At RepricerExpress, we’ve got you covered on all things ecommerce, ranging from the best way to calculate your profit margin to where to source products. In this post, we’ll take a look at some of the top ecommerce seller trends you should consider adding to your arsenal.
1. Offering In-Store Pickup
As an ecommerce merchant, you already offer delivery. But if you’ve got a bricks-and-mortar store as well, then you should definitely be thinking hard about adding in-store pickup to your list of features, too. This is especially workable if you’ve only got a few locations, as inventory management issues are a lot simpler to deal with.
For starters, it can help you save on order fulfilment costs, money that you can funnel towards other areas of your business. And by getting shoppers to physically step foot in your store, it’s easier to help them answer questions, compare products, and have your staff work on cross-selling and upselling.
2. Online Chat Customer Support
Any decent business worth their salt features a chat function on their website where customers can ask staff questions without having to email or pick up the phone. But an ecommerce trend to think about is automating it with AI.
A chatbot can free up a lot of time for you by ‘conversing’ with shoppers, using a database of words and phrases. The simpler ones match for keywords and pull up responses that match those keywords, while the more sophisticated ones strive to pass the Turing Test. Check out the likes of Meya.AI, Reply.AI and Morph.AI to help increase conversions.
3. Get a Roster of Influencers
Partnering with influencers can be a symbiotic relationship, much the same way algae eat the waste products of coral and the coral uses the carbon dioxide and extra sugar produced by algae. When looking for influencers, make sure to focus on relevance instead of status. It may be tempting to go after an A-list name, but if their brand has little to do with yours, the cost may not be worth the value.
4. Using Videos as Part of Your Marketing Strategy
The rise of YouTube showed the world that people are increasingly interested in videos, and adding them to your marketing plan can be a valuable ecommerce trend to follow.
- Connect with your customers in a more direct, immediate way.
- Help bolster a sense of authenticity and trust.
- And it’s where marketing is heading so it’s a bit of adapt-or-get-left-behind.
Related: 9 Best YouTube Channels for Amazon FBA Sellers
5. Make Sure You’re 100% Mobile Optimised
This should go without saying, but there are sellers out there who still don’t have websites that look good and operate functionally on mobile devices. And with more and more users abandoning desktop platforms to shop online, it’s a must to get your site mobile optimised.
However, the term ‘mobile optimisation’ can encompass a lot of things, so keep these in mind when vetting your site:
- Is chat support available on mobile? Have you tested it out yourself to see where the weaknesses are?
- What kind of wallet payments do you have in place? Are you using things like PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay and Amazon Pay?
- How simple is the checkout process? Have you eliminated unnecessary white space and copy, making checkout a streamlined process? How can you make it simpler and shorter?
6. Are You Active on Social Media?
If used correctly, social media can be an incredibly powerful tool for connecting with your buyers and boosting your brand’s visibility. One of the top things to remember is to use it consistently and not only when you want something from your audience, as buyers are smart and will quickly learn this.
Another thing to keep in mind is to research the nature of each social media platform and adapt to it, and not mimic language and tone from site-to-site. Each platform has its own ‘personality’, and learning how to navigate it can lead to more success for you.
7. Don’t Put All Your Eggs in One Basket
We write primarily about Amazon, but they’re not the only source of income for sellers. Keep using them, but look at diversifying, whether that’s starting your own site or leveraging Amazon’s services to strengthen your already-existing store.
Final Thoughts
We admit it, we get nerdy-excited about the science of repricing and how strongly it can influence sales. All you have to do is take your industry and product knowledge and combine it with RepricerExpress’s easy-to-use app, and you’ll become just as excited when you see the impact it can have on your business. Don’t wait any longer — sign up now and start with a 15-day free trial.
