More merchants are moving online. Even when businesses retain brick-and-mortar operations, they also have online stores to expand their reach to more customers.
But selling online is not necessarily easy. Mobile shoppers tend to abandon their carts at rates of around 70 percent, and competition is stiff. Luckily, there are plenty of ways to increase online store sales—here are just a few.
5. Follow up with Customers
If you have a list of subscribers or customers with existing accounts, be sure to follow up with them. This is especially important if the customer has purchased something from you already. Quick follow-up emails can ensure customers know you remember them and appreciate their business. Ask for their feedback about the product or service.
When customers feel valued, they are more likely to shop with you again, leading to repeat business. They may also refer you to friends and family—who are 16 percent more likely to purchase from you than other customers.
4. Offer Free Shipping
Major retailers, such as Amazon and Zappos, offer free shipping with purchases above a certain dollar amount. This provides enormous incentive for customers to shop with them and hit that threshold.
When you offer free shipping, more customers will shop with you, and they will spend more money with you too. Be sure to set the dollar amount high enough to cover your shipping costs (Amazon usually offers free shipping on orders over $100 or more) so that this becomes a winning proposition for your online store.
3. Make Checkout Easy
Another easy way to increase online store sales is to make sure your checkout process is as easy as 1-2-3. In fact, make it as easy as “1” if you can—1 step, 1 click, 1 happy customer who completes the transaction.
Mobile customers have high drop-off rates—up to 70 percent of carts are abandoned—and complicated checkout processes are one of the biggest culprits.
Customers love ease and convenience, so if your checkout process makes them jump through hoops, they may take their business elsewhere. When the checkout process is painless, customers will be more likely to complete their transactions. You can also add automatic cart recovery to help lower the drop-off rate; when customers returns to your site, their carts will be automatically restored.
2. Add a Pay-Later Option
One of the best things you can do in your online store is add a pay-later option. This can make your checkout process so simple, your customers have virtually no excuse not to shop with you.
Customers who have five minutes to place their orders can do so in two minutes—and they do not need to wait for their browsers to load several pages over the weak airport WiFi connection they are using on their mobile phones. Pay-later also increases impulse buys, which means your customers place larger orders with you.
1. Offer Alternative Payment Methods
How many ways are there to pay? If your online store’s answer is “just one,” you have a great option for quickly and easily increasing your sales. Offering your customers more than one payment method is a sure-fire way to increase online store sales.
Why? Customers love choice! It really is that simple. Your customers want to be able to choose how they pay for their items—and if your store currently offers just one method of payment, chances are you are turning away many customers who would prefer to pay with a different method.
Accepting alternative payment methods is one of the easiest things you can do to increase online store sales for your business.
