8 Ways to Boost Your Ecommerce Growth Strategy

Websites are integral to nearly every business, but most retail companies can’t exist without them. In fact, Insider Intelligence reports that worldwide ecommerce sales will grow 8.9% in 2023. Moreover, it’s expected to grow at a similar rate for the next three years. 

As a result, if you own a retail business, you must thrive online. And that means you have to create a positive website experience for customers. So, let’s look at a few ways to strengthen your ecommerce growth strategy. 

Site Navigation

As you know, successful retail businesses remove all obstacles between a customer and their purchase. So, products must be well-organized and attractively displayed in brick-and-mortar stores. The same principle applies to websites. 

Virtual customers don’t want to navigate difficult or slow websites to buy items, especially when a competing site may have an easier shopping experience. So, it’s your job to create a well-managed web presence. 

That’s why online retail mastery prioritizes an organized site. You want users to browse and purchase your products quickly So, include a search bar and clear menus and icons on your web store. Also, ensure customers can easily add or subtract items from their online carts. And add an HTML sitemap so customers can locate needed pages. 

Lately, the shopping experience has been getting…smaller.

Finally, build an effortless purchase process. Make platforms like PayPal, Apple Pay, and Google Pay available for customers, and allow guest checkout options so people don’t have to create accounts to buy items. All of these features will help push sales. 

Product Imagery

Customers like online shopping because it’s fast and convenient—but it can never replicate the experience of touching and examining a product in person. So, your ecommerce growth strategy must make up for that with excellent visuals. 

Therefore, always use clear, well-lit product shots showing every angle of your items. And ensure customers can zoom into those photos for close, detailed looks at your wares. If you can, also invest in 360 degree-views or videos of people using your products. 

Finally, don’t neglect your product descriptions. Hire a professional copywriter to craft text that compels customers to click “buy.”

Mobile Compatibility

Lately, the shopping experience has been getting…smaller. More people are browsing products on phones instead of desktops. In fact, mobile purchases are expected to comprise 42.9% of total ecommerce sales in 2024. 

Therefore, your website must function on a SmartPhone just as well as on a computer or tablet. So, test it out on various devices and ensure a pleasant user experience no matter how you view the web store. 

Every successful ecommerce growth strategy needs consistency among devices. 

SEO Optimization

You won’t get online customers if they can’t find your website. So, your ecommerce growth strategy must prioritize Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

Your ecommerce growth strategy should ensure your business is trustworthy.

Online retail mastery requires practices that help a site rank higher on search engine queries. Examples of these practices include the following. 

• Optimizing your title tags, meta descriptions, and images.
• Researching appropriate keywords and using them throughout the site. 
• Ensuring each page (with a few exceptions) has at least 300 words.
• Starting a blog if possible. This provides keyword and customer education opportunities. 
• Conducting a site audit and fixing issues.

Security Demonstration

No one wants to give credit card information to a shady merchant, including online shops. So, your ecommerce growth strategy should ensure your business is trustworthy. 

First, apply for a Secure Socket Layer (SSL) certificate. An SSL prevents web browsers from identifying your site as “not secure,” which could keep them from displaying your URL. It also helps assure customers that you can keep their information safe. 

Next, display widely recognized security badges on your homepage. You could even link those icons to your online security provider so customers can research how you keep their information safe. 

Basically, do everything you can to reassure users. 

Back-Office Integration

This option may not work well if you’re a small business and can’t afford an ERP system. However, it’s a critical part of the ecommerce growth strategy for a mid-sized or large company. 

A back-office integration involves software, like NetSuite’s SuiteCommerce system, that links your website and inventory management system. This link keeps your e-commerce site updated because it can retrieve data in real time. So, for example, when certain product inventory runs out, your website can automatically label it “out of stock."

Of course, the integration also provides you with valuable details, such as customer, purchase order, and shipping data. 

Reviews

An online shop requires reviews for the same reason it needs excellent photography—because customers can’t touch the products. 

Sometimes, people need a final push to make a purchase.

In fact, PowerReviews reports that almost 100% of online shoppers read reviews at least sometimes, and 89% consider that feedback an essential resource. Additionally, 57% of customers look up online reviews while shopping in brick-and-mortar stores. 

So, your ecommerce growth strategy should include review requests. Ask for Google and Facebook feedback and feature customer quotes on your website. You can even automate post-purchase emails that request reviews. And remember to mark up any feedback on your website with Review Schema so you can get gold stars in Google’s search results. 

Clear Calls to Action

Sometimes, people need a final push to make a purchase. And that push can be as simple as the phrase “Buy Now.” 

So, insert clear calls to action throughout your website, and make them pop from the rest of your text. Write phrases like “Schedule Your Free Demo” and “Add to Cart” for your button copy, and then use colors for those buttons that stand out from your brand palette.   

Finally, test where your calls to action should go. Try putting them at the bottom, middle, and top of your text and see which placement converts best.