It’s estimated that by 2021, global retail e-commerce sales will reach $4.9 trillion.
Since the introduction of the internet as we know it today in the 1990s, how we shop has drastically changed.
Businesses were forced to adapt their operation fast or suffer the consequences.
Many long-established businesses, such as ToysRus, paid the price when they had to shut all their US stores in 2018 due to loss of revenue. But it hasn’t been all bad news for everyone, including startups, that understood what customers wanted and found e-commerce success.
As the years have gone by and the data has been analyzed, it’s become far clearer what converts people into shoppers, and what doesn’t. There’s now no excuse why businesses should make rookie mistakes when there’s plenty of information available.
In this article, we’re going to share with you our top tips on how you can increase your e-commerce sales and cash in on the online phenomenon.
Read on for more information.
First Impressions Count
You may have been told at some point in your life to make a good first impression, and it’s no different for your website.
When people land on your website, they should feel the ‘wow’ factor and see time and effort has gone into creating it.
Use high-resolution imagery to really captivate them. If you were to look at leading fashion websites right now, you’d see that they use powerful photography to showcase their products.
Also, try and include some awesome short videos if you can. By including videos that excite or intrigue people, it’ll make them more likely to look around your website and buy.
It can also improve your SEO rankings, in which we’ll talk about later.
Make It Easy To Navigate Thorugh Your Website
You may have the most awesome, well-made product known to man, but if your customers can’t buy it, it’s useless. You need to ensure your customers can easily navigate their way through the website to get to where they want to go.
So make your menu as simple and as stress-free as possible.
Use singular words, such as ‘Men, Women, Kids’, etc., to make it as straight forward as you can. It’s also far more beneficial for those on mobiles, as the screens are a lot smaller than desktops, and it makes it easier to read.
Some experts say that no product should ever be more than three clicks from the homepage menu. For example, if you are selling clothing and stock Men’s shorts, your menu and sub-menus may be Men’s>Shorts.
This means that the customer only has to click twice to see your shorts collection, and the third click will be onto the individual product.
Don’t Put Obstacles In The Way Of Buying
We just mentioned that the website needs to be as easy to navigate through as possible, but so does the checkout procedure.
If a person has seen a product they like, you now need to ensure they can buy it as easily as possible. Think about a time you have been in a retail store, and you have been turned off of buying something.
It may have been the size of the queue at the checkouts or that the cashier tried persuading you to sign up a loyalty club.
Whatever the reason was, it was an obstacle in your way that you didn’t want.
It may seem that on a website, no obstacles could possibly deter a customer from purchasing, but you’re wrong- there are several. For example, make it clear how to buy the item. Place a ‘buy’ or ‘purchase’ button right next to the product in large bright letters.
Next, ensure the checkout process is simple for them.
Make the navigation buttons large and clear and try to offer a speedy delivery service. People want things as quickly as possible, so offering a fast, free delivery option can be vital.
If the estimated delivery time is a week or more, people may be inclined to shop elsewhere, denying you a sale.
Why SEO is Key For E-Commerce Success?
SEO stands for search engine optimization and is pivotal for website owners.
When you get your website’s SEO right, the rewards can be major, so it’s important to understand how it works. When you type something into a search engine, it will bring up the websites it feels answers the search query, with the first one being the most relevant.
Companies will hire SEO specialists and spend mega-money in trying to ensure their website ranks number one. Whilst it can be complex, there’s a lot you can do to improve your SEO score right now.
We spoke earlier about making your website easy to navigate and the use of videos. One of Google’s ranking methods for websites is by seeing how long people spend on each page. This is often referred to as ‘dwell time’ amongst SEO specialists.
Basically, the higher the dwell time, the higher the page can rank.
If people are put off by your website or feel it’s unprofessional, they’ll likely click off immediately.
However, if it’s straight forward to use and they start browsing, it indicates to Google that this website answered their search query, and it should rank high.
Adding videos to your website can also be a quick way to improve rankings. If it’s high-quality and interesting, the customer will likely watch, and the page dwell time increases.
To sum up, it’s clear that having an easy to use, professional website and effective SEO practices are a major factor to get e-commerce right.
For more ways to increase your e-commerce sales, why not take a look at how PIM and ecommerce sites work and how you can benefit?
Effective E-commerce Tips and Strategies
We hope you have enjoyed our article on how to achieve e-commerce success.
Make sure you start implementing some of these awesome tips, and hopefully, you’ll see your sales increase in no time.
Finally, why not check out the rest of our blogs for more information on business products, services, and education?
