Within the next twenty years (2040), eCommerce will account for 95% of all retail purchases.
Sounds like a big leap?
It isn’t!
People are continuously going for online shopping. The digital buyer count keeps moving upwards, from 1.14 billion in 2014 to a predicted 2.14 billion by 2021. And, we already have 24 million online stores (approx.) across the internet at present.
These numbers are an indication. As consumers grow in number, so will their desire for better products and services. New suppliers will pop up in the market, as will new eStores. The global eRetailer landscape will become a lot more crowded, and hence, severely more competitive.
In such circumstances, eCommerce store maintenance can help you keep your profits up and the competition down. How? Let’s get into that!
Three eCommerce Store Maintenance Tips That Will Drive Growth This Year
1. Target the Abandoned Carts
A couple of events define cart abandonment in eCommerce.
- Customer adds products to their cart/begins the check out process.
- Customer exits the website/page
Every time this happens, your store loses money. And potential customers. And a part of its brand reputation.
Across all industries, the average rate of cart abandonment is nearly 70%. Each year, it leads to a cumulative loss of $18 billion. To add insult to injury, shoppers list a load of reasons why they leave filled carts and dart off to another website. Here are the top ones-
- Purchase requires account creation
- Preferred payment method isn’t listed in the options
- The checkout process has too many steps
- Shipping charges or too late delivery
- Vague/complicated return policy
- Crashing website
Lucky for you, timely eCommerce store maintenance can help deal with cart abandonment. Removing every cause that leads a customer to abandon their shopping carts is a good start.
You can offer free shipping, add a cost calculator, and enable guest checkout. Keep the cart easily accessible and visible at all times, either as an icon or a pop-up. Make the checkout process fast and effortless. Offer a variety of payment choices. And make it easy for the customer to contact you or ask for help.
Another useful tool used to deal with abandoned carts is targeted email marketing. Use the data on abandoned carts to send personalized emails to the customer. Include an exciting offer, discount, referral, or cashback codes, etc.
The objective here is to keep the sales lead alive.
2. Drive Potential Buyers Through Communication
Gone are the days for spam.
Customers who get a positive buying experience are ready to spend 140% more. On the other hand, feeling underappreciated is the primary reason why buyers switch brands. Needless to say, consumer experiences have become a brand differentiator that no eSeller can afford to ignore.
And, well, nothing says ‘We Appreciate Our Customers’ as much as a continuous conversation between brands and buyers. However, such a dialog can have many faces. Communicating with customers can involve-
- Conversing through emails
- Sharing ideas on social media
- Building a community of supporters on different forums
- Creating concise product listing content that speaks to a buyer’s needs
- Automated systems/human assistance to quickly respond to any query
- Keeping hold/wait times to a minimum
Keep in mind that organically generated visitors have eight times higher chances of converting than paid search leads. In that context, the point of direct communication is simple. It spreads the word about your products through genuine sources. And, it keeps your presence relevant in the minds of a customer.
So, how can you implement an actionable communication strategy?
One way is to send direct mails to your consumers, potential as well as current ones. It could contain an offer, coupon code, new product info, or just something related to your brand/industry. Stay in front of them, so whenever a need arises, they think of your brand.
You can also engage your potential buyers with attractive product listings. Bring excellent catalog copywriting services on-board to create content that’s optimized for relevant keywords. Once you gain a higher Google SERP(search engine results page ranking), the incoming traffic will also surge.
And, here’s the best suggestion- always stay responsive. Never let a query go unanswered, or a customer leave unsatisfied. Keep it up for long enough, and you’ll have a successful eStore.
3. Optimize for Mobile
Mobile’s more critical to eCommerce than most traditional means. That’s not news!
- Mobile eCommerce can take over 54% of the total eCommerce sales by 2021
- Over 100 million US consumer have tablets, more than 230 million have a mobile device
- Nearly 40% of all holiday purchases were completed on a mobile device
- 80% of shoppers use their mobile to look for alternate stores, prices, reviews, etc. while they are in a physical store
- 79% of customers place orders through a mobile
Needless to point out, mobile devices claim a significant part of web traffic. It’s a more accessible medium for customers to buy, analyze, review, and purchase products. And, it’s going to gain more popularity going forward, as per most eCommerce trends.
Hopefully, now you understand why optimizing for mobile is a valuable proposition for an eStore. When you implement it, here are a few things to remember-
- Make sure the text on mobile is visible and clear
- Keep pop-ups to a minimum
- Make buttons big enough to be clickable on a mobile screen
- Work on the eStore loading time on mobile
- Make navigation, clicking, and selection easier
Also, keep in mind that every entry on all your eStore formats should be accurate and consistent. It can be a tedious process, but it is paramount to a good consumer experience. So, hire eCommerce data entry specialists for this purpose if you can’t take out enough time. But don’t skip it.
Bonus Tip – Bring in Some Influencers
Influencer marketing is a subsection of social media marketing, a concoction of old-age marketing methods, and digital-era consumer habits. Influencers are niche celebrities with an online following.
The category involves big names like PEWDIEPIE and LILLY SINGH with millions of followers. It also includes micro-influencers, who usually have 5000-50000 followers.
Simply put, influencer marketing is community-driven selling. It’s a great tool to invite organic traffic to your eStore. In the last five years or so, it has become an increasingly consumer-trusted medium. Many brands are expected to integrate influencers in long-term marketing campaigns in 2020.
That’s especially because buyers are shifting away from traditional advertising.
- 92% of consumers trust other buyer recommendations over promoted advertising content.
- 70% of shoppers consider online reviews as a trusted source of information.
- 82% of respondents in a Keller-Expertcity study said they were more inclined towards micro-influencers’ reviews & recommendations
- Influencer marketing in 2020 will involve more audio-video content and extend beyond Instagram
Add to that the fact that using an influencer for marketing purposes can increase conversion rates from 3-10%. It becomes clear as day that collaborating with influencers is a great way to grow your eCommerce store.
How?
Well! Influencer marketing works for a reason.
- Cost-effective, fast, and buyer-friendly
- An easy way to reach the mass market, albeit at a steady pace
- Gives you access to an audience, amassed and ready to listen to your pitch through the influencer they like
- Provides enhanced value to your original consumer base
- Adds flair to your content marketing strategy
- Improves brand awareness and visibility
With a band of influencers, each belonging to a different niche, on your team, your eStore will engage several new leads. Nurture them and reap the profits.
Use These Tips to Take Your eStore to New Heights
While we gave you four different ideas to bring in more traffic and boost your conversion rates, you should branch out. There’s no limit to tactics for eCommerce store maintenance and growth. Just do it with your head, establish a balance, and be careful when choosing collaboration partners.
Grow Your eStore with QuikTek Info Services
QuikTek Info offers a comprehensive range of catalog copywriting services and eCommerce store maintenance. We meet all content creation requirements on your end while facilitating accurate details and smooth processing.
We have a robust team of platform channel managers and eCommerce data entry operators for hire. Just write to us at mail@quiktekinfo.com, and we’ll handle it all from there.
