All You Need to Know About Growing Your eCommerce Store in 2021
eCommerce is a quickly evolving industry, with more businesses getting in on the action to boost sales online. But in an overcrowded, ever-expanding eCommerce environment, how can your store grow?
When it comes to success online and skyrocketing eCommerce sales, it’s all about understanding the best tactics and tools to build your personalized strategy. From a multi-channel eCommerce strategy to a well-running website and consumer reviews, there’s a lot that goes into successful eCommerce growth.
To help you master your approach and boost eCommerce sales, our team at Catapult Revenue breaks down everything you need to know to ensure a successful eCommerce store in 2021. Let’s dive right in.
As the name suggests, multi-channel eCommerce is the process of selling products in more than one place online. Let’s face it – your audience doesn’t do all their shopping on one site or platform. With a quick search, shoppers are looking to find their go-to products or services for the best price, wherever that may be – whether it’s directly through your site, a marketplace, or elsewhere.
To figure out where to sell your products or services for a multi-channel approach, first consider where your customers shop most. You’ll want to accommodate their shopping patterns and needs, making yourself available on those channels to ensure they click “purchase.”
Additionally, consider the products you’re selling and their price to make sure the multi-channel approach you choose makes sense for your unique items. The real key to success with multi-channel eCommerce is not only knowing your own business but the shopper most likely to choose you. Once you have both of those nailed down, your multi-channel approach will be clear.
If you want to know more about a multi-channel eCommerce approach, read more here.
With so many options at the touch of a button, making your store stand out in the crowded eCommerce space can be a challenge, but reviews are a great place to start.
Reviews are wonderful for a multitude of reasons, but one key benefit is the reassurance they provide. Since we can quickly order many different products online, we want to know that the one we choose is the best and others love it. With reviews, you can portray this to potential customers through the outtakes from your satisfied shoppers. This way, those perusing your products can see that others love your items and why – solidifying their need to shop with you.
And that’s not all. We also love reviews to boost eCommerce sales because:
Need we go on? It’s clear that reviews do a lot for eCommerce growth, and they are an industry-standard in 2021.
Wondering if reviews are right for your store? Read more about why reviews are so essential here.
There’s a multitude of ways to promote eCommerce growth with heightened sales, but there are a few tried-and-true tactics that will positively impact your revenue.
First, we recommend focusing on SEO. SEO, or search engine optimization, is all about ensuring your website rises to the top of the ranks on search engines, making you the go-to for a product or service. With many shoppers doing a quick Google search for a specific product, you want to be sure you don’t miss the customers looking for you. This involves everything from incorporating keywords to boosting the accessibility of your site, but it’s all well worth the effort.
Next, we recommend offering free and fast shipping. This is becoming an industry standard for eCommerce, with many shoppers looking for the fastest way to get their favorite products. Free shipping makes customers more likely to purchase with you, and it’s often that final push they need to check out.
Going hand in hand with shipping is a great return policy. You want a simple, clear, and easy return policy to take that extra hassle out of returns (since we know it’s always a pain!). Make your policy clear on your website and at checkout to take the guesswork out of the process.
Another one is customer service. Customer service is extra important for eCommerce sales as there’s no in-person representative to answer any questions or concerns. However, with great customer service – whether via chat or email – you can ensure customers are satisfied. And customer service doesn’t stop with a sale. Through follow-up emails, you can continue the relationship, ensuring they come back for more.
These are just a few of the ways to boost eCommerce sales. For more, keep exploring here.
The COVID-19 pandemic has been stressful, to say the least. Impacting both families and businesses, the thought of growing a business during this time may sound like a big feat, but it’s still possible.
To stand out from the crowd, we recommend increasing your marketing and advertising spend. More spending? Yes, you read that right. While many businesses are reducing their spending due to COVID-related financial struggles, you can stand out from the crowd by boosting your own.
Additionally, be sure you’re delivering the best possible service to your customers. With killer customer service, you can create relationships with potential customers, ensuring they keep coming back for more due to your helpful and considerate approach.
If you’re concerned about eCommerce sales in light of the pandemic, read more about what you can do here.
Perfecting your website for eCommerce growth comes down to standing out from the competition.
There’s a lot of competition when it comes to attempting to growing your eCommerce site, so your website needs to provide more value than the rest. This is where your product pages really come into play. You must optimize these pages, offering an array of information – from written descriptions to videos, infographics, and customer reviews – to boost the probability of conversion. In providing your customers with all the information they may need to know about a product, they are more likely to buy.
Additionally, make sure your website is fast and efficient. People only wait a few seconds for a site to load, and if yours is slow, they may move onto a competitor.
For more on the importance of your website for eCommerce, read more here.
Thought you nailed your eCommerce strategy but still aren’t selling?
There are some common mistakes people make on their websites that can have a big impact on sales. Some of the reasons you do not see success as you try to boost eCommerce sales include:
All of these issues are the basic elements of successful eCommerce growth, and you’ll want to go back and look at each to see how you’re performing. Trust us – your solution is on our list!
For the common eCommerce mistakes and how to fix them, read more here.
One of the best ways to grow your business is to find your niche. There are two ways to go about eCommerce: commoditized, must-have, essential products, or niche items. Niche items tend to serve a more specific customer base, and with this in mind, it’s important to ensure that this specialized item is truly profitable.
When it comes to analyzing the profitability of your products, consider:
Beyond finding the right niche and making sure it will truly prove valuable, we can also work to make products trendy with the right strategy, boosting sales by positioning them as a highly covetable, timely item. This starts by finding the right audience and boosting your SEO accordingly to reach them. Then, you’ll want to use social media to show off the product and make customers aware of it while also collaborating with influencers to get more exposure. It may take a bit of work, but this can do a lot to boost your offering’s popularity.
To learn more about tapping into eCommerce trends to boost sales, click here.
To optimize your sales, you need the right eCommerce tools. Tools designed for eCommerce can do everything from helping automate processes and saving time to speeding up creation, creating better communication, and analyzing information to adjust and improve your strategy. Every profession has its unique tool kit, and eCommerce is no different.
When it comes to the best eCommerce tools, we recommend:
All of these tools can work wonders for your eCommerce business, and having them in your arsenal will ensure you’re constantly evolving and optimizing your business.
For information on each of the best eCommerce tools to boost sales, read more here.
Seeing eCommerce growth in 2021 is completely doable; it just takes the right strategy, knowledge, and tools to achieve. If you have more questions about optimizing your eCommerce this year or want a team of experts to help along the way, Catapult Revenue knows just how to achieve the results you’re looking for. In this highly competitive industry, it’s important to have a great team by your side, and with years of experience, we know just how it’s done.
Δ
To grow your eCommerce business with a knowledgeable partner, contact us today at 312-625-0447.
Learn about your current digital footprint and how your website is truly performing with a full marketing audit. We’ll uncover missed e-commerce digital marketing opportunities and provide a growth strategy to ramp up revenue.
Once or twice a month. 100% goodness, 0% spam.
Increasing traffic or sales? Designing a new high-performance website or face-lifting an existing one? Strategic consulting? Tell us your needs. We're certain we will find the right solution.
