Looking for some feedback on my sports shop store

[SportingWH]

This is the link to my store: https://sportingwarehouse.co.uk/

It is called Sporting Warehouse, a fairly new store which was only released around 2 months ago.  I have run some FB adverts on specific products targeting audiences I believe are interested in them. I had some success with this but not as much as I wanted. The campaign I have just run and some others haven't had anyone adding to theIR cart which is annoying as then at least I would know people are thinking about it.

Since I have made the website and spend lots of time on it I no longer have an outsiders perspective of how it looks. Please give me any feedback, of whats good and also what could be changed. Just want to see whether there is a problem with how clean and authentic the shop looks which may be slowing down my sales. If not this, then I probably just need to focus on how I advertise. One thing I am going to add is being able to go direct to variations in sporting categories, for instance, clicking running and then going to running accessories, as this will spread out products a lot more.

Thank you.

Link to store: https://sportingwarehouse.co.uk/

[collinsmbaka]

Hi @SportingWH 

Thanks for sharing! I just browsed through your store and it is looking good and looks authentic with all the reviews, nice work with the reviews. Do you have any particular reason for using this theme instead of using more modern themes? 

I do have some suggestions that can help improve the customer experience;

1. I will suggest changing the hero text and CTA to make it more visible for your customers. The CTA button and hero image should be very noticeable for a customer upon landing at your store.

2. "Free delivery on all orders" is a very important information and should be emphasized with a bigger font and made more visible.

3. The hero section of the homepage is too busy, you don't need two navigation bars on the homepage adjacent to each other. I think you can do just fine with one and make the homepage less crowded. As it is now, it can be confusing for a customer to understand where to begin navigating the store. 

4. Engage with your customers and visitors - I will suggest adding a Live chat, you want to reach out to your visitors and show that you're ready to answer any question they might have. You can have a Live chat that launched after 60 seconds of someone landing on your store that asks, “How can I help you today?”. The idea here is to engage and show your visitors that you're available to answer their questions.

Cheers!

[Adude]

Hello @SportingWH 

Have gone through your site and looks good, seems like it was developed by you, kuddos to you bro for the job well done. Firstly If I may ask why did you choose SPORT WAREHOUSE THEME? Why don't you use BOOSTER THEME OR PRESTIGE THEME? they're the best theme to use for your Niche, you can go through these site for competitor research HOME FIT KING 

Secondly the hero texts and CTA button needs to be changed, the text shouldn't be like that it's should be short captivating content that intrigued visitors to stay longer on your site while the CTA must correspond with the Hero's text.

Thirdly: A little content based on your either your Vision, About Us or importance of your product etc should follow next after you're through with the banner, that also helps visitors to know more about your site or products. Then Trending Products follows and the remaining steps.

Lastly: The footer needs some changes, it doesn't contain the necessary information which are: About Us, Contact Us, Missing/Vision, Refund Policy, Privacy Policy, FAQ and so on. Most people love going through aforementioned informations before adding to carts or placing an order. And this always cause the reason why most store owner usually gets more TRAFFIC and AWARENESS than ENGAGEMENTS and SALES

With the few points of mine I hope you've gain one or two reasons why there's TRAFFIC but no ADD TO CARTS and why there's AWARENESS but no ENGAGEMENT talkless of making SALES. If you have any personalized questions based on the project or on how to get targeted audience for your Niche don't hesitate to do so. Thanks 😊

[PageFly-Richard]

Hi @SportingWH,

Congrats on your new store! I’m Richard Nguyen- CRO Expert at PageFly- Free Landing Page Builder. I’d like to give you some feedback and suggestions for over 100.000 merchants to help increase conversion rates for your store based on 5 years of experience.

I like how you have:

• Have secondary hover images
• Showing customer reviews
• Have a tab section for product description on your Product page 

Besides these things, I have some comments and suggestions for you:

1. Homepage 

The Hero Section is where customers first see when they access your store, make sure this leaves a good impression and clearly tells what you sell, and identifies your brand, story.

