As Covid-19 swept across the world in 2020, brick and mortar shops were forced to shut. When they did, the brands that relied on in-person traffic to stay afloat had to look for another option; and the answer was eCommerce! Since then, eCommerce has grown rapidly, and in 2020 for the first time, it accounted for over 30% of all retail sales across the UK.

As the boom of online shopping continues, it makes sense to get your business online. In fact, learning more and sharpening your expertise could be just what your brand needs to get ahead. 

1. Design to Engage and Convert

Design is always essential when creating a shop, whether brick and mortar or virtual! Your eCommerce shop needs to tick off a number of different requirements to make it a success, including:

• Sticking to your brand identity 
• Making it easy to navigate with simple menus
• Keeping it free of clutter

That last point is super interesting. It’s so tempting to pack your website full of colours, images, and icons to make sure it stands out, but that’s actually not going to help engage your users. Simpler eCommerce sites actually have higher conversion rates! By avoiding over-complicated web design, you can channel your users’ focus and make it simpler for them to find what they need.

1. Reduce Steps to Checkout and Simplify the User Journey

As you create your eCommerce site, you should constantly be thinking about the user journey. Even once a user has decided to make a purchase, don’t drop the ball! Until they’ve popped their card details down and finalised the sale, you have to keep guiding them.

At the checkout process, this means not putting in too many steps. The more steps you add, the more potential customers you’ll lose. There are only three things you need once the checkout process begins:

1. An option to create an account or checkout as a guest
2. Shipping information
3. Card details

That’s it! Keep it simple and secure more sales.

1. Choose Your Marketing Platforms Wisely

The saying Build it, and they will come isn’t true for eCommerce (although we wish it were!). To ensure your website gets plenty of traffic, you’ll need to market it. But, you can’t just start popping ads anywhere; you need to know which channels and techniques will be right for your brand first. 

SEO, for example, is a universal marketing method that every website should implement. In contrast, social media marketing will only be useful if your target market is using it. Analyse the methods available to you before building a winning marketing strategy.  

1. Use Data Analytics to Increase Your ROI

The only way to know if your website is performing well is by running tests and analysing data. Perform A/B tests, monitor your bounce rate, and keep an eye on pages that your users are visiting the most. By monitoring your key performance indicators (KPIs), you can constantly improve your website based on real data, increase your ROI, and make sure your brand gets noticed on the world wide web. 

Talk to the Professionals

If you don’t think you have the know-how or the time to optimise your eCommerce website, don’t panic! That’s exactly what we’re here for. Get in touch with our team at Tweak for helpful tips, and let’s start working on your eCommerce site for a profitable 2021.