As a Shopify merchant, you probably don’t have a psychology degree, but many successful retailers use psychology to attract new customers. The concept is not easy, but it all comes to the fact that everyone has the same mental triggers that drive their actions.

All humans want to avoid pain and find satisfaction at their most basic. This is the foundation of all human activities throughout the day, and Shopify merchants must remember it.

As a retailer, your job is to determine what makes your customers happy and what makes them respond. Your sales success will be combined those persuading psychological triggers with clever and effective marketing.

Consider the following recommendations.

What is psychology, and what does it have to do with sales?

Let us first define psychology as “the scientific study of the human mind and its functionalities, particularly those influencing behaviour in a specific situation.” 

To increase sales and gain influence with your customers, you must first understand them. If you don’t understand sales psychology, your sales will fall flat or stop working. 

To figure out how to gain an advantage, you’ll study psychology and how we can use sales triggers to get more subscribers, referrals, sales, people to get your product, or whatever your goal maybe! So, continue reading.

Ways to use consumer psychology to boost Shopify sales

Trick 1: Share the crowd’s collective opinion(Social proof)

Assume you’re walking down the street and notice a group of people carrying fancy ice cream cones. You’ll probably start wondering where they got it, and you’ll want one too. Seeing others use a particular item or service makes people want it even more.

That is how social proof operates.

Social proof is one of the most effective and powerful psychological tricks for increasing conversion rates. The key is in the name: Social. Humans are highly social animals, and we are more likely to be influenced by something if we see others doing it.

If you have a busy website with multiple users viewing the same products, social proof can provide that final push for them to make the purchase. 

By focusing how many people are looking at the same product, you reinforce the user’s decision. It’s even better if you can mention that it was recently purchased.

A perfect review collection tool can help you to build social proof for your online retail store. Reviewbit is such a tool which is available on the Shopify app store. 

This app will help you to collect user-generated content as reviews through social media platforms like WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger etc. You can send automated review request messages after the order purchase/fulfilment/delivery. 

After collecting those reviews, you can publish them on your product page as automated means without any hassle. Thus your online store can showcase huge social proof kinds of stuff.

Trick 2: Provide comfort

Everyone understands that convenience is the primary factor, and convincing retailers who provide their customer’s comfort while shopping has a better chance of converting them into buyers. 

This can be accomplished by for example: on physical stores providing free drinks or snacks, but more importantly, by keeping things simple.

Check that your website is clean, neat, responsive, and works on all devices. Provide all of the product information that customers may require and your contact information so that they can contact you if more information is required. 

You can also provide a money-back guarantee, making customers feel more at ease and encouraging them to buy more.

Trick 3: Tell us a story

Humans have been telling stories for a good reason for thousands of years. We like to connect, and studies show that reading stories activate our neurological senses, including oxytocin, which powers trust and empathy.

Use creative displays to explain to customers where the item came from, who made it, what the product will do for them, and what their life will be like after they buy it.

Telling the story behind an item could also be a good strategy for you. For example, convey, a Toronto boutique engages in-store shoppers by discussing the designers of their products —  who they are and where they’re from, etc.

Trick 4: Show stock levels (Scarcity)

You can create a sense of scarcity in your customer base by using psychological tricks. Consumers are more likely to commit to purchasing an item that they believe will be out of stock soon; this sense of scarcity adds urgency to their purchasing journey. If they were unsure about making a purchase before, the prospect of missing out could motivate them to act.

On the product description page of an item, you can indicate that it is out of stock. It is usually good to indicate this in red text or a color that quickly catches the customer’s attention.

And here’s what to do if an item runs out of stock: Invite them to place a pre-order. They will be notified when the item is back in stock, and because they will not want to miss out again, they will be far more likely to make a purchase.

And you’ll be able to analyze how much demand there is for that specific item, which will help you drive sales in the future.

Trick5: Make use of cross-selling

Once your customer has made a purchase decision, your influencing psychological tactics do not have to end. You still have time to persuade them to buy more before clicking the “check out” button. This is where some clever cross-selling strategies can make a huge difference.

Amazon is an excellent example of this. Assume you’re looking at a Play station 4 on Amazon; in the recommendations section, you’ll be able to add the console and two other games to your cart with a single click.

Do you make use of any of these triggers?

You now have a foundation for using psychology tricks to increase conversions on your eCommerce website. The majority of these should be fairly simple to implement on your website. Some may be easier than others, depending on your platform.

If you decide to put some of these ideas into action, make sure you have a way to track performance so you can see how effective they are. It may be worthwhile to test them one at a time to determine their true impact. However, the more of these you can employ, the more compelling your website will be and the more transactions you will receive!