you might want to make a monetary figure appear more significant. This is particularly relevant when highlighting discounts or communicating the value of complimentary incentives. In such situations, the approach is the opposite of the previously mentioned rules: 

[Insert image OI, p 348] 

Conveying Information About Yourself as a Provider

Online shoppers often discover your product detail page through a search engine, comparison site, or advertisement, bypassing your homepage. This pathway means many visitors may not be familiar with your webshop, leading them to wonder, “Who is behind this store?” It’s crucial to prevent these potential customers from navigating away from your persuasive product page to find this information.

To address this, include a brief overview about yourself directly on the product detail page. An elaborate narrative isn’t necessary; a concise summary suffices. This helps to answer the key questions that visitors might have about your business, such as:

[Insert image OI, p 349] 

Even if your website features a dedicated ‘About Us’ page, it’s still essential to include relevant information about yourself on your product detail pages.

Having covered the indispensable elements that should be present on a product detail page, we now turn our attention to additional factors that can enhance the persuasiveness of these pages. We’ll explore aspects such as layout design, the integration of live chat or chatbots, applying the Scarcity principle, and crafting an effective call to action.

The layout

The design of your product detail page plays a crucial role in guiding your visitors effortlessly to the information they seek. Two key elements in achieving this are recognizability and rhythm.

Recognizability

When designing your product detail pages, it’s beneficial to draw inspiration from the layouts of major webshops like Amazon or Walmart. Many customers frequently shop on these platforms and are accustomed to their design frameworks. Deviating significantly from these familiar layouts can make the shopping experience unnecessarily complex for your visitors. Typically, these sites feature the product image on the top left, with the price, delivery conditions, and order button adjacent. Also, observe how they present their reviews for further insights.

Rhythm

Implement a consistent rhythm in the layout of your landing pages and product detail pages. Organize all product information in a structured, easy-to-scan format, with clearly distinguishable headers for different sections. 

If you find that information blocks are becoming too lengthy, consider concealing the more detailed information behind a clickable option. Essentially, create a ‘details within details’ page, akin to what you might use on a landing page, to keep your design clean and user-friendly.

Incorporating Live Chat and Chatbots for Enhanced Customer Interaction

While this book primarily focuses on automated persuasion without human intervention, it’s worth exploring the role of live chat and chatbots in e-commerce. Webshops that offer live chat often experience higher conversion rates due to the immediate, expert assistance they provide to visitors. However, for live chat to be effective, certain conditions must be met:

• Prompt Response Time

Since many customers shop during non-office hours, your live chat should ideally be available during evenings and weekends.

• Knowledgeable Staff

The staff handling the live chat must have a thorough understanding of both the products and the purchasing process to offer valuable assistance.

If having live personnel is not feasible, implementing a chatbot can be an excellent alternative. Modern machine learning software allows chatbots to be trained to handle the most common queries effectively. In instances where the chatbot is unable to resolve a query, it can be programmed to escalate the issue to a human colleague for further assistance.

Scarcity

The concept of scarcity can be a powerful tool in the realm of product detail pages. As detailed in the “Scarcity” blog, scarcity can be presented in two forms: scarcity in stock and scarcity in time.

Scarcity in stock
When you have a limited number of items available, it’s beneficial to highlight this on your product pages: “Only 5 left in stock.”

The effectiveness of indicating stock scarcity in creating a sense of urgency varies depending on the product. For instance, a message like ‘Only 10 left in stock’ may not evoke urgency for a dining room table, as it doesn’t typically imply scarcity. However, for popular items like on-sale headphones, the same message can prompt a quick response from customers.

The perceived urgency of stock scarcity is often tied to customer expectations regarding how rapidly the item is selling. Enhancing this perception can be achieved by explicitly setting expectations, such as stating, “Expected to sell out within a few days.”

Interestingly, even the mention of the word ‘stock’ can trigger an instinctive response (System 1 thinking). Therefore, it’s advantageous to indicate that a product is ‘in stock,’ even when availability isn’t an issue. This subtly implies the finiteness of the stock and the potential for items to sell out unexpectedly, thereby instilling a sense of urgency among your visitors.

Scarcity in time

When you run a temporary promotion, it’s essential to communicate this clearly on your product detail pages, even if the promotion applies to your entire range of products. For instance, you might feature a statement like, “Order today to receive a $5 voucher.”

Additionally, emphasizing the limited time available to customers for certain benefits can further motivate them to act swiftly. A compelling way to do this is to set clear deadlines for offers. For example, you could use a prompt like, “Ordered before 23:59, delivered tomorrow!”

Near the call to action
Given that product detail pages often contain extensive information, it’s advisable to position scarcity messages close to the call to action. This strategic placement can serve as the final persuasive push needed for a visitor to make the decision to purchase.

The call to action

The principles guiding the call to action on your landing pages are equally crucial for your product detail pages. However, there are three specific guidelines that are especially pertinent in this context. Let’s delve into these key strategies: the soft call to action, the ‘Hobson + 1’ choice technique, and the utilization of shortcuts.

Soft call to action

As discussed in the “Baby Steps” blog, smaller commitments can often be more effective than larger ones. This principle holds true for calls to action on product detail pages. A ‘soft’ call to action, which seems less demanding, can be more inviting. Examples of softer alternatives to a direct ‘order’ button include:

• Add to Cart
• Go to Checkout
• In Cart

However, for products that are scarce in stock or time, a more direct or ‘hard’ call to action is appropriate to convey urgency. Examples in this context include:

• Order Now
• Download Now
• Register Now

Hobson + 1

To cater to visitors who might still be indecisive, it’s beneficial to provide an alternative option alongside the primary call to action. This alternative should be less visually prominent and can help prevent complete dropouts. Possible options include:

• Add to Favorites
• Add to Wish List
• Share with a Friend

Shortcuts

While shopping carts are standard in webshops, they do add an extra step to the buying process. For visitors looking to make a quick purchase, offering a direct route — a shortcut — can streamline their shopping experience. Examples of such shortcuts include:

• Take Me to Checkout
• Pay for This Product Now
• Order with One Click
  
  

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