Your current Hero section is overload with information. As one who accesses your store for the 1st time, I find it hard to just focus on 1 element > Should I look on the menu or the CTA banner.

Please take a look at what I marked here, and some suggestions, in my opinion, to improve this layout. 

1.1. The Menu navigation and the side headline 

They have the same content. So the side headline kinda invades your Homepage area and I find it unnecessary. You can remove this side menu and improve the header Menu navigation instead. 

Here are some of my idea to improve the header:

Make a Sticky Header: Sticky header helps customers easily access menu navigation although they scroll down or up on your page. Customers can also quickly reach the Search field to find products with a sticky header.
So that when you scroll down, there is no quick way to come back to your menu, especially on mobile. You do not have an anchor button to “Back to the top”, so it makes it very inconvenient for customers to go back to your menu and see other pages, products, etc.

To make the sticky header more appealing: Your header has a white blank space between the logo and announcement bar> Consider moving the "Sign In | Register" button to the same line with search, cart, logo. This helps reducing the header height so when you scroll down, it won't take too much page area.

Also, you add too many navigations in your header, make it looks messy. Please consider moving "Shipping information, FAQ, Return Policy" to the footer instead: By that, you can also enrich the bottom of your page and give your header a nicer layout. 

1.2. The main banner and CTA Heading and Button

If you remove the side menu, I suggest you make the main banner a full-width section > bring a dramatic feeling and look more impressive.

The heading and button look really dim > The heading and button need to be outstanding so make it more visible so Customers will get your message when visiting.

1.3. The collection list under the Main banner 

This is a minor comment: For me, the "Gym and Traning" and "Cycyling" Collections look like a regular picture > it's hard to tell these pictures are clickable > How about you add the collection name and CTA button straight to these images and add another hover animation.

2. The product page 

I like how you keep some of the Product descriptions in a tab element > make your page looks neatly and professionally. I have few comments on this page 

Display or Link to the Return Policy from the Main Product Page Content
Even if the return policy is located in the sitewide header or footer, it can be difficult to find. Customers will hesitate to shop online because they are not able to fully see, hold, or test a product before buying it. Return and exchange policy should be findable on the product page.
The actual return policy, in particular, the duration and the payment of return shipping, is highly impactful to site conversions. However, you should take extra care to make your policy easy to read and clear for customers.

And that's my feedback. You can consider checking PageFly - Free Page Builder with 24/7 support live chat to create a more impressive look for your store to really increase conversion, also please take a look at this guide on how to personalize a Shopify store from PageFly, hope it helps!
If you think my answer was useful, please like and mark it as a solution. Thank you and best of luck!
Richard - PageFly

[waytoapps]

Hello @SportingWH 

Hope you are doing good. Your store looks nice and here are few suggestions.

Add a favicon which helps to find your store when customer had multiple tabs in their browser.

Make a sticky header for easy navigation. It helps the customers to access menu at any time they want.

Remove side menu(category) and Expand Hero banner to a full width, as it gives first impression when customer lands on the homepage.

Make social media Icons open in new tab. 

Update contact us page with more contact details, which builds trust on your store.

Organize the footer section with adding terms and conditions, shipping policies, Contact page and FAQ''s on it.

You can promote your products with word of mouth strategy. Boost your sales with the app from the shopify app store   which helps to increase your sales further. Improve your conversions by directly reaching those who close to your customers.

There is no terms and conditions checkbox at checkout. I suggest you to install an app from shopify app store which provides 'I agree to the Terms and Conditions' before checkout .As it makes easy for the customer to read your terms and policies.

[SportingWH]

Thanks for the replies so far everyone, I can see there is a common theme here of changing the home page and a few other bits. I am going to consider getting a new theme as I feel this one maybe isn't suiting my current needs. I will look over all the feedback again and try act accordingly it has all been very valuable. Hopefully I can come back to this thread some point and show you my updates.

Has all been constructive criticism but the first reply (can't remember their name), could do with helping people as everyone else has by giving construction criticism, rather than "this is really bad".

