For many years, the basics of shopping were the same:
You either walked into a store or ordered products from a catalog… until the Internet totally changed the way people shop.
Using Ecommerce, large brick & mortar stores don’t have to rely on footfall in-store to profit.
Ecommerce platforms like Shopify and Magento (both of which Floship maintains plugins for easy integration), also allow smaller retailers grab a slice of online retail sales.
Large retailers maintain their margins with an endless supply of product and delivery options.
For smaller businesses, they have to innovate constantly to increase profits and attract customers. Any business that isn’t agile, will lose customers and sales quickly.
You can stand out by offering a unique product, which is how many crowdfunding businesses find success–but, what to do when that isn’t enough?
Floship polled our customers and here are another seven ways you can boost sales to your eCommerce stores.
1. Improve your Page Speed
We get it, you are keen to show off all the wonderful products you stock. But as more products, i.e. content, are added to your site, the strain on your web server is increased. This manifests as an increasingly low page load speed.
When you receive a few thousand visitors per month, your website host may handle it fine.
But as your visitor numbers increase, you should address your page loading speed.
Online shoppers are intolerant of slow loading pages, slow loading leads to lower conversions:
One study shows that even an extra second during page load, results in 11% lower pageviews.
The Fix:
Check your current site loading speed with Google’s Page Speed test tool.
The tool will the tool display your site speed on mobile and desktop devices. It also recommends “fixes” you can carry out for faster loading.
Other tools that can do this include Gtmetrix and WebPagetest. You can also consider investing in a CDN. Or, try Cloudflare, as free CDN to get started.
2. Profit from Returns
One of the reasons more customers are shopping online is the ease with which you can return goods.
A UPS report shows only only 50% of consumers are currently satisfied with the ease of making a return. 88% of shoppers will review a retailer’s return policy and 66% will do so even before purchasing.
An inefficient refund process will cause customers to take their business elsewhere.
Benefits of this include increased consumer spending and customer loyalty. Up to 92% of customers say they’ll make repeat purchases if the returns policy is easy.
The Fix:
Make returns and refunds as effortless as possible.
Some stores arrange for a delivery service to pick up the package, others include free return labels.
Keep in touch with the customer throughout the refunds and returns process.
3. Offer Free Shipping at a Threshold
Did you know that over 60% of abandoned shopping carts are linked to shipping & handling costs?
We know you can’t compete with Amazon’s Prime, but you can still attract more sales by offering free shipping.
Customers don’t mind increasing their order volume just to qualify for free shipping.
The Fix:
Assess your current price points, average shipping cost and calculate the minimum price where you can still earn a profit:
To cross this threshold price & qualify for free shipping, customers will add more products to their cart.
4. Increase Lifetime Value
Customer LTV is one of the best performance indicators of how well a business is doing.
It’s calculated, using three important metrics:
- Average Order Value
- Total Number of Repeat Sales
- Average Retention Period.
By increasing the LTV, an eCommerce seller will increase their profits.
The Fix:
One way to increase brand recognition and attract more customers is with social media marketing.
Using targeted social media campaigns, brands can introduce themselves to new prospects and also reach out to previous customers.
5. Reward Loyal Customers
What do Amazon Prime and ASOS Premier have in common?
These are memberships where frequent buyers (loyal customers) can receive a year of free delivery. They pay a small one-time fee, but it doesn’t matter to them.
Remember, we’ve established that customers want free shipping, in any way they can get it?
Getting them to pay for their shipping upfront increases your sales and profit margins.
The Fix:
Introduce a discount code for frequent buyers.
Alternatively, offer free next day delivery for a one-time fee.
6. Offer Multiple Shipping Options
Customer preferences are a varied as the orders they make.
Some customers don’t mind waiting up to three days for delivery, while others will pay top dollar for deliveries within 24 hours.
The Fix:
Offer customers different shipping options. Popular options are timed delivery, nominated day, Click and Collect.
By making it easier for them to get their products when they want them, you increase your value in your customers eyes.
7. Always Be Cross Selling
For a great example of this, look no further than Amazon.
Customers are drawn to the “Frequently bought together” section, displayed under each product.
The recommendation comes across as a seller being helpful and genuinely caring about the customer. It never hurts to ask for the sale, just don’t be pushy about it.
The Fix:
Offer customers (helpful) extras, upgrades or accessories with every sale.
Conclusion
There you go, seven tips that can make the difference in your sales volume starting today.
Do an audit on your international eCommerce business and see where you can apply any of these ideas today.
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