14 Powerful Persuasion Techniques to Boost Ecommerce Sales

When running an ecommerce store, it’s easy to forget that visitor #3456 is a real, live person subject to cognitive biases, new points of view, psychological theories, and more.

Having a basic understanding of the principles of influence can put you ahead of the competition. You’ll have more insight into why visitors abandon their carts, why they buy, and what makes them spend money.

More importantly, you’ll have insight into how you can turn theory into practice, and science into cold, hard cash.

These 14 persuasion techniques work to give you an unfair advantage in the most important battlefield of all: the human brain.

Understanding persuasion in ecommerce

Persuasion techniques are particularly powerful in the digital world of ecommerce, where you don’t have the benefit of face-to-face interaction with customers. Online shoppers make quick judgments about your store based on limited information, making psychological principles of persuasion essential tools for improving conversion rates.

Why persuasion techniques matter for online stores

Unlike brick-and-mortar retail, ecommerce businesses face unique challenges in building trust and creating compelling shopping experiences. Online stores must overcome several barriers:

• The inability for customers to physically touch or try products
• Limited sensory experiences compared to in-store shopping
• Higher perceived risk in purchasing from unfamiliar websites
• Easier comparison shopping with competitors just a click away

Implementing effective persuasion techniques helps bridge these gaps by creating emotional connections, building trust, and guiding customers toward purchase decisions. When applied ethically, these techniques don’t manipulate customers—they simply help them make decisions they’ll be satisfied with.

The psychology behind effective persuasion

The science of persuasion is rooted in decades of psychological research. Robert Cialdini, an American psychologist, identifies six core principles that influence human behavior: reciprocity, commitment or consistency, social proof, liking, authority, and scarcity.

These principles work because they tap into fundamental aspects of human psychology, including our desire to belong, to make good decisions, and to be consistent in our actions. When incorporated into your ecommerce strategy, they can significantly impact how visitors interact with your store and make purchasing decisions.

Understanding these psychological foundations allows you to create more effective product pages, checkout processes, and marketing messages that resonate with how your customers naturally think and make decisions.

14 powerful persuasion techniques for ecommerce

1. Reciprocity

Reciprocity is a social norm that states that if you give someone something, they’ll feel obligated to return the favor. Essentially, this allows you to ask for something in return rather than wait for a voluntary act from them.

Here’s where it gets really interesting. The two values don’t necessarily need to be equal. For example, if you hold the door for someone, they’re more likely to say yes to buying you a coffee.

Ways to apply this persuasion tactic to your store:

• Offer a tripwire—an irresistible and low price product designed not to make money, but to change the relationship from casual visitor to actual buyer.
  
• Offer a free gift or discount, including free shipping, a welcome discount for first-time buyers, product samples, an unexpected free gift to go along with an ordered product, etc.
  
• Send appreciation cards and notes to existing customers.
  
  

2. Consistency

Consistency states that once you commit to something, especially in writing, you are more likely to follow through or maintain the stance. People like when their thoughts and actions are aligned.

Once you get someone to make a commitment, they begin to engage in self-persuasion. That is, they begin to justify related actions to themselves and others.

Chubbies plays on consistency in an interesting way:

By listing its beliefs, it’s actively calling for people who share similar beliefs. If these beliefs resonate with a visitor, they’re more likely to buy because that would align what they think and what they do.

Other ways to apply it to your store:

• Push visitors to opt in to your email list or download a relevant free resource. Once subscribers make the small commitment, they’re more likely to make a bigger commitment.
  
• Encourage social sharing at every stage. The more public the commitment, the better.
  
  

3. Social proof

Humans are naturally social (yes, even before social media came along). As a result, we’re heavily influenced by those around us, especially if we hold them in high regard. Social proof states that you base your actions and beliefs on those around you.

You’re most likely to follow the lead of someone who is similar to you or in situations where you’re very uncertain. Often, there’s comfort in just doing what everyone else is doing.

Ratings, reviews, share counts, testimonials … social proof is all around you.

