How to Increase E-Commerce Sales in 2024
There’s almost always room to improve your digital tactics for e-commerce sales.
Whether your e-commerce sales are already great or smaller than you’d like to see, there are a handful of levers you can control to encourage customers to buy with you. Try any of the following tactics to increase your e-commerce sales.
Increase Awareness
At the top of the sales funnel is awareness; in short, you need potential customers to be aware that you’re selling goods or services they need. You have a lot of options for increasing awareness of your brand. Three popular tactics are:
Search Engine Optimization (SEO). You can optimize the content on your website to target the generic search terms people use when looking for products like yours. With SEO, they become aware of your offerings when you rank, in particular, on the first page of search engines like Google or Bing.
Social media advertising. A little bit of money can go a long way in boosting your ads and posts to a wider audience. You can give social media platforms specific parameters about your ideal audience for posts. If you already have data about your customers such as their gender, age range and locations, this can help you target your ads.
Content marketing. Creating helpful free content for potential customers is a great way to attract new visitors to your social pages and website. For example, an online yarn store could create a free crochet pattern or post a helpful video about casting on knitting stitches.
Incentivize Purchases
Once potential customers are on your website, give them incentives to follow through with a purchase. One-time discounts and loyalty programs are two ways to entice visitors to make a purchase. Certum Solutions has identified loyalty programs as a continuing hot e-commerce trend for 2024.
Remember that you don’t need to give these incentives away for free! You can ask for an email address or phone number in exchange for a discount or make this contact information a mandatory part of loyalty program signups. This way, you’re giving your business a way to get back in contact with people who’ve expressed strong interest in your products.
Turn on Social Shopping
Shopping within social media apps continues to be a popular way for users to purchase things they see and are interested in. Features such as Facebook Marketplace, TikTok Shop and Instagram Shopping make it easy for online sellers to connect with customers where they’re already hanging out. You don’t need to be on every platform though; start by researching the social media platform that most aligns with your customer base.
Tap Into Customer Inboxes
Dropping into your customers’ inboxes connects you with shoppers who have already expressed an interest in what you sell.
You might use different email lists for the different ways your customers have given you their email address: Those who signed up for a discount code, those who made it partway through the checkout process, and those who have purchased something from your online store. Then, you can tailor the type of email you send to those groups with a discount reminder with images linking to your most popular items, an abandoned cart reminder, and marketing emails about new products or store sales. The possibilities are endless.
Note: Respect your customers by not bombarding them with too many emails or you risk them removing themselves or opting out from your email list.
Optimize your Website
Creating a smooth experience on your website with as few steps as possible to check out can make a big difference in closing sales. Even if you’ve built your shop on an e-commerce platform like Shopify, tick off these suggestions for optimal user experience that encourages sales.
Organize your products into clear categories that are part of your website navigation.
Add a search bar to your site so users can find what they’re looking for more quickly. Be sure to include common search terms in the relevant product descriptions, so those items appear in customer searches.
Include a “quick add” button to let shoppers put items directly in their carts from shopping pages.
Reduce the number of pages shoppers must navigate through to make a purchase.
Enable payment options that are easy to use on mobile phones, such as Apple Pay, Google Pay and PayPal.
Get Set up With an E-Commerce Platform you Love
Your e-commerce platform should facilitate a frictionless shopping experience so you can sell more products and services. Schedule a time to meet with us today. We’re happy to show you how you can boost your online sales.