You’ve worked hard to launch your eCommerce business. You’ve organised products that make a difference in your customers’ lives, you’ve navigated the world of creating an online shop, organising payment gateways and the logistics of delivery and shipping.
Now it’s time to safeguard your investment and create the best chance at sustainable sales and long term growth. Here are five strategies that have been proven to impact and increase eCommerce sales, without offering the world to your customers through discounts or running your business into the ground.
1. Ensure The Experience Is Effortless Across All Devices
In 2016, mobile usage surpassed that of computers for the first time in history. Since then, it has only gained in popularity, with forty-five percent of Australians now buying from their mobile or tablet on a monthly basis.
Knowing this, it is imperative that the experience of shopping with you is both desktop and handheld-device friendly. Installing heatmap tracking software, such as Hotjar, on your website will allow you to objectively witness how a user interacts with your site, where they click on and what might be areas of frustration that could be costing you valuable eCommerce sales.
If you are unsure if your store stands the test, here are some aspects to consider:
- Is your website responsive and adapts the display to the browsing device?
- Is the font easily readable, both in design and size?
- Are your pages quick to load?
- Is the navigation easy to access and understand?
2. Create Trust Through Online Security
With an increase in malware and phishing attacks to capture sensitive data, online fraud now accounts for 85% of all fraud on Australian credit cards. Shoppers are very aware of online security but fortunately, meeting their expectations doesn’t have to be costly.
Having an SSL certificate installed on your website is a well-known and trusted security feature that encrypts personal data and gives peace of mind to your shoppers that their information has layered protection. Trust badges have also been proven to be effective, with Hotjar studies showing there are certain badges that are more widely recognised and can have an impact on sales conversions.
3. Create Credibility Through Social Proof
Social proof is the psychological phenomenon that describes the human behaviour of aligning to the actions and decisions of others, based on the assumption that those actions are favourable.
Thankfully, this behaviour is easily utilised through testimonies, ratings and reviews of your products and services. Furthermore, studies have shown that nearly 70% of online consumers considering product reviews before purchasing, making this a key decision-making element on your store.
4. Increase Average Order Value
One of the easiest ways to boost your sales is to find ways to increase the average value of each purchase. This can be done in many different ways. Free shipping over a certain spend is one such way. This strategy drives up the average cart order as free shipping is seen as a high incentive with 58% of customers add additional items to their cart to qualify.
Another strategy is offering a discount for purchasing in bulk. The Quick Flick offers bundles of their cosmetic line and actively advertises that these bundles equate to 15% off, if you were to buy them individually.
5. Offer Flexible Payment Options
Prior to 2015, debit cards, cash and credit cards were the key players in finalising a purchase. Since then, modern-day layby solutions with minimal to no upfront payment have rapidly risen in popularity, particularly among millennials.
One survey discovered that 65% of users said the ability to make smaller payments influenced them to make purchases they wouldn’t normally make. With AfterPay and Zip Pay an easy addition to your eCommerce store, you’d be missing out on sales if you didn’t have these as payment options advertised and available on checkout.
Giving your bottom line the best chance of growth doesn’t have to be complex. Following the timeless principles of enhancing your customers’ experience through effortless usability and flexibility, building trust and credibility and giving loyalty incentives will allow them to feel safe in repeatedly spending their money with you.
If you would like to learn more about you can optimise your sales or need help rolling out these tips for your eCommerce store, simply click here to book your free consultation with one of our marketing experts or give us a call on 1300 314 172.
