By Ellie-Rose Davies, Content Manager at IMRG Conversion rates have fallen to a 25-year low, according to IMRGs Online Retail Index. In this blog, we explore whats driving the decline, what it means for online trading, and share expert insight on how retailers can adapt their strategies to improve conversion performance in the months ahead.

IMRG Conversion Rate data

In April, (specifically the w/c 5^th) we reported the lowest Conversion Rate* tracked for the total online market since the year 2000, at 2.7%. *Defined as the percentage of visitors who complete a purchase on retail sites.

Source: IMRGs Online Retail Index

As noted by our Strategy & Insight Director, Andy Mulcahy, We didnt see this low of a rate during the energy shock in 2022 when inflation hit 11%. Geopolitical conflicts could well be impacting customer confidence, and Andy reflected on how It may also be exacerbated by the volumes of bot traffic retailers have been seeing over the past few months. Garret Cunningham, VP of CX at Columbus Global, agrees that consumers are becoming increasingly cautious with discretionary spending. He says, We are seeing conversion rates hit in retail as consumers are feeling the pressure more and more from a combination of cost of living increases as well as geopolitical factors affecting consumer confidence. Every day consumers are facing the news of ongoing enlist in the Middle East which always feels at risk of escalating driving further increases in fuel costs and energy costs. While things risk hangs over users, they are being more careful with their spend and spending less on nice to haves, saving their money for the necessities. Garret also notes the impact current travel concerns may be having on consumer spending: As the summer holidays loom, costumers are also now facing regular news stories preparing them for increased costs of flights and potential fuel surcharges. Regardless of whether or not this comes a reality, it builds on the fear of rising costs for consumers, and they are saving their money in readiness for unexpected expenses. Another key point is that Googles March 2026 Core Update is penalising AI-heavy content, pushing pages with highly AI-generated copy further down in search rankings. This could be having a direct impact on conversion rates as retailers are not appearing so highly in prospective customers feeds. With this, retailers may benefit from taking a more human-led approach to their product pages, prioritising authenticity as the year progresses. Andy did some research on how conversion rates compare for premium retailers across the same timeframe. Interestingly, it showed that 2026 has been competitively low for conversion for all tiers, but the pattern is most pronounced for premium retailers. As shown in the chart below, there is a significant downward trend for conversion for premium retailers since 2021.

Source: IMRG's Online Retail Index

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