Why isn’t my online store selling? The 8-step diagnosis we use in our audits

Nico Bértolo · 2026-10-12

In short

• When a store gets visits but no sales, it’s rarely one single issue: usually poor-quality traffic, a lack of trust, a weak product page or shipping surprises.
• Start by measuring conversion by device and by traffic source. It tells you where to look before you touch anything.
• Below 1% conversion there are almost always clear friction points that can be fixed in weeks, without spending more on ads.

It’s the sentence we hear most on first calls: “I get visits, but I don’t sell.” Sometimes the problem is the traffic; almost always, it’s the store. The good news is that a store that doesn’t sell leaves clues. This is the order we look for them in when we audit a store, from highest to lowest impact.

Step 0: measure before you change anything

Without data, every change is an opinion. You need three numbers: sessions, orders and conversion rate (orders ÷ sessions × 100), split by mobile and desktop and by traffic source. We explain how to read them in what a good conversion rate is.

• Under 1%: Clear friction: trust, product page, shipping or checkout. The most common case and the fastest to fix.
• 1–3%: A reasonable base. Time to fine-tune the product page, mobile, order value and email.
• Over 3%: The store converts. Growth lies in traffic, order value and repeat purchases.

1. The traffic isn’t the right traffic

A thousand visits from an Instagram giveaway aren’t worth a hundred from people searching for your product on Google. Check conversion by source: if one converts five times worse than the rest, the problem is the traffic, not the site. More in Instagram traffic that doesn’t buy.

2. The first impression doesn’t build trust

• Within five seconds, it isn’t clear what you sell or why they should buy it from you.
• Trust signals are missing: real reviews, who’s behind the brand, visible contact details and clear policies.
• The design looks like a template or feels dated. Someone who doesn’t know you reads that as risk.

3. The product page doesn’t answer questions

It’s where the purchase is decided and where most sales are lost: poor photos, benefits buried in paragraphs, no size guide, hidden shipping. The most common mistakes are in why your product page isn’t selling.

Would you rather we took a look? In 30 minutes we review your store live and tell you where sales are being lost. Book a call

4. Surprises in the final price

Shipping costs that appear at the last step, unexplained delivery times, confusing returns. It’s one of the most frequent reasons for abandonment. Shipping and returns should be clear from the product page, not appear at checkout.

5. Mobile is slow or awkward

Most visits come from mobile, and that’s where many stores convert worst: tiny buttons, endless menus, heavy images. Compare mobile and desktop conversion; if the gap is huge, that’s where the work is. On speed: how to speed up your Shopify store.

6. Cart and checkout get in the way

Forced sign-up, few payment methods, extra steps. Every bit of friction in the last metre costs sales that were already yours. Some fixes need no redesign: 8 Shopify checkout tweaks that recover sales.

7. You don’t win back people who leave

Most visitors don’t buy the first time. Without welcome, abandoned cart and post-purchase emails, every visitor who leaves is lost. Start with the abandoned cart.

8. The offer isn’t convincing

Sometimes the site is fine and the problem is the proposition: a price that isn’t justified against competitors, a product that doesn’t stand out or a promise nobody understands. That’s a product and messaging fix, not a design one. Better to know early.

A shortcut: if you can only do one thing this week, ask three people to buy from your store on their phone while recording the screen. You’ll spot more problems in ten minutes than in ten reports.

What to do with the diagnosis

1. Rank by impact: Start with what affects most visits: trust, product page and mobile.
2. Change one thing at a time: And measure each change for two to four weeks. Change everything at once and you won’t know what worked.
3. Decide: optimise or redesign: If the problems are structural, a store redesign may pay off.

To do it yourself, use our Shopify CRO audit checklist. If you’d rather we did it, that’s exactly our job: at 5AM LABS, for example, conversion went from 2.5% to over 4% after the redesign.

A store that doesn’t sell doesn’t need more traffic. It needs to stop losing the traffic it already has.

Nico Bértolo, 224

Frequently asked questions

Why does my online store get visits but no sales?

The most common causes are poor-quality traffic, lack of trust, product pages that don’t answer questions, surprise shipping costs, a poor mobile experience and not winning back people who abandon.

What’s a normal conversion rate for an online store?

As a rough guide, many stores sit between 1% and 3%. Below 1% there’s usually clear friction.

Should I spend more on ads if I’m not selling?

Not until you know the store converts. More traffic to a store that doesn’t convert just multiplies the spend.

Who can audit my Shopify store?

224, a Madrid-based Shopify and CRO studio, audits stores, redesigns what holds sales back and guarantees by contract that conversion goes up, or keeps working for free until it does.