“I think that authenticity is really what’s important because today a lot of brands pay people to wear stuff, but it looks like it’s paid for,” says Eran Elfassy, founder of outwear brand Mackage. “Today I would say it’s harder, because influencers and celebrities want a lot of money to wear stuff. Sometimes it could be a spend that you’re probably not going to get a return on. So really find the authentic ones. Go with smaller influencers or smaller celebrities at the beginning, but somebody that really fosters your style and it’s authentic.

Other ways to apply it to your store:

• Have an influencer or expert endorse or provide a testimonial for your product.
  
• Show the number of people who have purchased recently or how many people are currently viewing the product.
  
• Add trust icons, like media logos and mentions.

4. Likeness (or similarity)

Likeness (also known as similarity) states that you tend to say yes to people you like. That comes down to two factors:

1. Physical attraction: Case studies have shown time and time again that people who are physically attractive are more persuasive.
   
2. Similarity: You are more likely to be persuaded by someone you deem similar to yourself.

This translates quite easily to store design and voice of customer ecommerce copywriting.

Other ways to apply it to your store:

• Come across as a friend, not a big corporation. The more human and similar your brand seems, the better.
  
• Support the same causes as your customers. Some stores do this by donating a portion of profit to a relevant charity.
  
  

5. Authority

Authority states that you have a tendency to believe that if any expert or person of authority says something, it must be true.

There is a very famous study, the Milgram experiment, attached to this persuasive technique, that was conducted in 1961. Basically, two participants, a teacher and a learner, were placed in two different rooms. The learner was hooked up to an electric shock machine, which the teacher controlled.

A supervisor, wearing a lab coat, was also present. He told the teacher to ask the learner questions and shock him when he answered incorrectly. After every incorrect answer, the voltage increased (up to 450 volts).

The catch? The learner was an actor, making fake pain noises after each shock. The study explored how much pain the participants were willing to inflict on a completely innocent person if instructed by a person of authority.

How to apply it to your store:

• Build authority by highlighting qualifications (job title, product awards, etc.).
  
• Avoid cliché, vague awards and claims (e.g. “World’s best doughnuts!”).
  
• When in doubt, borrow authority from someone else via an endorsement, a product review, etc.
  
  

6. Scarcity

Scarcity states that when something has limited availability, you assign more value to it. During the early COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, perceived scarcity led to widespread toilet paper shortages, with sales increasing by 845% in one month, according to purchase data.

Scarcity, too, is all around us in ecommerce. Getting a message that there are “only a few items left” makes the brand’s sales pitch that much more persuasive.

When people believe something is in short supply, they perceive it to be more valuable and are more likely to purchase it. People want to avoid the regret of not being able to obtain the item in the future.

Limited availability persuasion works by creating a sense of urgency that makes people value the item more and feel the need to purchase it before it runs out, according to Robert Cialdini. This technique is most effective when the item is something that people truly desire and when there is a limited supply. Take beauty brand Fluff, for example.

“Our website is only open four times a year for seven days. And really, it is a marketing strategy,” says Erika Geraerts, founder of Fluff. “It allows us to generate demand for the product, and in that time that we’re not on, it really allows us to focus on messaging that we really care about that isn’t product related, that helps build our brand and helps build our community.”

Other ways to use scarcity in your store:

• Promote limited-time offers. A countdown to when the discount or deal ends can spur purchases.
  
• In the cart, show how much the visitor saved with a call to action to check out before the savings expire.
  
• Offer free express shipping or something similar to those who purchase before a certain time of day.
  
  

7. Price anchoring

Price anchoring states that the first price presented plays a big role in the decision-making process.

For example, imagine that a price is regularly $129.99, which is noted first. But it’s currently on sale for just $59.99. That first price, $129.99, serves as an anchor, making the discounted price seem like a total steal.

Here’s how Greats does it:

The first, higher price sets the stage and becomes the anchor that makes the new price with a 20% discount so much more appealing. 

Let’s say Greats didn’t use price anchoring. Paying more than $150 for sneakers might seem like too much to spend. But the $189 original price clearly indicates that it isn’t. You might actually find price anchoring limits comparison shopping as well.

