7 Ways to Help Your Online Store Sell More

Getting lots of visitors but still not selling enough products? It’s a common problem faced by many retail websites, but there are things you can do to increase the number of sales you make. Here, we examine seven important things you can do to help your online store sell more.

1. Install product search tools
   Modern consumers want convenience, so if your website makes finding a product a chore, they are more likely to give up and look elsewhere. To overcome this and increase your chance of selling, you need to make it quick and easy for them.

   While having a well-structured website with great menus is the first step, convenience comes from installing product search tools. The most important is the search bar, where users can type in the product they are looking for and see the results displayed in front of them. For added convenience, especially if you have a lot of products, you can add a product filter to your results page. This will enable users to narrow down their selection using a range of criteria, e.g., price, size, colour, condition, etc.

   By making it easy to find and add products to their basket, you automatically boost the chance of a customer making a purchase.

2. Detailed product descriptions
   Some product descriptions are so vague, they do not give people all the information they need to make a purchase. How detailed do they need to be? That all depends upon the kinds of questions people might need the answers to before they are convinced to buy the product. To get it right, you need to put yourself in the mind of the person looking at the product. Think about the questions they would ask and then answer those in the description or make sure the information is in the specification.

   This is a much more user-friendly approach than simply using what the manufacturer has given you or following other websites that write very little. Remember, if other sites are vague and yours is the site that provides the right answers, customers will be more inclined to buy from you. 

3. Visual imagery that answers questions
   While many websites understand the need for using high-quality images that present products in tempting ways, this is not always enough to guarantee a sale. A photo of a model wearing the latest jumper may give the right impression, but can the user see what the jumper looks like from the back and sides? Are they able to zoom in to see the buttons, fabric weave or detailing around the neck and cuffs?

   Good visual imagery covers all these angles. However, today, many websites are going further. Retailers of electrical goods, for example, are providing videos that give us a tour of the product and its features, while clothing, eyewear and furniture brands are using augmented reality so customers can see what products look like being worn or in their homes.

   Of course, not only do these things help you sell more; they also help cut down the number of products that get returned.    

4. Unmissable calls to action
   You’d be surprised at the number of sales some websites lose simply because their calls to action (CTAs) are ineffective. CTAs are the instructions the customer needs to take the next step towards buying the products. If this information isn’t prominently placed and displayed, clearly and accurately worded and appealing, there’s a chance it will go unnoticed, be misunderstood or ignored. Make sure all your next steps have effective calls to action so that there’s a clear route to the checkout.

5. Enable reviews
   90% of online shoppers now use customer reviews to help them make a purchasing decision. Consumers expect websites to have them and not displaying them can drive away customers. The reason for this is quite simple; no matter how good you tell customers a product is, they want independent proof from other shoppers that it lives up to the description.

   Enabling and displaying reviews provides this much-wanted information. It has other benefits too: it shows you’re transparent about the products you sell, which improves trust; and it lets you see which of the products you sell are getting good or bad reviews.

6. Convenient payment
   The harder it is to buy from you, the more people will abandon your website during the checkout process. To cut down on cart abandonment, you should aim to streamline your checkout process. Offering guest checkout is one way to do this, as is avoiding lengthy up-sell or cross-sell stages on the way to the confirm purchase button.   

   Another issue for many customers, is that after they have gone all the way to the checkout, they can’t see a payment option that is suitable for them. To avoid this, make sure your site has a wide range of payment options that accept both bank and credit cards and offers solutions like PayPal, Google Pay and Apple Pay.

7. An SSL secured site
   According to a study by GlobalSign, 84% of online shoppers avoid purchasing from unsecured websites. The fact that browsers label sites as secure or ‘not secure’ means there is no getting away from this issue.

   To become a secure website, you will need to install an SSL certificate. This validates the identity of your website and encrypts the financial data that customers send to you during the payment process so that it cannot be stolen. Without SSL, websites could be losing a significant amount of revenue unnecessarily.

   Additionally, with site security being so important for search engines, getting an SSL certificate can also have positive benefits for your ranking.

Conclusion

There are a lot of factors that can influence how well your website sells. By helping customers find and buy products easier, giving them better information on which to make decisions, and providing them with a secure and trusted place to shop, you can help boost your site’s appeal and grow your sales.

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