The 9 Levers That Actually Drive E-Commerce Velocity (And Why Most Brands Miss Them)
After working with dozens of e-commerce brands, including Amazon, I've noticed something unsettling: most businesses are pouring money into traffic while their conversion infrastructure is fundamentally broken. They're buying attention for pages that can't close.
Here's what I've learned works—not in theory, but in practice—when you need rapid uptake without torching your margins or training customers to wait for discounts.
1) Kill Perceived Risk Before It Kills Your Conversion
The psychology is simple: uptake accelerates when perceived risk declines faster than price.
Yet most brands treat risk reversal as an afterthought. I've found these three elements non-negotiable:
Risk reversal means something: Free returns, extended windows, "try at home" programs, and crystal-clear refund timelines. Not buried in fine print—front and centre.
Delivery certainty upfront: Show delivery date estimates on the product page and in cart, not just at checkout. Uncertainty is friction.
Fast support signals: Chat availability with response time commitments. WhatsApp for order questions. A signal that help is immediate, not eventual.
The brands that crack this? They stop haemorrhaging almost-customers at the moment of truth.
2) Stop Driving Traffic to Pages That Can't Sell
Here's the uncomfortable truth: if your product detail page (PDP) can't convert without "more ads," your problem isn't traffic volume—it's page quality.
I've seen this pattern repeatedly. Fix the PDP, and suddenly the same traffic performs 40-60% better. Here's what actually moves the needle:
Above-the-fold clarity
Answer four questions instantly: Who is this for? What's the key benefit? What makes it different? What's the total cost (price + delivery + returns)?Proof that persuades
Reviews with photos. Real Q&A. User-generated content. Expert or press mentions. "As seen in" badges. Stack them.Objection killers
Sizing guides. Comparison tables. "What's included" sections. Care instructions. Warranty details. Turn the top 5 customer support questions into PDP sections—this alone transforms pages.Decision aids
"Best for..." badges. Product quizzes. Bundles. "Frequently bought together" suggestions.
The shortcut I use: Record 10 customer support conversations. The patterns will reveal exactly what your PDP is failing to address.
3) Create Urgency Without Manufacturing Lies
Fake scarcity trains customers to distrust you. Real urgency drives action. The difference? Ethical urgency is based on actual constraints:
Real shipping cut-offs ("Order by 14:00 for next-day delivery")
Limited-time bundles that add value, not just slash price
Launch windows with genuine waitlists
Seasonal relevance (the problem is more urgent today than next month)
What to avoid: "Only 2 left!" when you have 200 in stock. Countdown timers that reset. Hidden fees that appear at checkout.
Your reputation compounds or erodes with every small deception. Choose wisely.
4) Design Offers That Increase Velocity Without Destroying Margin
Discounts create uptake. Smart offers create uptake and retention.
The offer formats I've seen preserve margin while accelerating velocity:
First-order incentive: Small, capped, with clear terms (not "10% off forever")
Gift with purchase: Perceived value exceeds actual cost
Tiered thresholds: "Spend €X, get free delivery/gift" to lift average order value
Bundles: Anchor value and reduce decision friction simultaneously
Subscribe & save: For replenishable categories only
The goal isn't to train people to wait for discounts. It's to remove friction from the first purchase while building long-term customer value.
5) Personalise Post-Click Experience (Your Conversion Moat)
Generic landing pages are conversion killers.
What works instead:
Dynamic landing pages matched to ad intent (don't dump everyone on your homepage)
Segmented messaging for new vs. returning visitors, category interest, and price sensitivity
On-site recommendations that reflect entry point ("You came for X, here are the best 3 options")
Velocity comes from reducing the number of decisions required to buy. Every unnecessary click is a conversion opportunity lost.
6) Make Checkout Brutally Simple
If you're buying traffic while checkout leaks, you're paying to lose.
The fast wins I implement immediately:
Guest checkout as default
One-click wallets (Apple Pay / Google Pay / PayPal)
Autofill and address lookup
Shipping costs and delivery dates are visible early (not as checkout surprises)
Trust signals near the pay button (returns policy, security badges, support access)
Checkout isn't where you get creative. It's where you get out of the way.
7) Retarget Without Annoying People Into Churn
High-frequency retargeting doesn't just kill conversion—it kills brands.
What actually works:
Product-specific retargeting with proof
Show reviews and UGC, not "Still thinking?"
Cart abandonment with help first, incentive second:
"Any questions?" + returns/delivery reassurance
Social proof (top review or UGC)
Small incentive only if needed
Cap frequency aggressively
Overexposure lifts CPA and erodes brand equity simultaneously.
8) Turn Customers Into Your Acquisition Engine
This is the fastest compounding lever most brands ignore.
What I've implemented repeatedly with success:
Post-purchase UGC prompts at the right moment (delivery + delight, not immediately)
Referral programs with dead-simple mechanics (give/get)
Frictionless review collection that's photo-led
"Unboxing" incentives (real rewards for content, not paid fake reviews)
UGC reduces customer acquisition cost because it increases trust at the exact moment someone is deciding whether to buy. It's your best salesperson, working 24/7.
9) The One Metric That Predicts Rapid Uptake Better Than ROAS
Track PDP-to-cart rate and cart-to-purchase rate by traffic source.
Here's why this matters:
If PDP-to-cart is weak: Your product story or proof is broken. Fix the page.
If cart-to-purchase is weak: Your checkout, fees, or trust signals are broken. Fix the flow.
ROAS tells you if you made money. These metrics tell you why you didn't.
The Pattern I Keep Seeing
Most e-commerce brands are stuck in a loop: spend more on ads to compensate for conversion leaks, which trains them to spend even more on ads, which makes the underlying problems invisible until margins collapse.
The brands that break out? They stop treating traffic as the solution and start treating conversion infrastructure as the foundation. Fix the foundation first. Then scale.
——-
What's worked for you? I'm always interested in strategies that challenge conventional thinking—drop your thoughts below.
About the Author
Steve Gardiner (exec MBA) is a senior marketing and commercial leader at Lighthouse PR, bringing global experience from Accenture, Electronic Arts, Virgin Media, Telekom, and Etisalat. Latterly, as VP Business at Etisalat, where he was responsible for $1.8B in revenue.
Today, Steve applies his strategic, marketing, and growth expertise to support Lighthouse PR clients as part of the agency’s service offering.