Last year, the global e-commerce industry amounted to $3.53 trillion. Moreover, revenue in this industry is projected to grow to $6.54 trillion in 2022.

But while the e-commerce industry is growing rapidly every year, it could be slow growth for your online store. That said, we have listed down seven tweaks that you can do to improve your e-commerce business’s online sales.

Highlight Your Unique Value Proposition

A unique value proposition (UVP) is defined as the value that a company promises to deliver to its customers or clients in exchange for buying their products or hiring their services.

Thus, you must highlight it in as many parts of your website as possible. You can place it on the heading of your content, and then use the sub-heading to discuss your offer further.

Doing so will not just make your UVP visible to site visitors; it will be easier for them to discern what your business is all about.

Just remember to keep your content brief and concise. Otherwise, they will disengage from your website, and you will be missing the opportunity to convert them.

Embed Videos on Key Conversion Pages

Embedding videos on your e-commerce site can help you retain your site visitors’ attention. It also allows you to get your message across with a little effort other than asking your site visitors to click the “play” button.

No wonder that companies that include video in their marketing campaign experience a boost in conversion rate for up to 34%.

Here are some examples of video that you can embed on your key conversion pages:

1. Explainer Videos. It is a video, usually not longer than 90 seconds, that explains what buyers need to know is a short and easy-to-digest format.
2. Testimonial Videos. This is a powerful type of social proof, showcasing what your clients and customers can say about your products or services. Shopify is an excellent example of a service provider that leverages testimonial videos.
3. Video Background. Designed to grab your attention, video backgrounds are videos that you place on your website’s hero section. 

Capture Pre-sale E-commerce Leads

When you have an e-commerce website, it can be easy to capture a customer’s email during the checkout process. But what about those who did not make a purchase?

Capturing pre-sale e-commerce leads can be challenging but not impossible. Here are some quick tips:

1. Practice lead generation. You can ask a site visitor to subscribe to your newsletter, join your online tribe, or ask for their email in exchange for something such as an e-book.
2. Use an email capture tool. More than half of online shoppers in the U.S. abandon their carts because they are not yet ready to buy. With the help of an email capture tool, though, you can still acquire their email address by asking for their email if they would like to add the item to their wishlist or reserve it.
3. Make it easy and obvious. You can opt to display an email subscription prompt on top of your header to generate leads. Hello Bar is an excellent tool for this.

Provide Add-to-Cart Convenience

There’s nothing more frustrating than having to fill out a form to make an online purchase.

If you do not want to miss the opportunity to generate a sale, it is advisable to provide an add-to-cart convenience to your online store. For instance, some tools allow your customers to add items to their cart and then choose the quantity, color, and size inside the checkout process.

On the other hand, you can organize your product category to ensure that your customers can get their products in just a few clicks.

Incorporate Trust Signals

People do not easily put their trust in anyone. The same thing is true in the e-commerce industry.

Come to think of it, would you give your credit card details to a stranger? Definitely not.

Nonetheless, there are ways that you can deem your business trustworthy:

1. Install a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate
2. Make sure you have “Privacy Policy” and “Terms and Conditions” pages in place
3. Display user reviews and testimonials
4. Provide online communication channels for your customers

Here’s the thing: Once you are able to earn your customer’s trust, it will be easy for you to compel them to give your products a try. Not to mention that it can encourage them to recommend your business to people they know.

Use Effective Calls-to-Action

Your e-commerce website can be beautiful and well-designed. But these fancy stuff will not matter if you do not have a compelling CTA.

Customers come to you online in hopes that you have the solution to their problem. However, they will be unable to find it without a bit of nudging in the right direction.

This is where a compelling CTA comes in. But what makes it effective, anyway?

1. It should make the next step visible.
2. Your CTA should stand out.
3. It should give your customers reasons to act now.

Keep in mind that knowing how to use an effective CTA can have a positive impact on your conversion rate optimization efforts.

Say No to Stock Photos

They say that a picture can paint a thousand words ‒ especially in e-commerce.

It can attract a site visitor’s attention and compel them to make a purchase, which makes product images as one of the biggest assets of your online business.

This also explains why you should not use stock photos. Aside from the fact that it lacks authenticity, online shoppers may have seen your images somewhere.

When it comes to product images, you would instead use photos of real people who are using your products. Otherwise, make sure you get to capture your product from multiple angles. Doing so can give your customers an idea of how the item looks and feels like in real life since they cannot hold it physically.

Most of all, always check for image quality.

Bonus: Perform A/B Testing

A/B testing is when you compare two or more variations of your key conversion pages. For instance, variation A uses a green CTA button, while variation B uses a yellow CTA button.

It is essential to conduct an A/B test to measure which design elements on your e-commerce website are helping you generate more sales.

As Nicki Powers of Object Computing Inc. puts it, proper implementation of A/B testing can help you reduce friction in your conversion and checkout process, which can result in an improved bottom line.

What other tweaks can you recommend to improve a business’ online sales? Let us know in the comments!