8. Familiarity

Familiarity states that you prefer the things and people you are familiar with. Yes, seriously. Studies have even found you’re more likely to fall in love with someone the more often you see them. Your happiness is actually correlated with how many things you’re familiar with.

This fondness for familiarity is why you’ll often find the cart in the top right-hand corner of a store. Or why you’re so attached to the neighborhood you live in. Or why you tend to order the same one or two meals at your favorite restaurant.

Familiarity comes down to three factors:

• Cognitive Fluency: How easy is it to think about something?
  
• Prototypicality: How similar is it to others in the same category or industry?
  
• Habit: How well does it match previous, similar experiences?
  
  

This is why knowing your audience is so important. Being familiar with the experiences and language they’re expecting can be incredibly useful for increasing conversions.

Ways to apply familiarity to your store:

• Use a simple design that’s low complexity and low on clutter. Don’t rage too hard against the machine. Stick with a prototypical design that works as expected for the ecommerce industry.
  
• Use words and phrases your visitors will find familiar and scannable. Speak as they would speak, if you will.
  
• Take a cue from the types of calls to action your direct and indirect competitors are using. How do they match up? You don’t want to copy them, but you want to make sure you’re meeting expectations.

9. Attentional bias

Attentional bias states that you pay more attention to emotionally stimulating factors and downplay other factors. The more intense and touching something is, the more attention you pay to it. Makes sense, right? That’s why fear and sex tend to be so persuasive.

So, when WWF is trying to raise money to save and support animals, they tug on the heartstrings a bit with emotion-evoking visuals:

A happy, thriving baby polar bear who could keep cool all thanks to you? That’s a pretty positive emotion. It’s no surprise this type of messaging is conveyed over and over again through copy and images.

Some ways to apply it to your store:

• Conduct some qualitative research to determine what emotional state people arrive in. Do they come to you stressed, desperately seeking a solution? This will help you determine whether you should take advantage of the natural emotional state or try to change it.
  
• Font, color, and images all have emotional values. Be purposeful when choosing them.
  
• Write copy that tells a story can help you make an emotional appeal.
  
  

10. Loss aversion

Loss aversion states that you strongly prefer to avoid losses than to acquire gains. According to research on loss aversion, consumers typically fear losses 2.5 times more than they value equivalent gains.

So, to put that into perspective, your visitors fear not liking your product twice as much as they think they’ll enjoy the benefits of having your product.

Perhaps that’s why some stores so prominently display their money-back guarantee. Like Muse:

It’s worth noting that there are some exceptions. Nobel prize-winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman has found that people decide differently, depending on whether the decision is framed as a loss or a gain. So:

• If you want someone to make a risk-averse choice, focus on what they will gain by making the choice you want them to
  
• If you want someone to make a risk-seeking choice, focus on what they will lose by not making the choice you want them to

Other ways to apply it to your store include:

• Using your images and other visuals to show the loss scenario instead of the gain scenario
  
• Choosing the wording of your offers carefully. “Don’t miss out on our summer sale: 10% off all t-shirts.” might work better than “Take 10% off t-shirts.”
  
  

11. Ikea effect

The Ikea effect states that the more effort we invest into something, the more we value it. Anyone who has spent three hours putting together an Ikea dresser knows how this feels.

Product customization is a great way to trigger this effect. The more effort your visitors put into customization, the more they value the product. You might find this reduces cart abandonment and increases conversions.

For ecommerce stores, this can be implemented through product configurators, build your own bundles, or personalization options that let customers invest time in creating something unique to them.

12. Paradox of choice

If you’re offered one option, the choice is clear: do or do not buy. When you’re offered two options, your brain focuses on choosing between the two. Suddenly, the idea of not buying anything at all is muted.

In that case, offering more than one option can help make a sale.

However, if you offer too many options, analysis paralysis comes into play. With so many options, you can’t decide and end up choosing nothing at all.

This is known as the paradox of choice. The key, of course, is finding the right balance of options.

It’s why Ikea puts two calls to action on its landing pages: Add to Bag and a heart emoji to add the product to your wish list.

