Have you ever visited a brick-and-mortar store and noticed tactics in place to get you to spend, spend, spend?
I’m talking about certain product displays, large shopping bags, bright sale signs, and even small trinkets to look at while you wait in line to check-out.
In a brick-and-mortar store, no detail is left to chance. Everything is designed to help you spend more money.
The same goes for online retail stores.
As a shopper, I’ll bet you’ve never noticed the extra steps that e-commerce business owners take to entice you to buy. As an ecommerce entrepreneur, you must understand these tactics in order to set up and run a successful online retail store.
Strategies to Setup a Successful Online Retail Store
Start building hype before you’re open.
Many online stores fail because they can’t attract the traffic they need. Instead of launching your online retail store and then marketing to a general audience, do the opposite. Many successful e-commerce businesses actually build their audience before they launch their store, and you should, too.
Leverage social media, email lists, paid advertising, and even friends and family to spread the word and build hype around your store before it’s open. Create a simple landing page where you can say “Coming soon!” and collect emails for updates and newsletters. Then, when you’re finally ready to open, you’ll have a digital line of people waiting outside to check it out.
Display social proof.
Between security concerns, privacy fears, and a general distrust of e-commerce retailers, over half of online shoppers in America don’t feel completely comfortable buying things online. The most common fears among shoppers include not receiving what they purchased, being ripped off, and having their personal information shared or stolen.
Your store can combat these consumer fears by clearly displaying signs of social proof. On your website, highlight customer reviews, your satisfaction and return policies, security information, and whether or not you’re a Google trusted store or Better Business Bureau accredited.
Show your shopping cart.
E-commerce retailers have seen an 8% boost in conversions by simply displaying the digital shopping cart while consumers browse. This tactic reminds shoppers of what they intend to buy.
If your store offers a wide variety of products, displaying items in the shopping cart can allow your shoppers to browse your store pages without losing track of what they came to purchase.
Be mobile-friendly.
Mobile commerce now accounts for over a quarter of all online sales. Simply put, if you don’t optimize your online retail store for mobile commerce, you will lose out on sales.
Sure, consumers will browse your website on their phone, but if they make it to the checkout page and can’t easily navigate your unresponsive site, they won’t hesitate to abandon their cart.
Offer a guest checkout option.
As a shopper, do you like having to create a new account every time you shop at a new online store? Probably not. And your customers most likely feel the same. In fact, 14% of online shoppers abandon their carts when there’s no guest checkout option. And 30% of online retail stores still force the creation of an account.
Offer a guest checkout option, and your store will probably see a boost in sales. Allow your customers to easily purchase products from you, and they’ll likely return–and create an account in the process.
Communicate your discounts and freebies.
Nowadays, consumers expect online shopping to be easier and cheaper than shopping at malls or stores. High shipping costs are the single biggest reason for cart abandonment. It’s not enough to offer free shipping if you don’t tell your customers about it until they’re at checkout.
So, if you offer free shipping and returns, don’t be shy about it! Make sure your consumers know before they step foot (digitally) into your online store. From your site header to your social media to your meta description, make sure you communicate your freebies and discounts because that can make or break a purchase decision.
Final Thoughts
Like brick-and-mortar stores, you can design your online retail store to attract and convert shoppers. From shopping carts to customer reviews, every detail can be designed to keep your customers around. Leverage these tips to set up and run a successful e-commerce store.
If you’ve employed any other strategies for your website, let us know in the comments below!
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