How to Boost Your Ecommerce Sales

How can choosing the right branding and packaging lead to an increase in online sales? Plus other opportunities for boosting your ecommerce. 

When it comes to online sales, it can be difficult to know where to start. You’ve got the product, you’ve got the site and now you’re wondering how to boost ecommerce sales. Here are some often overlooked opportunities you should consider to increase sales from both new and existing customers.

Product Photography

You’ve worked so hard crafting your product, it’s only right that you showcase it well. The key to generating sales online is to remove as much risk and doubt as possible for potential customers. Grainy photos or a limited amount of images can be off-putting for buyers that want to feel sure of what they’re purchasing. You want high-resolution images and plenty of them! For new customers, this is the first time they’ll see your product and they’re going to want to see it in detail. Providing quality product photos is an extra layer of great customer service and can answer most of your customers’ questions in one go. If potential customers aren’t sure of what they’re looking at — be it detail, size or product variations — this creates a barrier to buying.

Product photography is also the perfect opportunity to show off your branding! Consistent photography that’s in line with your brand will make your ecommerce store look slick and memorable. And, whilst you demonstrate your branding, including photos of your packaging is a great way to negate any concerns about how well protected a product will be in transit. One of the main customer concerns specific to ecommerce sales is the worry that products will be damaged in the post. By alleviating those concerns with an extra photo, your customers have one more reason to buy.

If you’re unsure as to whether you’re packaging your products correctly for shipping, check out our blog on the best packing materials for shipping to give you an idea of the options available to you.

Product Videos

Virtually all ecommerce sites will have product photos, but not all sites include product videos. Provide your customers with a great online shopping experience, whilst staying ahead of your competitors who are only using photos. Using videos online can serve multiple purposes. When considering how to boost ecommerce sales using video, think about what it is you want to say. As an ecommerce store, you want to provide an immersive experience for potential customers visiting your site. Video is your opportunity to tell a story about your product and your brand. Have a look at some examples of great ecommerce video marketing and explore how video can help boost sales.

If your customer was in a boutique or department store, they would have the opportunity to touch the product, feel its weight and see its details up close. You want to recreate that shopping experience through video demonstrations. Similar to your product photography, you want to preempt questions and negate concerns so your customers don’t have a reason not to buy. Your videos should include someone who looks like your customer so they can picture themselves engaging with the item.

Blogger Outreach

A product video is one thing, but a full unboxing experience is quite another! Reaching out to bloggers and vloggers is a great way to give a whole video tour of your product. Do your research, find out who would be the best fit for your typical customer — who are they already reading/watching? — as these people will have the most impact when it comes to boosting ecommerce sales. The beauty of sending your product out to a blogger is that they will receive it in the exact same way your customer would, right down to the packaging. For your customers (and the blogger’s audience), this is a true representation of the buying experience from your ecommerce site.

Vloggers are great for describing everything in detail for their viewers, so this is another perfect opportunity for your branding to shine. Of course, the last thing you want — especially if someone is filming themselves receiving it — is for your product to arrive damaged! Make sure you show customers how much care and attention they can expect from the packaging and delivery of products from your website. Beyond just the practical elements of your packaging, make sure it is also attractive! Unpacking your products is part of the process, so don’t miss the opportunity to get creative with packaging, too.

This will certainly result in more traffic to your site. Make sure you’ve ticked off the points above before the online visits start pouring in so you can be sure to convert as many of those visitors as you can into paying customers! Use the blogger review on your online channels too, to take full advantage of the added interest it will bring.

Email Marketing 

You should be taking advantage of email marketing as this is the perfect way to boost your ecommerce sales. Having a newsletter sign-up box on your website is an ideal way to capture customers that are interested but potentially not yet ready to buy. Maybe they’re in a hurry when they visit your site or their need for your product isn’t immediate. Either way, you want to make sure they come back. Let them know you’ve noticed them and that you want them to return to your site soon!

All the incredible content you generated from points one to three can be included in product emails, too. Using your high-resolution, well thought out product images will entice customers to your ecommerce site to learn more about you and your offering. Including videos is a dynamic way to bring something a little different to their inbox and give them a teaser from your website. Email marketing is one of the top five highest converting marketing channels so, when working on your email marketing, you should be using every tool at your disposal!

Consider if you want to incentivise customers to join your email list or newsletter. An introductory discount is a proven way to get potential customers to come back to your site after signing up. It’s also a very useful tool for building a community that feels valued by you as a business. Rewarding loyal customers is an ideal email topic and offering a discount code for loyalty is a great way to keep repeat customers coming back. Remember to cater to both your new and existing customers when planning your email marketing content.

Make sure you’re well equipped for the boost in ecommerce sales that you’re looking for, with our useful guide outlining The Challenges Of Ecommerce Packaging. You should also take advantage of our Free Product Packaging Quote.