With an estimated 12-27 million e-commerce websites around the world, establishing and maintaining a successful e-commerce store requires more than just a sleek website and a basket of products. As e-commerce stores become more and more popular, staying ahead in the competitive landscape demands strategic foresight and effective implementation.
Whether you’re launching a new venture or aiming to enhance the performance of your existing online store, navigating the intricacies of e-commerce is an ever-evolving challenge. This article dives deep into the five invaluable tips that can propel your e-commerce store to new heights, guiding you through the essential strategies and best practices that will set you apart in the vast digital marketplace. From optimising user experience to leveraging cutting-edge marketing techniques, we dive into the key elements that can transform your online store into a thriving business.
Top 5 Tips For E-commerce Stores
1. Make a good first impression
It only takes 1/10th of a second to form a first impression about someone, and it takes even less when judging an online store.
When it comes to e-commerce, you’ve got even less time. In fact, you only have around 50 milliseconds to make a good first impression; otherwise, that potential customer will leave your site. Therefore, ensuring your website is creative and stands out is important, as you can only make a first impression once.
The best way to ensure you can make a good first impression is by having your store on a reliable e-commerce platform, such as Shopify. This platform makes it easy to create a clear, logical layout for your online store, with the additional feature of being able to add some creative flair.
2. Optimise your website
When it comes to any website, especially an e-commerce website, optimisation is key. A user-friendly website that is easy to navigate will create a positive first impression and enhance the shopping experience. Having a clear navigation bar and intuitive product menu is essential for helping your customers find what they’re looking for. Also, ensure that your website is mobile-responsive, as more than 60% of consumers who visit e-commerce stores shop on their smartphones in Australia.
Another way to optimise your website is to ensure your load speed is fast. It’s estimated that 25% of visitors abandon a website if it takes more than four seconds to load. Ideally, you want your e-commerce website to load in two seconds in order for customers to stay on your website and make a purchase.
3. Provide great customer service and support
In the vast world of e-commerce, having great customer service and support is one way for you to stand out from the rest. Offering multiple channels for customers to make inquiries, such as live chat, phone support, and email, builds trust and satisfaction with your business. Even more so when you respond promptly to those queries and provide a response that offers a solution. When you establish customer loyalty and satisfaction through your customer service, it’s one of the many factors that can drive the success of your e-commerce business.
4. Implement effective digital marketing strategies
Search engine optimisation (SEO) is important for any website. However, implementing SEO on your e-commerce website is crucial for increasing your organic traffic and improving user experience. A quality SEO strategy will increase your rankings on search engine results pages (SERPs) through keyword research and backlinks.
Intertwined with SEO, content marketing, such as blogging, is just as valuable. Consistently uploading blogs relevant to your business and industry will increase engagement and show your audience that you’re an authority in the industry.
Email marketing is another way to drive the success of your e-commerce website. Email marketing enables direct and personalised communication with your customers, driving sales and encouraging past customers to return to your website and purchase again. Successful email campaigns improve customer retention and foster a sense of loyalty between you and your customers.
5. Execute upsells and cross-sells
Implementing upselling and cross-selling techniques is a sure way to enrich the customer’s buying experience. Upselling involves introducing customers to premium product options, emphasising their enhanced features, premium support or advanced technology. By offering a comparison chart that shows the differences and similarities between the two products, customers are more inclined to purchase the upgraded version.
Cross-selling complements upselling in the way that it proposes related products aligned with the customer’s choices. These suggestions can be strategically positioned on the product page, checkout, or shopping cart page, enticing customers to purchase additional products.
Other Things To Consider For A Successful E-commerce Store
Here are a few other things to consider when it comes to a successful e-commerce store:
Align your business with social media
Social media is an important part of having a successful online business. Without a brick-and-mortar store for people to actively visit and show their friends, how will your brand get any awareness?
That’s where social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram come into the equation. By having a social media presence, you can grow brand awareness and your customer base.
Here are some ways to establish your business on social media:
- Post regular content
- Follow accounts that follow your competitors
- Comment on and like posts shared by followers of your competitors
- Leverage influencer marketing
The number of Australian consumers who use social media for online shopping is estimated to hit 6.4 million in 2024. So, if you don’t have a social media presence, you could be missing out on a lot of sales.
Reassure users that their data is safe
Creating an e-commerce website isn’t complete until you’ve got a system that protects your users’ data and security. Some ways you can reassure your customers that their data and privacy are safe is to:
- Pick a secure platform
- Use an SSL certificate
- Track all of your orders
- Ask for strong passwords
- Run a PCI Penetration Test
How To Measure The Success of Your E-commerce Store
Not only is it crucial to effectively build and facilitate an e-commerce store, but you will need to be able to measure your success to reach the heights you’ve dreamed about. These are some of the ways you can measure the success of your e-commerce store and what they mean for your business:
Conversion rate
Want to know if your e-commerce store is successful? One of the easiest metrics to measure is your conversion rate. To calculate your conversion rate, divide the number of site visits by the total transactions. For example, if you have 10,000 site visits and 2000 purchases, your sales conversion rate would be 5%. Measuring your conversion rate is an easy way to see if your products are attractive to your target audience.
Average order value (AOV)
Alongside conversion rate, your average order value is another important metric in measuring the success of your e-commerce store. Your average order value is the average transaction value that takes place on your site. A rule of thumb is that e-commerce businesses should always be looking for a way to increase their AOV. Some of the ways to increase your AOV are upselling/cross-selling, online sales and loyalty programs. AOV is calculated by taking your total revenue (over a specific period) and dividing it by the number of orders you receive.
Percentage of repeat customers vs. first-time customers
Your percentage of new vs. existing customers is a reflection of your customer retention rate and the loyalty you have with your customers. The easiest way to find this percentage is in Google Analytics. Simply put, you want to have a slightly higher percentage of returning customers than new customers, as it indicates customer loyalty. Other ways to measure the success of your e-commerce store are social media engagement and shopping cart abandonment rate.
Boost Your E-commerce Store’s Success With Anchor
Achieving success in the e-commerce world demands strategic planning and execution. The five tips highlighted in this article serve as valuable guidelines for enhancing your online store’s success.
However, if you’ve followed the above tips and aren’t having any success, consider partnering with experts in the digital marketing and e-commerce field, Anchor Digital. With our proven track record in driving online success, we can tailor strategies to amplify your store’s visibility, reach and conversion rates.
If you’d like to speed ahead of your competitors, contact the team at Anchor today.
