Using Heatmaps to Understand Customer Behavior in Your Store

Understanding what your customers do on your website—where they click, how far they scroll, what they ignore—can be the key to unlocking higher conversions and better user experiences. While analytics tools provide numbers and trends, e-commerce heatmaps show you exactly how users are interacting with your site, in full colour.

In this article, we’ll explore how heatmaps work, how to interpret them, and how they support customer behaviour tracking and site improvements. If you’re looking to make data-driven changes and use the right conversion optimization tools, this guide is your starting point.

(You may also want to read our article on landing page optimisation for paid traffic campaigns to align design with behaviour.)

What Are Heatmaps?

Heatmaps are visual tools that represent user interaction data through colour gradients. Areas with high engagement appear in warm colours (like red or orange), while less active areas show cooler tones (like blue or green).

There are three main types of e-commerce heatmaps:

1. Click Maps – Show where users are clicking (including non-clickable areas)
2. Scroll Maps – Indicate how far down the page users are scrolling
3. Move or Hover Maps – Track mouse movements and pointer activity

Together, these tools reveal the “hot zones” of your website—where attention is strongest—and highlight areas where users may be getting lost or disengaged.

Why Heatmaps Matter for E-commerce

For online store owners, every pixel of your website is potential sales real estate. Heatmaps help answer key questions like:

• Are customers seeing your CTAs and promotional banners?
• Which product images or sections are attracting the most clicks?
• Are users scrolling far enough to see key information?
• Is your mobile navigation confusing or ineffective?

By visualising this data, you can make targeted design, content, and layout decisions that increase conversions and reduce friction in the buyer journey.

Benefits of Heatmaps in Customer Behavior Tracking

Using heatmaps as part of your customer behaviour tracking strategy gives you:

1. Real-time visual feedback

Unlike traditional analytics dashboards, heatmaps show you how users engage with your store—no numbers required. It’s an intuitive way to identify behaviour trends at a glance.

2. Improved layout and UX

If users aren’t scrolling past the halfway mark, your “Free Shipping” banner at the bottom might never be seen. Heatmaps reveal where to position important content for maximum exposure.

3. Better CTA placement

Click maps show whether your buttons are in the right place. If users are clicking on text that isn’t linked, it may signal a missed opportunity.

4. Mobile vs. Desktop Insights

User interaction can vary significantly between mobile and desktop. Heatmaps let you compare the two and optimise for both.

Where to Use E-commerce Heatmaps

Not all pages need heatmap tracking all the time. Focus on pages that impact your bottom line the most.

1. Homepage

Understand how visitors interact with your hero section, navigation bar, featured collections, and promotional banners.

2. Product Pages

See whether users are clicking through image galleries, reading descriptions, or missing key information entirely.

3. Collection Pages

Track how many products users view, which filters they use, and where their attention drifts.

4. Cart and Checkout Pages

Identify drop-off points and ensure buttons like “Continue to Checkout” are being seen and used.

5. Landing Pages from Paid Traffic

Monitor how new visitors behave after clicking on your ads. Are they converting or bouncing?

How to Read and Interpret Heatmaps

Reading heat maps requires context and a bit of detective work. Here’s how to approach them:

Click Maps:

• Red zones on buttons = high engagement
• Red zones on non-clickable areas = potential user frustration
• Lack of clicks near CTA = poor visibility or positioning

Scroll Maps:

• A steady gradient = good content pacing
• A sharp drop-off = possible content overload or unclear layout
• Less than 50% reach = reposition or shorten key content

Hover/Move Maps:

• Clustered movement near images or price = curiosity or comparison
• Sparse movement near trust signals (e.g. reviews) = poor placement or visibility
• High activity on menus = effective navigation—or confusion

Combine this with session recordings for deeper behavioural analysis.

Conversion Optimization Tools with Built-in Heatmaps

Several platforms offer heat mapping as part of a broader conversion optimisation tools suite. Here are some of the most popular:

1. Hotjar

• Free plan available
• Heatmaps, session recordings, and feedback tools
• Easy to set up with Shopify and other platforms

2. Crazy Egg

• Visual A/B testing included
• Scroll and click maps
• Ideal for both product and landing pages

3. Microsoft Clarity

• 100% free
• Offers heatmaps and session replays
• Excellent for small to medium-sized e-commerce sites

4. Lucky Orange

• Includes live chat and conversion funnels
• Dynamic heatmaps (track changing pages or popups)
• Great for multi-step user journeys

Choose a tool based on your budget, feature preferences, and platform compatibility.

Acting on Heatmap Insights

Once you’ve gathered heatmap data, the real power comes from taking action.

1. Reposition key content

Move high-impact elements (CTAs, offers, reviews) to areas with strong visibility.

2. Simplify or redesign sections with drop-off

If scroll maps show users aren’t making it past certain blocks, remove friction or condense information.

3. Fix broken expectations

If users are clicking on non-links (e.g. images or headlines), turn them into buttons or link them to relevant pages.

4. Test different versions

Use heatmap feedback to create A/B tests for different layouts, headlines, or CTA positions. Measure what improves interaction and conversions.

5. Monitor changes over time

Re-run heatmaps after major site updates or campaigns to ensure improvements are working as intended.

Best Practices for Using Heatmaps in E-commerce

1. Start with high-traffic pages

Pages with more visitors generate faster heatmap insights and more reliable data.

2. Segment by device

Review desktop and mobile behaviour separately. What works on a large screen may frustrate on a small one.

3. Pair heatmaps with analytics

Use heatmaps alongside Google Analytics, Shopify reports, or your funnel tracking tools for a full behavioural picture.

4. Use session recordings for context

Heatmaps show where users click—but not always why. Watching real sessions can reveal the story behind the clicks.

Limitations of Heatmaps

While incredibly useful, heat maps aren’t magic. Some limitations include:

• Heatmaps are based on aggregated data, not individual behaviours
• They don’t capture the “why” behind actions
• Not suitable for dynamic or personalised content without advanced tools
• Interpretation requires experience and context

Use them as one part of your optimisation toolkit, not the sole data source.

Final Thoughts: Visualise Before You Optimise

In e-commerce, every click, scroll, and hover tells a story. With e-commerce heatmaps, you can read that story in colour, making customer behavior tracking more intuitive, actionable, and impactful.

Heatmaps are among the most valuable conversion optimisation tools available when paired with smart testing and a willingness to iterate. They give you a front-row seat to your customer’s journey—and the insight to make it smoother, faster, and more profitable.