Thanks again. 

[flareAI]

Hello @SportingWH,

I've taken a look at your store and found there are quite a few things which if added can make better conversions.

1. The top header menu is not looking professional. Try adding all links in the same line.
2. Add 'New Arrivals' section to help customers keep updated on new products.
3. Add favicon to your store which is a small square image/logo that appears next to a web address. Favicon helps to strengthen your brand and add a polished look to your website.
4. Add product reviews as most of the customers read the review before purchasing the product.
5. Add Contact Us page for better customer interaction.
6. You can add testimonials on the home page to make the store look more professional.
7. The social media links in the footer is not linking to the correct pages. Add the correct social media account links for the store to increase the traffic
8. Add more specific product title/url in product pages.
Creating the perfect SEO product title/url can help the search engine understand exactly what it is you are selling and drive more traffic to your site. So try to keep the product title/url unique and more specific.
9. Add filters in collection pages to help your visitors narrow in on the specific product they're looking for and find products they might be interested in based on certain features (e.g. size, color, category)

Your customers trust Google Search more than Ads. 53% of eCommerce traffic is Search, far greater than Paid Ads & Social Media. flareAI works every day for you, tapping into the world's largest free sales channels. flareAI helps you to get your products found on Google, the world's largest eCommerce sales channel.

Hope this was helpful,
Gina
Add flareAI Shopify App today!

[Growave]

Hi @SportingWH 

All-in-one marketing platform Growave is here. Congratulations on opening a new store and Welcome to Shopify. First of all, I would recommend you to check web analytics to see how people behave on your site. FB ads might brought some traffic to your store, check how those visitors behave. I suppose one of the reasons for experiencing low sales could be that visitors don’t find the store reliable. Therefore, I would suggest you work on customer trust, social proof and keep improving your online store's design and visual appeal.

• Update Main Menu

Update Main Menu by showing all the categories within one line. Also, consider deleting the black background since your main page has too many details. You are duplicating the menu twice, therefore, I would suggest you keep one on the top-center but make it bigger.

• Implement Social Login

Social Login provides easier access to a customer's account and enables creating an account within one click through social media account. It simplifies the login process and enables one-click signup. You can let customers log in using their Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Yahoo, Tumblr, Instagram, or Amazon accounts. Also, gathered data through social login can be studied for customer retention and client analysis.

• Add links/icons to your SM accounts

I suppose one of the reasons for experiencing low sales could be that visitors don’t trust your store. Therefore I would suggest you work on customer trust and social proof. Include at least Instagram and Facebook profiles to your store. You underestimate the power of social media. Moreover, you can turn your Instagram account and user-generated content into a shoppable gallery on your store and allow customers to shop directly from the posts. Just add your profile to your menu as a category and turn your profile visitors into customers.  Showcasing stunning shoppable Instagram galleries across your site will help to increase product discovery and drive inspiration.

•  Add Loyalty and Rewards program

The Loyalty and Rewards program system inspires customers to connect more genuinely with your brand. It helps to strengthen direct communication between you and your audience. Also, it positively impacts repeat purchases and turns your customers into loyal clients. Within the L&R program, you can include the Points and Referral program.

1. Points
   Motivate customers to spend more and act by using the points program. Increase engagement with your community by rewarding customers with convertible points on your Shopify store with activities like rewarding for leaving reviews, social following, social sharing, or for every dollar they spend. Collected points can be spent on the most affordable options for them. Let your loyal shoppers redeem their points rewards like gift cards, discounts,  free shipping, or free product.
2. Referral programs
   Once you got your first clients, try to attract more orders through existing ones. Therefore, I recommend using a referral program in order to give your customers an opportunity of sharing your products with friends and getting rewarded for that. Through a referral program, you encourage your customers to help grow your brand community.

Test Growave during the free trial period to check whether it works for you. Growave replaces 5 contains apps and offers efficient marketing features such as Reviews, Wishlist, Rewards & Loyalty, Social Login, a shoppable Instagram gallery on Shopify store under one dashboard at an affordable price.

