6 Tactics to Boost Ecommerce Sales [Without Discounting]

It’s true that when I opened my Etsy store last year, I expected sales to grow naturally. Actually, opening an online store is half the battle; you also need a solid strategy to drive e-commerce sales.

The same goes for e-commerce veterans. If you’ve been in the game for a while, you’ve probably suffered periods of falls or plateaus. When this happens, it is essential to update your strategy with more effective ways to sell.

Here, we’ll cover six tactics to raise awareness, attract buyers, and increase sales.

1. A / B tests

Absolutely every aspect of your site could be tested to improve it, including images, headlines, product descriptions, and even the overall design.

Specifically, consider these two areas:

• Mobile optimization: Sales of mobile devices exceeded 360 billion in 2021, an increase of 15% year-on-year. To attract mobile shoppers, it is essential to have a responsive and fast-loading website.
• UX experience: Have you ever visited a website with too many pop-ups? Or one with a messy payment process? A great user experience has no frictions: one where the user can get to your website, browse and complete a purchase with ease.

Even if you think you’re fine with securing your current website, there’s always room to A / B test your content.

Professional advice

Before you start changing everything on your website to see what works, stop and create a battle plan. If you change everything at once, you will not know what is effective and what is not. Schedule two weeks for each change so that you can collect enough data to make a decision.

Then start with one component at a time. You could try something every two weeks and still find room for improvement years ago.

2. Create an email list

Did you know that email generates $ 42 for every $ 1 spent, which is a staggering 4.200% ROI?

Email can help you achieve a number of things: promote sales, keep in touch with customers, market your products, and ultimately generate more sales.

The problem? You need people to send an email.

An email list is a group of users who have given you permission to send them relevant content. To create this list, you need several ways to get people involved. For example, you can create a website pop-up or add an activation button at the time of payment.

Don’t be discouraged if you only have a few people on your list to begin with. It may take a while to build.

Professional advice

Only 3% of marketing emails have an opening rate of more than 50%. While this statistic is puzzling, it also highlights the subject lines and how to create attractions and where to click.

According to a 2022 HubSpot blog poll, the subject lines that arouse readers’ attention receive the highest opening rate, followed by promotional emails. If you load your subject line with a compelling hook, which can only be read if opened or clicked, your audience is likely to be intrigued and want more.

3. Signs of confidence

Because your buyers can’t see, touch, or test your product, you need to build trust in another way. A popular and relatively easy way to do this is with customer reviews.

Think about it: Have you ever made a purchase without first looking at the reviews? Or did you hesitate when a product had no reviews?

If you don’t have many reviews yet, you won’t have to worry. As you work to increase those numbers, focus on other ways to build trust, such as showing clear images of your products from different angles, providing 3D videos, and even product demonstrations.

Professional advice

Boost your confidence signals with witnesses. Unlike reviews, these usually include broader statements about your brand rather than a specific product.

We encourage you to contact the customers on your email list, as this is where your most loyal customers live. Then show the testimonials in various places (and on various pages) on your website for maximum mileage.

4. Heat maps

What if you could track the parts of your website where shoppers spent some time? Would this help you provide better information for the next time they come?

With heat mapping, you can monitor the parts of your website that visitors really like. Tools like Hotjar gather scrolling and clicking information from your website to give you a complete picture of what your buyers want to see and buy.

You can also keep track of where your visitors come from and how much time they spend. In other words, if you use your social media for marketing, you can find out how many clicks on your bid and how long they stayed.

Professional advice

The most effective way to take advantage of heat maps is to analyze the pages that most influence the conversion rate of your website: your homepage, landing pages, and high conversion blog posts.

For example, you can look at your homepage and see if visitors hover over certain sections or click on any CTAs. Use the information to optimize your site.

5. Exit the CTAs

Abandonment of the shopping cart is a frustrating reality for e-commerce owners. While not everyone who visits your site is ready to convert, it is essential that they intervene anyway.

Sometimes users just need a little push to get back in the cart, either through remarketing or a quick email reminder. For example, look at this friendly reminder of Vera Bradley.

If customers aren’t moving yet, you can try an outgoing call to action (CTA) to generate last minute contacts. Some sites generate a pop-up window the moment a customer enters the site. Instead, an exit CTA appears just before customers bounce back and offers something appealing, such as exclusive offers.

Professional advice

Trolley abandonment software can help you create and keep track of emails. Some offer customizable options, while others are more focused on making sure emails are sent.

Most offer a variable price, so you only pay for what you use. See a complete list of software in this helpful article.

6. Social Media

Are you using social media to the fullest? What if you could watch what people say about your business and your products on all of your social media? With the HubSpot social inbox, you can.

You will receive an alert every time you are mentioned, which will give you a chance to follow up, start conversations with followers, and potentially attract them to your website.

Use this feature to provide excellent customer service when buyers have a complaint, or simply answer questions when visitors ask.

Professional advice

If you really want to have fun, respond to even the most ridiculous mentions with your special humor. Your customers will love you and maybe take a look at your products.

If you’re unsure of your brand’s voice, or want to refine it, check out this guide.

Back to you

Sales are the lifeblood of any e-commerce business. As you can see, there are many ways to convert potential customers beyond discounts. Some of these tactics can deliver quick results, while others prepare you for long-term success.