As an online apparel retailer, you’re probably putting a lot of money and effort into bringing potential shoppers to your site. The Product Details page (PDP) is the last leg of the customer buying journey–It’s “money time”. The quality of a product page can convince a shopper to make the purchase or to continue shopping.
The average conversion rate for online apparel and accessories stores stands at approximately 1.7%. This means that even a slight improvement in conversion can have a significant effect on revenue.
As befitting the importance of PDPs, there are plenty of online resources on how to optimize them for conversion. However, electronics and furniture shopping behavior is different from that of fashion shopping behavior. If you are to push your pages to the max, they need to be optimized for what you sell. In addition, many PDP optimization techniques require significant investment in technology (for example personalization) or redesign.
In this article, we focus on best practices for creating highly converting apparel PDPs and tactics that can help you achieve quick wins.
What makes a great apparel PDP?
Great product pages are well put together in terms of their overall layout, design, content, and functionality.
Above all, the purpose of a product detail page is to provide information about an item. However, it should also:
- Engage and entice shoppers
- Boost confidence in the retailer/brand and in the product
- Simplify the conversion and remove barriers to sales
But how do you make sure your PDP does all these things? Let’s take a look.
Engage and Entice Shoppers
In most cases, you have a very narrow window of opportunity (less than a minute) to persuade your shoppers to make the purchase.
We’ve gathered some recommended best practices that will help you capture your visitors’ attention right away.
1. Use high-quality images
Images are the number one factor in online buying decisions. Some sources quote this as true for 75% of shoppers, others claim the same for a whopping 93% of shoppers. In any event, images are crucial.
But what does a high-quality image mean? It’s more than just the number of pixels! The product picture should highlight the item in a way that attracts the customer and makes their imagination soar. “Where could I wear this to? How would I look wearing this at my next party?”
The basics here include images that the shopper can enlarge for more details, showcasing the item from several angles, and using natural-looking light to ensure colors are true.
But to optimize for conversion you need to take it a step further.
Use models. More importantly, use the right models.
According to research by Shopify, images with models can increase conversion rates by up to 20%. This number grows even higher when using diverse models that resonate with your target audience.
Use the same models on your PDP page as in your campaigns. Model consistency can increase a company’s revenue by 23–33%.
Using lifestyle images also helps show the product in context. Showing models in real-life situations like a park or beach, will help the buyers envision themselves in the clothing you sell.
2. Test and optimize your images per item
We can make assumptions all day long, but at the end of the day, the proof is in the pudding. A/B testing everything is the way to go—this applies to the models you use, the angles, the styling. A specific model can boost conversion for a specific garment, but not for another. Create multiple images with various models and test, test, test!.
Make sure to pre-define the specific metrics you’ll be using to compare the images. Some suggestions for these include:
- CTR (click-through rates) on each product page
- Time spent on your product page
- Conversion rate
- AOV (Average order value)
Provide information and boost confidence
When shopping online, it’s natural for customers to be hesitant about their purchase. There are many things to worry about, from the fit to the color, and even the quality of the item. If you’re expecting shoppers to buy the items without a physical inspection, your product page has to provide all the information needed to get over their apprehension. To do so, make sure to:
1. Craft compelling product descriptions
The product description should correctly predict some of the unspoken questions potential buyers are likely to have and clearly answer them.
Make sure your product description contains important elements like the name of the product, its price, a brief description, and a clear CTA. It should also include any discounts you’re offering, shipping information, and payment details.
Interesting information includes things like fabric composition and origin. But one thing everyone wants to know is whether or not the item will fit them. As such, the sizing information on your product pages should be clear as day.
Use visual language that “shows” the target audience what the product looks like instead of just “telling” them. Instead of saying “This dress is made of 100% cotton,” try “This dress is made from soft fine cotton that feels great against your skin”.
Finally, it helps to use the inverted pyramid writing style to highlight the most important information first.
2. Reviews and social proof
Social proof can be a powerful tool to increase conversion rates. By displaying customer reviews and ratings on your product pages, you can build trust and credibility with potential buyers. After all, shoppers are more likely to trust the opinions of fellow consumers than the claims made by a company.
Social proof comes in many forms. A review section or star ratings can be helpful, as they allow customers to quickly see what others think of the product.
Customer testimonials can be highly persuasive (and viral), especially when linked to broader marketing campaigns that involve UGC (User Generated Content) such as this example of featured Instagram photos:
3. Create a consistent look and feel across PDPs
Research shows that a consistent look and feel can increase conversion rates by up to 25% (source: NNGroup). In addition to creating a sense of reliability and professionalism that helps build trust, consistent branding can also enhance your user experience.
With a consistent layout, users can easily navigate your website to find the information they need to make informed purchasing decisions.
Simplify conversion and remove barriers to sales
No matter how fancy or well-designed your PDP is, if your checkout process is too complicated, customers are likely to get frustrated and click off the page. Here are some of the things you can do to remove these and other sales barriers:
1. Clear checkout
On the checkout page, ensure that your CTA buttons are clear and easy to find. The checkout process should also be seamless. If there are other links on the page such as discounts or size guides, the buttons should be clearly indicated with text that your users are familiar with.
2. Declutter the page
In an attempt to provide as much information as possible, people often end up with too much text on the product page, subsequently distracting website visitors from the most vital information. One way to avoid decluttering the page is to keep the product descriptions short or add a “read more” button for lengthy text.
Another effective design practice to keep in mind is the effective usage of whitespaces. It helps reduce noise and keep the eye focused on the things that really matter.
3. Combine listings together, wherever possible
Apparel products tend to come in several varieties in terms of color, pattern, and size. The common practice on many product pages is to list each of these variations as individual products. This has many downsides: your website will end up getting cluttered, and users looking for a specific variation will struggle to find it.
A better way to display these items is to combine them into a single listing. Make sure to showcase the various options using on-model images on a single page. This way, your website will contain only unique products, making life easier for your site visitors.
Conclusion
Your product page is the last and most important step to a sale. It warrants your attention.
There are many things you can do to improve conversion—make the page simple and intuitive, offer detailed product information, and make the checkout clear. But above all, product images are the most important element on the page. Shoppers skim data and rely on the visual information to make a decision.
To optimize your PDP, make sure that you have great product images that grab shoppers’ attention, and hold it.
