Although brick and mortar stores have opened back up, retailers can’t afford to neglect their online operations. They must optimise their online stores quickly and effectively to reach customers and ensure they’re consistently increasing revenue.
While you need to ensure that your product listings are up to scratch, it’s also about making your site appealing to your customers and encouraging them to convert. This can be made even easier with the right strategies to optimise your store, including utilising promotional marketing techniques that will entice customers to buy.
1. Highlight timely products and offerings
One of the ways that online retailers and ecommerce stores can optimise their digital storefronts is to showcase timely products and offerings. There are a few ways this can be done, including:
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Seasonal offers: Consider seasonal offers and what customers like to look at during that time of year. For example, if the weather is hot outside, consider offering items like aquatic equipment and fans which people will be eager to buy. Place these products front and centre on the main page to get people to click on them.
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Sales and discounts: This is also a good chance to draw attention to any sales or discounts that might be taking place at that time. Some of the most popular discounts might include a certain percentage off of a large order or a “buy one get one” offer.
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Tailor offers to customers: Take a look at what certain customers like to view on the store’s page. Then, tailor offers to meet the desires of loyal customers. This is a great way to foster a connection with your customer base.
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Move distressed stock: Stock that isn’t moving quickly or that has gone out of season can be showcased on your online store’s homepage in the form of flash sales or with the use of a coupon code, which will ensure it can be sold quickly to make space for new inventory.
Highlighting seasonal products and offers is a great way to optimise an online store — it can improve conversion rates and makes it easy for your customers to access more of what they want.
2. Try to upsell when possible
Upselling is a great way for eCommerce stores to increase their margins. As long as upsells are placed properly, and tied to a discount, this can be used to boost the ARPU online. In order to make an upsell, some of the most important tips to remember include:
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Explain why the upsell is valuable
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Ensure the upsell is priced right — you’re more likely to be successful with products that are cheaper than what is already in the cart
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Share social proof, such as reviews, to make the upsell as quickly as possible
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Display all upsells on pages with high conversion rates
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Make sure to track the results to see which upsells are working the best
Upselling is also a great strategy to implement when certain marketing metrics such as your average transaction value is low and you want to increase it, resulting in improved margins. If you optimise upselling on your online store effectively, you’ll likely see instant results.
3. Personalise the recommendations
Numbers and statistics do not lie — they show that shoppers want personalisation in their shopping experiences. In fact, customers are likely to become repeat buyers if they are provided with a shopping experience that has been tailored to meet their needs.
In order to effectively personalise buyers’ shopping experiences, you need to use purchasing and browsing history to target certain products to each individual shopper. Try and link those products to exclusive discounts that are sent directly to consumers, so that the customer online promotion journey feels more personal to them.
Pro tip: The right promotion engine can make sending these offers even easier, as it can generate unique, single-use codes that ensure loyal customers can redeem their discounts easily and quickly — and on top of that, the software will monitor and track the redemptions, allowing you to see how effective your personalisation campaigns are.
4. Boost live chat support services
One of the top tips that translates across every industry is that strong customer service matters. Customers value fast responses, and quick solutions are sure to imbue them with a sense of loyalty.
Your online site has to be prepared for this — and a great way to offer fast solutions to problems is through live chat. When compared to phone calls and emails, live chat is simply better: rather than waiting to speak to a real person, they are able to chat with someone almost immediately.
Live chat is also instant, so it’s easy for customers to access from their phone or computer. Communication is smoother and any links to more information about certain solutions or problems can be easily shared. For example, coupon codes can be generated and shared with the help of the right promotion engine in order to drive conversions or appease frustrated customers. This will not only make your customers happy and increase conversions, but it will also show them that you’re committed to providing them with a high level of customer service.
Suggested reading: Want to learn how to improve customer experience in eCommerce? Read our blog '5 Ways to Improve Customer Experience in eCommerce'.
5. Target shopping cart abandonment
The numbers are shocking. More than 75% of users are going to abandon their shopping carts, meaning they leave items in their digital basket without checking out. While there are slight variations among different industries, this is a major source of revenue loss.
Push conversions with discounts
The biggest reason why shopping carts are abandoned is that users simply aren’t ready to buy. Promotional codes are a great way to target shopping cart abandonment. For example, after a shopping cart has been abandoned, emailing a customer a promotional code with money off the purchase can result in a revenue boost. While this might reduce margins slightly, this will boost total sales numbers.
Be transparent
Another major reason carts are abandoned is that fees are tacked onto the end and customers feel there’s a lack of transparency. They don’t like the final price and simply refuse to buy. Here, communication is key — make the shipping costs clear from the start on your site. Or better yet, offer free delivery…
6. Offer free shipping
It is truly amazing how much of an incentive free shipping can be when it comes to online shopping. Free shipping is very similar to the promotional codes mentioned above with regard to shopping cart abandonment. The reality is that people are more likely to buy if they know they are going to get free delivery.
For example, one study revealed that close to half of all customers would abandon their carts if they are charged for shipping. Therefore, consider adding a shipping calculator to every page. Or think about offering free shipping as a promotional item. This is a great way to boost sales numbers and optimise the online store.
Use the right tools to entice customers
These are just a few of the many ways that online stores can optimise when it comes to eCommerce sales numbers. Understanding your customers and offering the right incentives is important, but investing in the right software can get you even further.
Employing promotional software such as Uniqodo’s Promotion Engine to generate unique vouchers and conversion tactics that will address issues such as cart abandonment, upsells, and customer loyalty, leading to higher conversion rates, more sales, and repeat customers.
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