Listen up, merchants!
It’s not time to quit on your dreams of Shopify success just yet.
I know it can be frustrating. Feeling like everyone else around you is charging forward, while you’re at a standstill with no sales to your name.
But don’t worry.
Finding your way in this exciting, complex, yet headache-inducing maze we call eCommerce can really throw you through a loop. It’s never been easy.
But luckily, tons of people have come and gone before you, leaving behind remnants of successes, failures, and mistakes to learn from.
This is exactly why we do these weekly Shopify store reviews, scouring the archives of the internet to find actionable tips for conversions.
So you don’t have to.
Contents:
- Effective use of time travel
- Lack of intrigue
- Unbreakable text wall with a personal touch
- Final thoughts
The Shopify store in question for this review is New Zealand based company Reactiv Supplements. Like many successful Shopify merchants, founder Mike started out by creating products for personal use due to lack of trust in ingredients used by conventional brands.
After requests from friends and family for his secret recipes, Mike decided to take the plunge and get started with Shopify. The rest is history you might say.
Reactiv Supplements Shopify Store Review
Effective use of time travel
To put things bluntly, I feel like I’ve been whipped back to the ’90s in a single click.
There’s so much grey in varying shades that I can’t help but be reminded of that slow internet dial-up sound that used to penetrate the eardrums of every member in your household (90’s kids will remember).
Generally speaking, most people who shop online expect to see white backgrounds on product pages.
It sets a feeling of familiarity and trustworthiness, making you look more credible.
To their credit, they have kept the color palette to two colors - effectively just green and grey (albeit in various shades). The call to action is also nicely highlighted and is one of the few times you see green on the page.
They’ve also added Afterpay to their website, a popular installment method that lets customers pay the invoice over time. This helps bring more flexibility to the buying process and can have a positive impact on conversions.
Lack of intrigue
With any product page, you need to create a strong hook in your headline to reel your visitor in and connect them with your offer. Reactive Supps have done a pretty good job of addressing concerns around the “natural” element of their product. They also used a bullet list, making key points scannable.
But it falls flat on creating excitement with the headline. Headlines should compel the visitor to keep reading.
Off the top of my head, I can think of several that would grab attention and at the very least, spark a bit of curiosity to keep scrolling:
“The Purest Whey To Reach Your Goals” (play on words)
“The Cure For The Common Whey”
“Pure NZ Whey. Unparalleled In Taste And Performance”
Check out how BSN grabs your attention on their product page with their headlines and star ratings.
Pull them in with a hook/headline, then make your offer. I even used a hook at the very beginning of this article with a pattern break - “Listen up, merchants!”
Let’s move on to the product description.
Unbreakable text wall with a personal touch
As you can see, the product description is certainly information-rich but is actually quite intimidating to read. Here’s why:
- Lack of images to break up text
- Big paragraph blocks
- No highlighted text or key points in bold
- Difficult to scan on first glance
Here’s a simple image I found on Google showing the whey protein filtration process that’s detailed in the description. A graphic like this is easily scanned and understood by your audience, helping with conversions in the process.
Reader attention spans are short. Images help keep them focused.
There are some saving graces here, however. Firstly, the personal touch that Mike adds to his writing is conversational, speaking from his own point of view rather than as a brand.
When you write how you talk, you’re able to make better connections with your audience. Nobody likes a robot.
Mike also makes good use of keywords in his headings and subheadings within the description. This is crucial if you want to sweet talk Google and get that free traffic. But with that being said, competing on keywords in the supplement industry is a mammoth task. You’re competing against multi-million dollar brands with unlimited cash to spend on SEO.
If I were Mike, I’d shift my focus, make my headlines more enticing and send traffic to the page with paid ads. That way you can optimize for conversions rather than search engines.
Moving on I found a curious section towards the end of the description.
I really like the concept of breaking down ratings into specific features. However, anyone can rate their own products as 5 stars across the board.
This section would convert way more if these specific ratings were given to the product by customers post-purchase.
I also nearly missed the customer reviews section entirely because it’s tucked away inside an expandable tab.
I’m not against this system, but considering I nearly missed it while I was actively looking for it tells me site visitors probably experience the same thing.
The next section looks at an upsell strategy.
Upselling is vital to increase your AOV (Average Order Value) and stay profitable.
If it’s done the right way.
As a former personal trainer and someone who works out frequently, I can say with certainty that the best way to upsell in this niche is to make an offer that will complement the product.
If the product page is for whey protein, why not offer a shaker cup, creatine, multi-vitamin or other suitable product to go along with it?
Final thoughts
In conclusion, this isn’t a product page that I would build myself. From personal experience, the adding of some of the elements I mentioned above has increased conversions for my own Shopify store. To recap, I would:
- Change the color palette to black and green (removing grey background)
- Aim for a more sleek, professional design throughout (not reminiscent of websites from the ‘90s)
- Use hooks and headlines to capture attention
- Add images, videos and GIFS to product description to increase engagement
- Add more user-generated content
- Change the upsell strategy to be more customer-centric
Just look at SunWarriors product page that operates in the same/similar niche.
They use awesome images, headlines, custom graphics, earthy colors, product video, and user-generated testimonials.
Reactiv Supplements are obviously doing something right though. They’re featured on the Success Stories section of Shopify for a reason.
Not to mention Mike has a metric-ton of informative, valuable content on his site with an extensive blog and About section. There’s coaching services, impressive galleries, eco-friendly practices, recipes, training tips and much more.
I would just love to see some of that grade A content on the product page. This is where the sales happen after all.
If you have time, check out Reactiv Supplements for yourself and get the scoop!
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