Conversion Rates by Industry

Whether Macro or Micro Conversion – companies often ask themselves what is actually a good conversion rate. A good question, because after all, a user’s visit to the website should be converted into an action. Only those who know their key figures can ensure the success of marketing measures.

Without doubt, it can be stated that the Conversion Rate (CR) depends on a variety of factors and must be considered differently from industry to industry. Even in the respective industries there are differences, such as between a landing page for lead generation and an online shop with sales targets. If the Conversion Rate is considered too isolated, this can lead to incorrect evaluations. The same applies to the blanket comparison of average values. But how can you calculate your own Conversion Rate and when is a Conversion Rate good?

The differences between macro conversion and micro conversion

In an online shop, the main goal, represented by the Macro Conversion, is to sell one or more products. On the way there are, however, some intermediate goals, called Micro Conversion, which lead the customer step by step to Macro Conversion. The selection of a product, adding it to the shopping cart, entering the data, choosing the payment method, etc. – the whole process of Customer Journey falls within the measurability of Micro Conversion.

Why is this so important?

The measurement and the key figures of a Conversion Rate are ultimately intended to uncover potential for optimization. If the online merchant knows where and why customers leave the shop, he can initiate targeted optimization measures. It may well be that the Micro Conversion is very high (for example, customers often put products into the shopping cart), but the purchase is cancelled before the decisive click on the order button. This phenomenon is known as shopping cart abandonment.

If the mentioned intermediate steps are omitted because an action is to take place every time a page is visited, the Macro Conversion can be used. A good example of this is a landing page that has the task of generating leads.

What is a good Conversion Rate?

A survey of the first quarter of 2018 recorded the following Conversion Rates:

There are a lot of studies for the American market, for the German and other European markets they hardly exist. Unfortunately, the differences in the American Conversion Rate are often so great that they cannot be easily adapted. An older German study from 2011 by Hightext Verlag and Web Arts AG recorded a general Conversion Rate of 3%. This may be very good for some industries, while others still have room for improvement at over 12%.

An example: An online shop in the cosmetics sector offers care products in the medium price segment, while another shop offers premium articles in the upper price segment. While the first retailer sells more due to the price and is happy about a high Conversion Rate, the other one is already happy to be at 1%.

Ultimately, factors such as target groups, brand awareness, product range, pricing and website structure also play a crucial role. Even the well-known fashion online shop Zalando had a conversion rate of 3.5% in the 3rd quarter of 2016.

Industry comparison of the conversion rate only makes limited sense

Therefore, there can be no generally value for a good Conversion Rate, even if there are some approaches. The Conversion Rate depends on a variety of factors and the own objectives. Likewise, industries differ greatly from each other and within the industries themselves the respective traffic sources.

A quote from Peep Laja founder of ConversionXL sums it up:

“Even if you compare conversion rates of sites in the same industry, it’s still not apples to apples. Different sites have different traffic sources (and the quality of traffic makes all the difference), traffic volumes, different brand perception and different relationship with their audiences.”

Better compare your own conversion rate

Averages can give you an overview. However, comparing your own monthly Conversion Rate makes much more sense, because the ultimate goal is to improve it from month to month. The higher the Conversion Rate increases, the better.

Anyone looking for a Conversion Rate set in stone will unfortunately be disappointed, as this is a relative indicator both in general terms and depending on the sector. In this case, companies and online merchants would do well not to cheat on the competition and to see average values as a guide at best.

It is important to determine your own Conversion Rate regularly, to set it in relation to your goals and to compare it with each other. Together with suitable measures, the Conversion Rate can thus be optimized.