How to increase sales in an online store? Top 10 tips

Every online store owner wants to increase sales. Of course, there is always a chance for that, as many factors influence sales growth, both related to marketing and the store itself, its operation, and appearance. In this article, we will present some of them that can make the sales statistics in your store increase.

E-commerce has been very popular since the beginning of the pandemic, both on the consumer and business side. This trend does not seem to be subsiding, as we have all become accustomed to the convenience of buying clothes, equipment, or even food in online stores. As a store owner, you may be investing in marketing, but you need to know that advertising is not everything. To increase sales, you need to first adapt your store to the requirements of modern consumers, and then focus on promoting it. Furthermore, increasing sales should be the result of optimizing existing solutions.

1. Take care of the aesthetics of your online store

Treat your website as the showcase of your store. Its appearance is the element that can encourage visitors to stay on it or visit individual tabs. Therefore, take care of a clear design and user interface. This way, customers will easily find the product they are interested in, as well as all the necessary information before making a purchase. The order placement process itself should be limited to only necessary steps.

2. Test the speed and responsiveness of your website

Speed - this is why online shopping is so popular. Therefore, your store must simply work quickly to minimize the risk of visitors leaving the site or abandoning their shopping cart. Of course, you can change the e-commerce platform, but it is not necessary. Start by performing a website speed test, for example using the PageSpeed Insights tool. Then follow the recommendations in the report. It is definitely worth reducing the number of high-quality images and videos. You should also not overdo it with banners or fonts on the website. Therefore, it is worth striving for a neat and readable website that allows users to navigate quickly. Another important aspect related to appearance is responsiveness, which means the ability of the store or website to adapt to different screens.

3. Define your USP in e-commerce

USP, in short, stands for Unique Selling Proposition for the customer. USP helps differentiate your offer from others. It is about highlighting the benefits that your store offers compared to the competition. Ask yourself the question "Why should a user buy a product from you?". Your unique selling proposition could be free shipping, a focus on ecology, or an additional service (such as installation or expert advice included in the price). However, it is important that your unique selling proposition is placed in visible places on the store's website.

4. Customer service

Customer service is important not only in brick-and-mortar stores. Customers shopping online also need assistance. Therefore, make sure they receive it as quickly as possible. To do this, you can add a live chat to your store, which will speed up communication between the store and the customer. This way, the customer can use the help of an advisor via chat. Furthermore, you can automate communication by introducing chatbots with answers to frequently asked questions.

5. Terms and conditions, return policy, delivery time, and various payment options

Customers do not like to wait, so fast delivery, and even better, free delivery can convince them to choose a store where the product is slightly more expensive. Instead of free delivery, you can introduce a minimum price limit that must be reached for free shipping. It is also worth adding as many payment options as possible, as it turns out that users may give up on a purchase even if they do not see their preferred payment option.

Customers are vigilant and do not want to be deceived, so they check the terms and conditions on the website and the return policy. If you offer free returns, they will be more willing to take advantage of your offer because they will be confident that they can return the product without any problems.

6. Invest in SEO activities

One of the ways to increase online sales is search engine optimization of your online store. First, take a look at the product descriptions, which should clearly communicate the benefits that the customer will receive by choosing your product. Instead of writing about the wonderful advantages of the product and its technical aspects, use the language of benefits.

Of course, the next step is content marketing, which will help optimize your store for keywords important in your industry. To do this, it is worth running a blog that will educate customers or help them choose the right product, and show you as a professional. This way, trust in your brand will naturally increase, and you will enjoy loyal customers. Remember that customers often search for information on a topic of interest before making a transaction. If your article interests them enough, they may decide to take advantage of the offer from your online store.

7. Use Google Ads

Advertising is the key to commerce, so take advantage of the potential offered by Google Ads. It allows you to create several types of advertising campaigns, so you can test different solutions and see the results. Google Ads allows, among other things, displaying ads in search results after entering a specific keyword, on YouTube, and creating GDN ads. It is also worth paying attention to Google Shopping, where you can create product ads consisting of a photo, a short description, a price, and a link to the store.

8. Social media activities

Your strategy should include social media activities. A Facebook fan page or an Instagram account is a must-have for every online store. Your customers can check what's new with you, whether new products or a new collection have appeared. With well-thought-out actions, you can build a community around your brand and communicate with potential customers. Furthermore, a presence on social media allows you to better understand customer needs. Social media is a place where consumers willingly share their experiences with brands, which of course creates an opportunity for free advertising, but also a reputation crisis when a company does not monitor mentions about itself.

9. Acquire and showcase customer reviews

A very important element of the strategy is managing customer reviews, which includes both acquiring and responding to reviews. It is important to actively collect opinions about the company and the specific products purchased by customers. Furthermore, it is worth using several places to collect reviews, among which the company profile on Google must be included, as this is where users most often check reviews. Of course, every review should be responded to as quickly as possible, as this way you take care of a good brand image and can even prevent a crisis that could result from a negative review.

Customer reviews should be used in advertising activities. It is definitely a good idea to display them on your online store's website and show potential customers how many satisfied consumers have taken advantage of your offer. Widgets with reviews of specific products work very well, where you can also include a rating form. In addition to these actions, it is worth showcasing reviews on social media or occasionally featuring them in a newsletter.

10. Use cross-selling and upselling to increase sales in your online store

Cross-selling involves suggesting products that are tailored to the customer's choices during the shopping process. For example, if you run a clothing store and a customer has just added pants to their cart, you can show them products they may also need, such as a belt. On the other hand, upselling involves offering higher-quality goods, such as displaying more expensive pants made of better material to the customer. Both types of sales are good tactics for increasing the conversion rate. You can also use the so-called sense of urgency, for example by displaying a limited number of products in stock or a limited duration of a special offer.

How to increase sales in an online store? - summary

The actions you take have a huge impact on sales, so they should be well thought out and based on a strategy. Review once again what to pay attention to:

1. Take care of the aesthetics of your online store
2. Test the speed and responsiveness of your website
3. Define your USP
4. Provide professional customer service
5. Check the terms and conditions, return policy, delivery time, and introduce various payment options
6. Invest in SEO activities
7. Use Google Ads
8. Engage in social media activities
9. Acquire and showcase customer reviews
10. Use cross-selling and upselling

Now you know what to do to make consumers more likely to shop in your store, so translate this knowledge into specific actions.