With the pandemic now progressively becoming an item in the rearview mirror, the elevated demand that online stores experienced during confinements may not return since, even though customers have grown more accustomed to shopping online, there is also a strong desire to go out and get back to normalcy.
If this is the case, online stores must now rely on effective strategies that help them capitalize on their now higher customer base.
In this article, we share 4 simple things that online store owners can do to increase their sales this year.
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#1 – Retarget Customers Who Came Close To Buying
E-commerce platforms such as Shopify have created a great ecosystem in which store owners can integrate a large number of useful and effective apps that allow them to convert those customers that came the closest to completing a purchase.
Some of these apps use data from individuals who added items to the cart, started a checkout process, or even selected a payment method and provide actionable data such as their e-mail so store owners can reach out to them to remind them about these postponed transactions.
Meanwhile, other interesting programs can be used to track the store’s profitability from different angles as is the case of the BeProfit app. The information provided by BeProfit can help store owners in identifying the most profitable customers based on their age group, gender, and shopping habits so they can retarget the people who are bringing the most money to the business.
#2 – Create a Loyalty Program
A loyalty program seeks to compensate recurring customers who have opted to become part of the store’s community. These programs offer some kind of VIP treatment, and they can be used to extend exclusive offers.
Since repeat customers tend to generate the most sales for online businesses in the long run while also allowing them to become stable enterprises, building a loyal client base is key to the success of these projects.
According to data from YouGov, customers value cash-back rewards the most along with discounts. Store owners can use this interesting statistic to come up with the most enticing promotions to get customers who have already made their first purchase to come back and spend some more money.
Moreover, statistics also suggest that users want to sign up for loyalty programs that they can easily understand.
#3 – Upsell and Cross-sell
Upselling and cross-selling are some of the oldest tricks in the book when it comes to increasing the average order size in an online store. However, some store owners who have no prior sales background may ignore the power of this strategy.
Upselling involves getting a customer to buy the premium version of a product. This can be done by offering a discount to people who have added the basic version to the cart.
On the other hand, cross-selling involves getting customers to buy other related products in addition to their original purchase by suggesting potential matches. Think of people who are buying running shoes and who may also be interested in buying other apparel such as jerseys and shorts.
#4 – Expedite Your Checkout Process
Overcoming a customer’s objections is one of the key goals of conversion-focused web design. The idea is to facilitate things for customers by reducing any pauses within the process so they think less and buy more – so to speak.
The checkout process is the part where most of the psychological pressure takes place as customers start to think twice if they need the items they are purchasing or if they can afford them.
One way to increase sales is to expedite the checkout process by supporting one-click checkout services and other similar tools. Additionally, online stores can opt to support the most expedited payment methods such as Apple Pay and Google Pay as customers have already saved their data (shipping and billing address, credit card information, etc.).
Bottom Line
Even if the pandemic tailwind that lifted e-commerce sales starts to fade, these strategies should help store owners in boosting their top-line performance as their effectiveness has been tested over and over again throughout time.
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