You have been in the eCommerce space for a while and can probably give your own two cents on what makes a successful eCommerce store or what are the common pitfalls to a newcomer. But once in while it is good to sit back and look at your own platform, the story you are telling and see if there are any changes you can make to make your own ecommerce store to attract more buyers and drive more sales.
 

So, here are some strategies that eStore owners could follow to ensure they are on top of the mind of their customers and stand out from the crowd of competitors:

1. Make your homepage visually appealing

According to a Kissmetrics study, 93% of buyers consider visual appearance to be the most important factor when making a purchase. Make sure your homepage is engaging and appealing. Full width images, minimal text, uncluttered page, focus on your product, and clear headings are some ways to captivate the consumers’ minds. Here is an example:

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Also read: 10 must have features for your e-store

2. Have an endearing 'About Us' page

People purchase brands, but they buy into brand stories. And once they buy into your story and feel for your mission, they become your ambassadors. So look into your About Us page with time and care. It can have all the following or only a few - testimonials, achievements, relevant contact information, social media handles, who the team is, how it all began, etc. But make it real and relatable. 

3. Provide popular payment options

Provide many and popular payment options so that no one is turned away. Work with the payment gateways to store customer’s payment information to ease future transactions. These are small things but make a big difference when trying to avoid cart abandonment.

4. Offer free shipping as incentive

Talking about avoiding cart abandonment, free shipping is another big incentive which works. When customers finish shopping and see an added cost to their item list called Shipping, they are often tempted to take their business elsewhere (especially after being spoilt by Amazon with free shipping).  Make sure you advertise it across your ecommerce store, so customers know. To make it feasible and incentivise larger purchases, you can make the offer of Free Shipping for over a certain amount. 

5. Make your eStore responsive

Make sure your ecommerce store has a mobile first policy which means that it is easily readable and usable on a mobile phone. Business Insider predicts that almost 45% of all online shopping will move to mobile devices by 2020 so make sure you don’t loose customers because the design isn’t right. If you are tech savvy, this could help you understand UI design do’s and don’ts.

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6. Keep an eye on the competition

Don’t get complacent even if you are doing well. Check out your competitors' products but also check out their web design and what customers are saying about their experience in the reviews and testimonials.

Also read: GlobalLinker’s e-store is different from other ecommerce platforms providers and so are the commercials

7. Use high-resolution product images

Make sure your photographs, especially product, are high resolution. Enable a zoom in feature so consumers can closely into the product and see it from different angles or even better offer a 360 degree photo tool so they can see it from every angle. Showing the context in which products will be used is also very helpful to make the consumers purchase decision easier.

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Also read: 7 ways to write product descriptions that sell

8. Leverage email marketing

Ensure you take advantage of email marketing campaigns to send out a targeted message to your customer base. It could simply be a ‘Hello! We have missed seeing you around here’ to ‘Thanks for your business last year. Here is 20% off for any purchases made by your family and friends’ to ‘Come check out our new products and collaborations’. Make sure the emails are engaging, attention seeking and have short and catchy subject lines which entice people to open.

9. Blog to share ideas and resources

Write a blog and offer free resources, ideas, suggestions or even industry news and trends. People also love hearing from the people behind the brand through videos, behind the scene looks and throw back to a time when you started.  Create content which will resonate with your target audience and make sure it is optimized for search engines, so it ranks higher.
 

So, will all this be worth the effort? Yes, yes! We promise you. The longer and more consistently you stay in the game the more chances of your long-term success. Your ecommerce store is much like a small sapling. It needs care, nourishment and attention and you will soon bear the fruits or flowers of your hard work. So, what are you waiting for, off to work!

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Image source: shutterstock.com