Discover E-commerce: Top Tricks behind Successful E-commerce Stores

Has your e-commerce store experienced a drop in sales in the last quarter of the fiscal year?

If it has, don’t worry too much as online businesses tend to fluctuate more than offline trade. In fact, every e-commerce enterprise hits the rocks at some point in time, prompting a change in the business model and actually helping the improvement of daily operations. There are several tricks on how to boost sales and here are just the 5 top hacks on how to reach the true potential of your online commerce platform.

Going through the basics

Similar to the way you would start an e-commerce business from scratch, you should go back to the drawing board and if any of the elements of your business are faulty. Perhaps something is wrong with the name of the company or its logo, you might need to get involved in some minor rebranding.
On the other hand, the industry might have changed immensely in comparison to the time you were opening your e-commerce store. Exploring the competition would constitute the perfect Sunday afternoon past time and it will help you determine your position on the market. Perhaps you will be required to expand your business by adding new categories in order to keep up with the demand.

A smartphone-friendly platform

Presuming that you have already decided on the right online platform for your business, such as Shopify or Wix, it is time to devote your attention to mobile phone users. Believe it or not, nearly 2/3 of all shoppers use their smartphones to access shopping websites, so you should take great care that your brand’s name pops up in Google searches via smartphones.
Basically, the e-commerce platforms should take care of this issue on their own; after all, they don’t want to scare off clients by running a platform that is not mobile friendly. However, if you use a custom e-commerce platform, then you might want to consult the designers what ought to be done to adapt the website to mobile users.

Storage facilities

E-commerce grew so much from its humble beginnings back in the 1990s because buyers avoid the hustle of going to an actual store. Of course, the goods you sell to them are still very much real but they can be ordered online by clicking the mouse a couple of time (or swiping the touchscreen several times). Since you never know when the next purchase will take place, you need a large storage facility to keep all the items ready at hand to be packaged and shipped within hours of the transaction.
Apart from renting or buying a large storage facility, you should invest in good-quality warehouse equipment that will get the ordering process done fast. Trolleys, pallet trucks, and even tow tugs are just some of the material handling equipment that you will need to deliver every single package on time and in perfect condition.

Are your clients finding what they’re looking for?

In a regular store, a shopper can get lost between the aisles aimlessly browsing or they can approach the shop assistant and ask for what they want if they know beforehand. The same dual principle is applicable in an online store, as you’ll to sort all your good in categories that are browsable according to multiple criteria.
Furthermore, you need to have a powerful search box that will enable those people who exactly what they are searching for to find it instantly. This is achieved by enabling search suggestions (the search field automatically completes the word you type in after just a few inputted letters) and by accompanying each product with an exhaustive description. The words used to name and describe each product are actually keywords that will help visitors find exactly what they are looking for.

The power of imagery

Finally, you need to bear in mind that people are visual learners so the appearance of your e-commerce virtual store needs to be impeccable. In terms of navigation, there should exist a call-to-action button (more than often this is the search box) in the center of the homepage. All the products need to have several images that should be professionally taken. Stock images and generic art are really something that you should avoid if possible because they thwart your efforts to create a unique visual identity.
Product images are at the heart of this identity, so apart from having an abundance of pixels, they need to be zoomable so each and every detail of the product will be clearly visible. Following in Amazon’s footsteps, you should include the ability to rotate the image by 360° in order for customers to get the best angle in order to determine the size and the shape of a given product.
Once you grasp the basics of e-commerce, it is time to turn your attention to details. The tricks we listed here will help you generate more traffic, boost sales, and ultimately create an e-commerce brand instantly recognizable by online shoppers.