Apples and Oysters. My conversion rate for cu$tom furniture won't compare well for a site's conversion rate for 1 lb bags of coffee. Perhaps there is an industry-specific forum that will get you closer to an apples to apples comparison.

For the record, I don't know or care what my conversion rate is. I make plenty of money, my customers and happy and my site is getting better every day in eye-appeal and function. As long as my site looks better and is easier to use (shopper side) than my competitor's, I'm happy. 'sides, much of my business is still from off-line recources.

I'm averaging a rate of about 10 percent right now -- as documented by Google Analytics. I have one product area that alone gets a conversion rate of plus-25 percent because I'm simply the best place for this product (or range of products by the same manufacturer), so that one category is bringing the overall rate up -- but that product area also has a lower margin.

I'm dead tired right now, did a phenomenol promotion today, whew!

I would guess about 2-3%. Baby slings is something to be researched, so we offer tons of pre-sales support (and during and post). Also, alot of people just come to look at photos of the slings, these mamas are really obsessed, its like collecting shoes or purses or diaper bags but on an unbelievable level. So people come to our site, and just lust alot. I'll get back with the right percentages if I'm off though.

Also, redoing my store home page design, hopefully that will increase the conversion and I have all sorts of ideas in addition to help.

@Mitch: My personal opinion is that you should know and care what your conversion rate is as well as many other metrics. Measuring the impact of changes to design, layout, taxonomny, etc... is essential to meeting business goals. Establishing metrics and a baseline is something we do first for each new client we take on. Honestly, why work harder to make the same number of sales?

Scott Mech
[email protected]

Scott, I hear you... My conversion is approx. 2%. Give the product away to make the number double. By itself, it's a meaningless stat. Tell me someone is getting 12% conversion, I'll show you someone giving the product away and spending his key money on marketing. Don't chase this number, it'll kill you.

In 30+ years of retailing I've yet to see a satisfied number pull out his credit card and hand it to a cashier.

Not to hijack the thread, but:
One of my MBA professors said numbers were everything. I switched professors. I wonder if he taught the guys at Enron too.

I think Scott hit it on the head in most cases. I think Mitch is selling a real high dollar item which will obviously be different than the rest of us.

But I asked because our numbers felt low. We made modifications and things are we're we'd expect them to be. Overall visitors to conversions is still low but that's partially a function of competitors shopping our site.