Social media is the go-to channel for eCommerce businesses to flaunt what they have in their warehouse and attract potential customers with enticing deals. 

We've all been there, scrolling through our feeds, bombarded by many ads competing for our attention—after all, the average person encounters 4,000 and 10,000 of them daily. 

Yet, despite our habitual clicking, we often find ourselves swiftly bouncing off the advertised sites. 

As consumers, we might attribute this hasty exit to the perpetual time crunch in our lives. However, for businesses, every bounced visitor translates to a missed opportunity. 

The challenge lies in understanding why social shoppers, despite the initial interest, bounce off so abruptly. In this blog, we uncover the mystery behind the high social media bounce rate for eCommerce businesses and what you can do to diminish it. 

Let’s dive right in! 

What causes social media traffic to bounce? 

When it comes to shopping via social media or online shopping in general, it's quite common for potential customers to click on an exciting product only to bounce off the page quickly. 

Let's look at the three main reasons behind this: 

1. Unable to find the product displayed 

Have you ever clicked on an ad only to struggle to find the product it advertised? This is a common frustration for many online shoppers. Broken links, misleading redirects, or simply not finding the product on the promised page – these are what we call 'broken experiences.' 

Research tells us that 86% of US online shoppers have faced this. To fix this, businesses need to ensure the journey from social media to their website is smooth and that customers can easily find the product that made them click on the ad. 

2. Diverse attraction points in ads 

Ads often show various products, especially in lifestyle promotions. While these can attract customers, it also means businesses need a flexible approach. 

If the aim is to get new customers, the focus should be on getting them to buy something, not necessarily the exact product in the ad. 

This differs from strategies where promotions are designed to sell specific products based on inventory. Understanding these different approaches is crucial for providing a better shopping experience to customers. 

3. Frustration with out-of-stock products 

Imagine wanting to buy something only to find out it's not available. That's a big letdown for customers. 

Whether it's because products are out of stock or launching products for pre-order only, customers get really frustrated. 

Studies show that this is the top thing customers want to change about their social shopping experience. 

To tackle this, businesses can monitor product availability and pause promotions for out-of-stock items. It's a simple but effective way to make the shopping journey smoother for customers. 

In the next part, we'll see how much the cost of bounce is for eCommerce brands to understand why it must be tackled with more effort. 

How big is the cost of bounce for eCommerce brands? 

The story of a customer who clicks and bounces significantly impacts the brand’s bottom line. And having control over the narrative of this story determines how profitable a brand will be. Let's go deeper into the dimensions of this cost: 

1. Frequency of customer bounce 

Clicking away from a brand's page after a social media encounter is a common scenario; 76% of shoppers bounce 50% of the time or more. 

And this prevalence is not without consequence – 62% of these bouncers express feelings of frustration or annoyance. It goes beyond emotions; 24% of shoppers claim they are less likely to return to shop with the brand again. 

The top reasons for bouncing include difficulty finding the product (55%), perceived product expense (37%), and products being out of stock (31%). 

The impact extends beyond the individual bounce – 41% of frustrated customers share their experiences with friends or on social media, while only 9% choose to share directly with the brand. So if someone bounces off from your store, it’s very likely that you will lose their friends and family too. 

2. Revenue loss for eCommerce brands 

On average, a new customer's bounce costs $4.89 in lost revenue, while for existing customers, it's $5.24. Across all customers, the average revenue lost due to a bounce is $5.11. 

To put this into perspective, when asked about the average cost of a social bounce, 1,000 US online shoppers revealed a total amount of lost sales at a staggering $111,000. 

Ruth Peters, CMO of SimplicityDX, emphasizes the stark reality – for every 10,000 visitors with an 80% bounce rate, the lost revenue cost to the brand is a considerable $40,880. 

3. Story after the bounce 

The narrative post-bounce is one of continued frustration. After bouncing, 62% of customers express overwhelming annoyance, and 24% indicate a decreased likelihood of returning to the brand. 

