Each year, the eCommerce industry loses $1.4 trillion due to bad user experience. When shoppers encounter slow-loading pages, have to dig for relevant information, or can’t easily find the products they want, they leave sites and abandon carts.

Below, we dive into key UX elements that can make or break your site and show you how to optimize each of them to drive eCommerce sales.

Minimize Page Load Time

Site speed is one of the most crucial factors when it comes to the eCommerce customer experience. Shoppers will abandon a site if it takes longer than three seconds to load. Optimize your site speed by compressing and resizing images, using a Content Delivery Network (CDN), and reducing unnecessary CSS, JavaScript, and HTML. Limit the number of HTTP requests and use HTTP caching to reduce the amount of data that a server needs to transfer to the browser, which can shorten load times.

Use Clear CTAs

Calls to action guide shoppers through the customer journey. There are four different types of CTAs – Engagement, Lead Generation, Purchase, and Post-Purchase. When it comes to driving sales on your site, Purchase CTAs like “Add to Cart” and “Checkout” are critical. Optimize the UX by making these buttons highly visible, using contrasting colors, and making them large enough to easily tap on mobile devices.

Streamline Checkout

The average global cart abandonment rate is about 70%, and a long or complicated checkout process is one of the leading reasons for abandoned carts. When potential customers are asked to create an account, fill out extensive fields, or pass through too many steps to finalize an order, frustration builds.

Reduce friction in the user experience by limiting the checkout experience to only what is necessary. Remove distractions by cutting down on pop-ups. Make buttons and links large enough to be clickable on mobile devices. Offer a guest checkout option to avoid slowing customers down by signing in. And ensure there are no surprises at checkout by making pricing options, shipping information, and your return policy transparent and easily accessible on your site.

Incorporate Cross-sells and Upsells

Incorporating cross-sells and upsells on your eCommerce site is not just a helpful sales tactic for growing cart sizes. Providing suggestions for complementary items that customers are already searching for helps personalize the customer journey and deliver added value.

Utilize personalized data to recommend products to shoppers and make the offer more attractive. Strategies can include highlighting “frequently bought together” items, offering free shipping with the purchase of additional items, and discounts or rewards for bundling items together.

Implement Responsive Design

Responsive design is critical for getting shoppers to checkout. In 2025, roughly 70% of all online sales came from a mobile device. “Mobile-friendly” is no longer the gold standard – all eCommerce sites should be mobile first in design. Place the most valuable content above the fold, focus on thumb-friendly navigation, implement mobile payment options, and use a single-column, stacked layout for readability and easy scrolling.

Launch Site Search

On-site search is another key element in eCommerce UX. Visitors who engage with a site search box are 5x more likely to convert. Place the search bar in a central, prominent spot on your site so it’s easy for customers to access. Ensure you provide comprehensive, relevant results to browsers and that there are no dead ends in search results by using a unified index. Utilizing predictive query and autocomplete suggestions also helps make the process easier for customers, improving the overall UX.

Conclusion

Optimizing the user experience on your site is a continuous process. As you implement new features and functionality on your site, you will need to continue to test, gain customer feedback, and optimize further.

If you’re struggling with creating a revenue-generating UX, reach out to Virid for a free site assessment. Virid helps retailers accelerate growth through a blend of innovative technology and strategic expertise. Our unified commerce solution combines the cutting-edge marketAgility commerce platform with agency services and dedicated support from a team of specialists. Learn more at https://virid.com/.