 In order to install a free trial, please press here

[UpPromote-old]

Hi @SportingWH ,

This is UpPromote: Affiliate Marketing - We are the no.1 Affiliate marketing on Shopify app store. I am happy here to share some experience and suggestions for your online store. And I truly hope that they are useful and helpful for you in improving your sales performance. 

I totally you are just starting your business. Firstly, congratulation for your first step. It would be hard at the beginning. Most other business would be same as you when beginning, and now they are successful. So be patient!

Here are some marketing suggestions for you to improve your sales performance:

1. Run Facebook ads

Running ads such as Facebook ads, or Instagram ads, even Google ads are popular methods to viral your products faster. You can get more knowledge and experience here: Facebook Ads for beginners. With Google Ads, you can easily attract target customers that are looking for the products you are selling. You can set your ads with different keywords, or banner as well. However, you should consider it because it is not really a potential choice for starters. The reason is that you might cost a lost of money to run for long term. In some specific case, if it don't bring positive traffics for you, you also need to pay fee to maintain them. We know it because we know many customers get same issues. 

2. SEO

One of the most important functions of SEO is increasing visibility, which means making it easier for prospects to find you when they search for something you have to offer. Visibility is directly related to your ranking. The ultimate reason SEO is essential is that it can help you achieve many of your business goals. SEO can help you drive more people to your site, give you an edge over the competition, and increase conversions, which means more sales, more loyal customers, and more growth for your business. You can use SEO apps from Shopify app store such as SEO Booster ‑ SEO Marketing to support you in developing SEO marketing campaign.

3. Affiliate marketing

My recommendation is that you should think about another safer and suitable methods for your business. Affiliate marketing could be a good option for your.  Affiliate marketing is a marketing model which allows you to connect with various affiliates, and then they will use their advertising sources such as social media channels, websites, blogs, etc, to promote your products. You only need to pay affiliate commission whenever a customer makes a purchase via the unique link or coupon associated with their recommendation.

Here are some benefits of affiliate marketing:

Make extra income

The main advantage of affiliate marketing is that the income is entirely performance-based. This is because affiliates are only paid a commission when a purchase has taken place. That means if the affiliates have an ineffective campaign, it won’t affect your budget. 

The affiliates understand that driving huge traffic of potential customers will help to increase sales conversion. For this reason, the affiliates will spend much effort to build effective social platforms, promotion or boosting posts of your products in a better way to attract customers. The more efficiently they work, the more commission they generate, and the more sales you earn. 

Low investment but high cost effective

In fact, affiliate marketing does not need a huge amount to build a customer service team, or running advertising. This campaign helps to mitigate any risks that drive traffic or run social ads with little or no result for your Shopify business, while also ensuring that merchants achieve what they pay for.

In fact, whereas a poor marketing campaign that sends you low quality results will still need to be paid for, even if you make no sales. However, affiliate marketing ensures your marketing is cost effective and helps to reduce the risk of “leaking out” money for an uncertain market. 

Sales

With UpPromote: Affiliate Marketing, generating an affiliate program allows you to tap into potential sources of traffic and revenue that you would otherwise not be getting. This is especially true of physical products, for which affiliates can do product review blog posts or videos, for example.

Promote business brand name

A research reported that 92% of customers trust the recommendations of people, companies or influencers they know.For this reason, working directly with affiliate marketers who then promote your products to their established audience, brings more opportunities and more direct sales. The plus of affiliate marketing is to expand out into new markets that you haven't explored, giving your brand a much stronger online presence.

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I hope my recommendation will be helpful for you. If you are still looking for a marketing tool to boost your sales greatly, I hope you can try our product: UpPromote: Affiliate Marketing 

If these feedbacks are valuable and helpful, kindly give us a "Like" or mark it as a solution. Be patient with your business and good luck!

All the bests,

UpPromote: Affiliate Marketing

Build. Manage. Succeed with Affiliate Marketing

[Dropshipstores]

Your site have multiple free space use them add add newsletter to the end