E-Commerce Dictionary
Conversion Funnel
Definition
The path a potential customer takes through a site that ultimately results in a conversion.
Deep Dive
A conversion funnel, often visualized as an inverted pyramid, represents the multi-stage journey a potential customer undertakes from initial awareness of a product or service to the ultimate completion of a desired action, known as a conversion. This conceptual model helps businesses map and understand the customer experience, identifying distinct phases such as Awareness, Interest, Consideration, Intent, and ultimately, Purchase or Conversion. Each stage involves a progressively smaller number of prospects as some drop off, hence the "funnel" analogy.
Examples & Use Cases
- 1A user clicking on an online ad (Awareness), visiting a product page (Interest), adding an item to their cart (Consideration), proceeding to checkout (Intent), and finally completing the purchase (Conversion)
- 2A prospect downloading a free eBook (Lead Generation), attending a webinar (Nurturing), requesting a demo (Evaluation), and then signing up for a paid SaaS plan (Conversion)
- 3A visitor landing on a blog post (Awareness), subscribing to a newsletter (Interest), clicking a promotional email (Consideration), and then buying a featured product (Conversion).
Related Terms
Customer JourneyLead NurturingConversion Rate Optimization (CRO)Sales Funnel