Any eCommerce shop is aiming to sell more products and attract more customers. There are numerous strategies to make this happen, some of them even simpler than anyone might think. You don’t need to invest a lot of financial resources to gain more shoppers, just follow the trends and put in the effort to implement eCommerce strategies that have been already tested. Let’s look into 8 easy eCommerce strategies to boost sales!
Where do you start?
Everybody is familiar with the usual eCommerce methods, such as promotions, discounts, free shipping, coupons. However, there are plenty more which you can use to attract more customers and boost your sales.
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Subscription Models
Subscription eCommerce sales reached an impressive number of $2.6 billion last year. Netflix and Spotify are using this sales model successfully and they are constantly growing their subscription rates.
As far as eCommerce goes, there are three main categories of subscription services: curated services, replenishment services, and access service.
Curated services are focused on getting new and very personalized selections to their shoppers.
Replenishment services refer to recurring purchases of items.
Access service works based on exclusive access to discounts and other benefits.
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Voice Search
Shoppers want to have it easy. Voice search is becoming more and more popular particularly because it facilitates the process of giving the customers the information they need before they can purchase products.
In the USA alone, the sales registered as a result of voice searches are predicted to grow to $40 billion by 2022.
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Convert Wishlists with Discounts
Wishlists can be a great asset for eCommerce marketing if they are used as a sales strategy. A lot of shoppers add items to their wishlist but forget all about it after a while. However, the potential to turn this into a sales opportunity is pretty big.
One way to remind your customers about them is to send them emails and let them know the items are on sale. Include a strong call to action to the email and emphasize on the promotion. Use simple design, but powerful words.
Chairish is using a nice model for this:
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Use Abandoned Cart Items to Recommend Products
Abandoned Cart emails are not a secret anymore. Neither is their efficiency.
There are a lot of reasons why customers abandon their carts and everybody is thinking about technical issues or design flaws when talking about this topic. Very few people consider one major reason why shoppers do this – the product is not right for them.
Change your abandoned cart emails to include related products. Use a recommendation section called “You might like this more” or “Not exactly what you are looking for? See more products” and include top-rated products or best sellers. You can even include customer testimonials to the email for more credibility.
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Suggest Replacements for Out of Stock Products
Out of Stock products don’t have to be a reason why customers leave your website. Turn a negative situation into a positive one. Offer them something else.
Guide your shoppers in a different direction and don’t let them be disappointed or frustrated if the products they wanted to buy are no longer available.
Recommend top-selling products or similar items based on their selection. Adjust the website design to exclude the negative “Out of Stock” message and direct the customers to other products.
ASOS is using “See Similar Items” instead of the usual message for some items in the wishlist.
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Combine Free Shipping with FOMO
Free Shipping is something any shopper wants to see on a website. Statistics show that 93% of customers buy more items to be able to get free shipping.
Using the FOMO strategy (Fear of missing out), you encourage your visitors to spend more on related items to qualify for a free service. It does not have to be a huge amount.
Be clear about the minimum amount requirements and use a catchphrase like this one – “You’re only $X away from free shipping!”.
Here’s an example:
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Use Negative Statements in Your Promotional Pop-ups
Negative words are powerful. Contrary to popular belief, using them in the right place, at the right time, can work in your benefit. Let’s say someone offers you a discount and gives you two simple options to respond “Yes” or “No”. You’d choose whatever you want from there without having second thoughts.
However, if you see it in a different way, like “Accept 20% off” or “Decline 20% off”, you would need to think about it a bit more. Saying no to an opportunity is subconsciously harder to do.
In eCommerce, this strategy needs to be implemented based on certain conditions. For example offering a discount on the first order, convincing the shopper to actually go ahead and buy to benefit from the promotion.
Take a look at this pop-up as an example.
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Social Media Strategy
Social Media is very useful to attract new customers. Any content you create on your website or any new campaigns you run should be on social media channels too, as it gets exposed to millions of users and it boosts your visibility.
Post on a daily basis and be consistent, even use an automated tool to keep track of this activity. Add images to your posts to make them more attractive. Use these channels to engage with your customers and offer better customer support. Use analytics to track the behavior and engagement of your audience. Get to know your potential buyers better and adjust your marketing strategies accordingly.
Conclusion
Whichever strategy you decide to try out, adapt it to your audience and your business model. All of the above-mentioned methods are effective in their own way, but personalizing them to a specific online shop will work even better.
If you need help with your eCommerce strategies, we are here for you! Contact an expert today!
