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How To Increase eCommerce Engagement

The internet is a crowded market place and half the battle is ensuring your target customers can find your eCommerce site! Online shopping has evolved from a perceived luxury to an essential utility, especially during the unprecedented challenges of a global pandemic. Improving your website engagement has never been so important. 

According to dropshipping site Oberlo, the potential within eCommerce is only set to increase with an estimated 2.14 billion people becoming online shoppers by 2021. By the same time frame, eCommerce will account for a predicted 17.5% or retail sales worldwide, with millennials and Gen X’ers leading the charge, spending an average of 6 hours a week shopping online.

In spite of the rising stats, conversion rates are still incredibly low. On average just 2.86% of website visits result in a sale, meaning there’s huge scope to up your sales and conversion rates. Increasing the rate of and improving the quality of your site engagement is going to put you in the best position to start cutting through all the noise of online competitors. Targeting your marketing at your desired end-users will greatly increase your chances of authentic engagement, repeat visits, which in turn leads to a rise in brand loyalty and retention, ultimately leading to more sale and increased revenue. 

Optimise Your Conversion Rates

Conversions aren’t limited to a customer making a purchase, though sales are ultimately the goal of most eCommerce sites. Small wins should be celebrated and play important roles in leading to those higher value transactions. Mailing list sign-ups, creating user accounts and products being added to carts all signal a consumers loyalty and trust in your brand, leading to the big wins! Big wins can include purchases, quote requests and service subscriptions. If you’re securing these then you’re on the right track.

Tips for improving eCommerce engagement

1. Optimise For Search
   We don’t mean just traditional SEO. Try targeted local search to connect with potential customers nearby. Even if you don’t operate bricks and mortar site, potential savings in shipping could be appealing to customers closest to you.

1. Optimise For Mobile
   This one is vital. Over half of all online shopping will be taking place on mobile devices in the near future, so you want to ensure your site is as compatible as possible. Keep site content simple, clearly laid out and ensure key elements of scrollable content are within easy reach of the average thumb!

1. Optimise Product Pages
   A clear concise title is the first step, next you need to ensure fast loading times, effective copy and include a call to action. Eg. ‘Add to cart’.  Ensure buttons are large on the page and again, that the page is optimised for mobile.

1. Email Marketing
   A welcome email to new customers can help to ensure they feel valued and recognised. Staying in touch with regular, relevant content and perks such as promo codes will reinforce that and instil familiarity and trust.

1. Loyalty & Rewards
   Retention and trust are key. Your conversion success rate is likely to be higher with existing and returning customers than that of new ones. Loyalty scheme and rewards will continue to make customers feel valued.

1. Get Personal
   Utilise user data to make personal connections with customers. Based on purchase and search history make recommendations for relevant products and services that could be of interest. Being specific is more effective than simply bombarding all customers with the same content.

2. Facebook Store
   A Facebook store could further expand your reach, with the platform boasting 2.38 billion monthly users you just need to figure out how to connect with your customers! Facebook offers in-depth insight tools along with being optimised for mobile devices. It’s a great way to increase web traffic to your site.

2. Get Social – Instagram
   An eighth of the entire world’s population has an Instagram account. That’s a lot of potential customers at your fingertips.  Make sure your Instagram page carries through your brand aesthetic and identity. Include user-generated content to further encourage trust. Create shoppable posts to further speed up the consumer journey.

2. Up-sell
   Up-selling and cross-selling to users who are already engaged with your brand proves far more cost-effective than attracting brand new customers.

2. Be excellent!
   People remember and appreciate excellent customer service, they’ll remember disappointments too! Ensure you’re always providing the best you service possible with a few simple checks; respond quickly, be transparent, provide multiple support options and have an accessible knowledge base or FAQ section. Collating feedback is also important and will help your continued efforts to increase engagement with your site.