Formula and types of conversion

CR = conversions / unique visitors × 100%

In e-commerce, CR is measured for several different target actions:

Conversion type Formula Typical range
Visitor → order (macro CR) Orders / unique visitors 1–3%
PDP → add to cart Add-to-cart events / PDP views 5–15%
Cart → order Orders / cart openings 30–60%
Search → result click Clicks / searches 40–70%

The conversion funnel and the bottleneck

The most efficient way to lift the overall rate is to fix the step with the heaviest drop-off:

Visit (100%)
  ↓ -60%
Category (40%)
  ↓ -50%        ← often the bottleneck for fashion and electronics
PDP (20%)
  ↓ -75%
Cart (5%)
  ↓ -50%        ← often the bottleneck for FMCG
Order (2.5%)

CR and personalization

Personalization lifts CR by removing friction at each step:

  • Homepage: a personal selection puts the right products in front of the visitor without a search, so fewer of them bounce
  • PDP: relevant recommendations next to the product raise purchase intent
  • Cart: cross-sell and urgency triggers cut the number of abandoned carts
  • Search: personalized sorting of results gets the visitor to the right item faster

CR vs RPV

Never optimize CR in isolation from AOV. A test that lifted CR from 2.0% to 2.4% (+20%) while
dropping AOV from $60 to $48 (-20%) is neutral on RPV — there is no revenue gain at all.

Use RPV = CR × AOV as the primary metric in A/B tests.