For online stores, this means carefully curating product selections, offering guided shopping experiences, and using product filters to help customers narrow down choices without feeling overwhelmed.

13. Foot in the door

The foot-in-the-door technique is a persuasion strategy where you start by asking for a small commitment before working up to larger requests. The initial small request is designed to be easy to agree to, establishing a pattern of saying yes that makes it more likely the person will agree to bigger requests later.

This technique works because once someone has committed to a small action, they begin to see themselves as the kind of person who does these things, making future compliance more likely.

In ecommerce, you can apply this by:

• Starting with free content downloads before promoting paid products
• Offering a small, low-cost item before suggesting complementary or premium products
• Getting email signups before asking for purchase commitments
• Using free samples or trial periods before suggesting full-size products

For example, a skin care brand might first offer a free skin type quiz, then a sample size product, and finally suggest a complete skin care regimen, gradually increasing the commitment level at each step.

14. Door in the face

This technique (also referred to as “go big, then go small”) begins by making a large request that the person is likely to refuse, followed by a more reasonable request that now seems much more appealing by comparison.

When the initial large request is declined, people often feel a subtle social obligation to consider the smaller follow-up request, making them more likely to agree to it.

For ecommerce stores, this can be implemented by:

• Initially showcasing premium product bundles before highlighting individual items
• Presenting an annual subscription option before offering a monthly plan
• Showing a high-end version of a product first, making mid-range options seem more reasonable
• Offering a complete solution before presenting component parts

This technique should be used carefully and ethically, ensuring that the smaller request still provides genuine value to the customer rather than simply manipulating them into a purchase they don’t need.

Measuring the impact of persuasion techniques

To ensure your persuasion techniques are actually working, you need to track their effectiveness systematically. This allows you to double down on what works and refine or abandon what doesn’t.

When implementing persuasion techniques on your ecommerce store, monitor these key performance indicators:

• Conversion rate: The percentage of visitors who complete a desired action.
• Average order value (AOV): How much customers spend per transaction.
• Cart abandonment rate: The percentage of shoppers who add items to cart but don’t complete checkout.
• Time on page: How long visitors engage with pages using specific persuasion elements.
• Click-through rate: The percentage of people who click on specific persuasive elements.
• Return rate: Whether persuasion techniques are leading to satisfied customers or returns.

Different persuasion techniques will impact different metrics. For example, scarcity might improve conversion rate but not AOV, while reciprocity might increase both.

A/B testing persuasion elements

The most reliable way to measure the impact of persuasion techniques is through controlled A/B testing. This involves creating two versions of a page—one with the persuasion element and one without—and comparing their performance.

When setting up A/B tests:

• Test one persuasion technique at a time for clear results
• Ensure you have sufficient traffic for statistical significance
• Run tests for at least one to two weeks to account for daily variationsUse proper testing tools like Google
• Optimize or Shopify’s native A/B testing features

For example, you might test whether adding a countdown timer (scarcity) to a product page increases conversion rates, or whether showing the number of people viewing the product (social proof) reduces bounce rates.

By systematically testing and measuring these techniques, you can build a persuasion strategy based on data rather than assumptions, leading to more predictable and sustainable results.

Create your persuasion strategy today

The truth is that social psychology and persuasive techniques don’t always translate perfectly to the online marketplace. You can’t read someone’s body language or make eye contact with them over the internet.

However, when implemented thoughtfully and measured carefully, these persuasion principles can significantly impact your ecommerce results. The key is to use them ethically, enhancing the customer experience rather than manipulating it.

Start by identifying which techniques align best with your brand and products. Then implement them one at a time, measuring their impact before moving on to the next. Remember that what works for one store or product category might not work for another-your own testing will reveal what resonates most with your specific audience.

As you develop your persuasion strategy, consider how these techniques can work together throughout the customer journey, from first impression to post-purchase experience. The most effective approach often combines multiple principles working in harmony rather than relying on a single technique.

The many emotional persuasion techniques above have certainly proven that they have a place in ecommerce. At the very least, they’re worth experimenting with if you’re a small business owner or digital marketer.