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OCR in e-commerce

Find out how to calculate and improve the Order Conversion Rate.

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Written by Martyna Woźniszczuk
Updated over a week ago

OCR (Order Conversion Rate) is one of the key KPIs in e-commerce. It informs about the effectiveness of marketing activities and helps to identify places where your potential clients are located. What should you know about OCR?

The conversion rate in the online shop

What does it mean the conversion in e-commerce? In the simplest terms, it is an action made by the user who has been sent to the online shop through advertising in a search engine, predefined by the owner of the e-shop. A conversion can be a purchase, product review, signing up for the newsletter or filling out the contact form. There are really many possibilities.
Measuring the OCR ratio should always be closely related to the goals that your e-commerce needs to achieve.

How can you measure OCR?

OCR expresses all visitors who placed an order in your online shop. Order conversion rate is calculated as the quotient of the number of people who made a purchase in our online shop, to the total number of people visiting our website.

The formula for the OCR indicator:

The higher value of conversion rate means the greater success of your online activities.


For example, if your e-shop visits 100,000 people a month, and they place 10,000 orders, the conversion rate is 10. This means that 10 out of 100 visitors to your site in a month ends with finalising the transaction. This means that 10 people out of 100 who visit your e-service ends with a sales transaction.


This is a very optimistic scenario. However, when the OCR of your e-commerce is at a much lower level, you should think about optimisation.

What factors influence the improvement of OCR?

  1. Simplify the purchasing process - let customers finalise transactions in a few “clicks”.

  2. Ensure a high level of customer service.

  3. Remember about the unique content - do not copy product descriptions or photos.

  4. Build the image of your brand as an expert in the industry.

  5. Ensure consistent communication in all channels.

  6. Be trustworthy - publish testimonials, information on received certificates or prizes.

  7. Be competitive - customers will compare offers before making a purchase. Yours must stand out.

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