The impact is far-reaching, extending beyond a single transaction. Surprisingly, over two-thirds of shoppers (67%) do not buy from the brand once they bounce, resulting in a direct hit to the brand's revenue and a loss of advertising spend. 

However, 27% present a glimmer of hope – they return at a later date. Of these returnees, 16% buy the initially viewed product, and 11% opt for another from the same brand. 

In contrast, 13% take their business elsewhere, seeking an alternative product on a competitor's site, showing the high impact of a single bounce. 

What can brands do to stop the bounce? 

By taking a strategic approach and making (right) content your friend, you can always keep your brand on top of customers’ minds. Ideally, it is to stop the bounce, but even if they do bounce, you can ensure they return. 

Here are some strategies to stop the bounce: 

1. Are customers “hard landing” on product pages? 

Redirecting social traffic directly to product detail pages often results in a jarring "hard landing," diminishing the aspiration to buy and giving them a hard transactional experience. This causes bounce. 

What you can do to counter this is create smoother transitions. You can give customers a blend of social and product content to engage users and guide them seamlessly from social media to the transactional experience. The more you nurture them during the sales process, the higher conversion rates you can see. 

2. Do you capture your products as part of the lifestyle? 

The vibrant, lifestyle-centric imagery on social media often features a range of products, contrasting with the standard single-product shot. 

To reduce the chances of potential frustration, ensure that all products take center stage on the landing page. 

Optimize navigation to ensure effortless exploration of associated products, allowing customers to dive into the entirety of the product range easily. 

3. Is the traditional buying model not effective? 

The traditional approach of "discover on social, buy on the brand site" still remains a reliable model. It aligns seamlessly with the preferences of most customers, creating a customer base that willingly engages with marketing efforts. Steering clear of social checkouts ensures that brands retain control, offering consumers the expected, seamless shopping experience. 

4. There’s no alternative to trust 

Trust is the cornerstone of successful online interactions. Brands can build and sustain trust by consistently delivering relevant and authentic content. 

Transparency should permeate every stage of the customer journey, from the initial discovery of products to the final checkout. 

By providing clear information and maintaining authenticity, brands instill confidence and reduce the likelihood of customers bouncing off. 

5. Are your promotions across channels in sync? 

While synchronizing seasonal promotions across social channels might pose logistical challenges, the effort is crucial. This synchronization ensures pricing consistency and eliminates potential inventory discrepancies. By driving traffic from social channels to the brand site, brands create a seamless experience, reducing bounce rates and creating a cohesive shopping journey for customers. 

6. Social, email, and retargeting 

While social media excels in acquiring new customers, conversion often requires multiple touchpoints. 

Encourage visitors to subscribe to brand communications for sustained engagement. Collaborate closely with email teams to synchronize efforts around new subscriber acquisition. 

You should also implement retargeting strategies to bring back visitors for repeat engagements, build long-term relationships, and encourage purchases over time. 

7. Social Storefronts 

AI Campaign Stores for social media by SimplicityDX seamlessly extend the social media experience to online stores. 

By blending social media promotions with ad campaigns, engagement hooks, and the checkout process, Social Storefronts improves the customer experience. 

AI-powered optimization ensures the right mix of content, hooks, and layout, creating a creative and engaging shopping environment. It also comes with natural navigation, which mirrors the discovery nature of social interactions, minimizing bounce rates and boosting conversions. 

Break the bounce barrier with SimplicityDX 

As an eCommerce brand, you need to create a social media to eCommerce journey as frictionless as possible. 

By softening landings, showcasing lifestyle ranges, and fostering trust, brands can reduce bounce rates and optimize customer journeys. ModCloth, for example, saw a remarkable 17% drop in bounce rates through these strategies. 

SimplicityDX can help you create seamless customer journeys that ensure that you reduce your bounce rates. 

Book a demo to learn more!