With the increasing popularity of online shopping, it may be surprising to learn that not all online retailers are experiencing growth. Some are struggling to compete in the crowded online marketplace, resulting in stagnant sales figures. While there are a variety of factors that can contribute to poor online sales, it’s clear that some businesses are not fully capitalizing on the potential of e-commerce.
Product information and demonstration
One of the disadvantages of shopping online is that customers do not acquire the physical touch of the products they are looking for. Therefore, to fill in that missing part, your products need to be demonstrated enough with information, dimensions, sizes, variants, etc. Social media platforms offer a variety of options for you to demonstrate your products and bring them closer to your customers. Posts with images, videos, reels, and engaging captions provide sellers with the opportunity to give a multi-dimension experience to would-be buyers. When writing a product description put yourself in the customers’ shoes and think about how they will perceive your information. Take the perspective of several different personalities too. Your product may fall in the search of someone who is completely unaware of how your product can bring value to their life. Whereas another shopper may know exactly what they are looking for and is comparison shopping. By anticipating the information shoppers will want and adding it to your product description, you make the decision-making process frictionless and faster. Thorough product description and demonstration can shorten the consideration phase leading more buyers to add to the cart faster and more frequently, which means more sales for you!
Shipping and Refund Policy
In addition to products, having a clear and reliable shipping and return policy is crucial for any online business, as it helps to establish trust and confidence with customers. A well-designed policy can make customers feel more comfortable making a purchase by knowing that they have the option to return or exchange the product if needed. Additionally, a smooth and efficient shipping process can enhance the overall customer experience and increase the likelihood of repeat business. In short, investing a little time and resources into creating a solid shipping and return policy can ultimately lead to greater customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Website/User Experience
A good user experience is crucial for the success of any online shopping platform. It can influence a customer’s decision to purchase a product and can also affect their likelihood of returning to the platform for future purchases. By providing a seamless shopping experience, you can enhance customer satisfaction and drive sales. Additionally, a good user experience can help build brand loyalty and increase customer retention.
The easier the user navigates through the website, the higher the chances the checkout is completed. Similar to writing product descriptions and planning product demonstration, put yourself in the shoes of the user. Test your design on mobile, desktop, and tablet and don’t feel compelled to keep features on your website just because everybody else is doing it. The user experience for an eCommerce seller is one of the most important areas that will influence sales. Take your time, get feedback, and continually improve based on user analytics over time.
Brand Trust
Showcasing your products is not the number one factor in moving an audience from product viewers to product buyers. We recommended that you align your products or your collection with a persona or what you envision your ideal buyer to be. What do we mean by that? Go beyond showing the product by showing the product to a person that mirrors your ideal buyer. By doing this, you take the audience’s imagination a step further to envision themselves with the product. This creates empathy and affinity for what they are seeing, which will draw them closer to choosing your product in the decision phase. There is no need to have a whole team to shoot a professional commercial video. If you have the budget, go for it. If not, you can do a lot with just yourself, or a friend, and a cellphone camera. Make sure you have a good mixture of social media exposure between you, your brand, and your products.
Marketing Strategy
Even if your online store has a strong website and plenty of traffic, it may not be making sales if the marketing strategies are ineffective. Your marketing strategy needs to aim at every aspect touching the sales points: Audience, Shopping Channels, and Website Activity. If your online store isn’t targeting the right audience or isn’t using the right channels to reach or retarget them, you may be wasting your marketing budget on efforts that don’t lead to sales. It’s essential to have a clear understanding of the target audience and which channels are most effective in reaching them.
If you are an e-commerce owner and you are wondering why your online store is not making any sales, we recommend you slow down, take one step backward, and see an overall picture of your business, audience persona, product showcase, and strategy. They all need to be connected and met at one point when you want to generate sales.