According to some estimates, there are over 12 million e-commerce companies worldwide. In other words, the landscape is crowded.
Add in rising customer acquisition costs (CAC) and the imminent death of third-party cookies, and it’s easy to see that converting new customers for your e-commerce business is a lot harder than hiring a Facebook ads specialist.
The good news is, with advanced data insights, smart sales strategies, and the tools and infrastructure to back it up, you can deliver a futureproof customer experience that drives lasting ROI for your e-commerce store and online channels.
No matter how high, these 10 e-commerce sales tactics will help you reach your growth targets in 2024 and beyond.
McKinsey once called digitized personalization the “holy grail” of marketing.
It can boost revenues up to 15%, increase marketing ROI by up to 30%, and drastically reduce your customer acquisition costs. They also found that 76% of customers become actively frustrated when companies don’t deliver personalized interactions.
But it isn’t always easy to get personalization right, and no brand wants to risk its reputation by creeping out the customer.
As technology becomes more powerful and data becomes more available, tools like AI, machine learning, and automation are enabling brands to offer tailored experiences to every customer. This can include personalized product recommendations, customized email marketing messages, individualized customer support, and more.
The list of use cases is long and growing.
Here are some of the top tools and best practices to win with personalization in 2024.
▶️ Personalization in action
Toilet paper brand, Who Gives a Crap, used customer data to deliver hyperlocalized email and SMS experiences, targeting customers at key moments. Emails were scheduled to go out three days before the next billing, giving subscribers the option to delay an order if they didn't need any more product. This simple, customer-centric strategy increased the brand’s open rates to 75%.
Machine learning can do more than make product recommendations. AI-powered tools can be used to drive sales, optimize efficiency, and enhance customer engagement in many other ways.
After unprecedented hype in 2023, this year will be all about extracting real value from a healthy partnership with generative AI (genAI). Brands are already experimenting with using AI to analyze product trends, optimize pricing, offer advanced search experiences, and automatically respond to customer reviews.
But it’s not about having the shiniest tool or bot. Success with genAI is in the increased value you deliver. And to make it worth the hype, it needs to come in the form of hard metrics like revenue, time saved, or customer satisfaction.
Here are some ways to leverage AI for real gains in the business:
▶️ Real results from AI
10&AY used machine learning to optimize ad copy and automate its bidding strategy on Instagram ads. It also used Google’s Smart Display ads, powered by AI, to reach new market segments. The results were a 345% conversion increase and a 670% increase in e-commerce return on ad spend (ROAS).
Changes to Google’s SERP and Amazon’s search algorithm have made it harder for brands to get their products discovered. In a crowded e-commerce ecosystem, that can spell trouble for brands that don’t want to spend a fortune on ads.
Fortunately, AI can also help with the tedious process of optimizing product listings, which remains a key factor in improving your marketplace rankings.
Here are some simple ways to make it easier for your listings to get seen:
▶️ Done-for-you product listings?
As marketplaces continue vying for attention from 3rd party sellers, expect a steady stream of features and functionality designed to help you optimize your product listings. eBay’s new “magical listing” tool, for example, enables sellers to take or upload a photo and let AI automatically fill in the product details. eBay claims that 30% of its US sellers have already tried the tool, and more than 95% used the AI-drafted descriptions.
Around a quarter of people say they make purchasing decisions based on influencer recommendations, and 36% of brands say influencer content performs better than branded content.
In 2024, strong influencer partnerships will be central to a high-performing e-commerce marketing strategy. And at roughly $6.50 to the dollar, the ROI is there for the taking.Keep in mind, you don’t need a Kardashian level budget to run a successful campaign. A growing number of brands are choosing to partner with carefully targeted nano- and micro-influencers to reach a targeted customer base with authentic, engaging content.
Here are some tips to boost e-commerce sales with influencer marketing in 2024:
▶️ Breaking $20 million with influencer marketing
Frank Body used influencer marketing and a unique user-generated content strategy to scale from a small Australian Instagram startup to a global beauty brand. A unique hashtag, free samples, and a plea for users to show a bit of skin put the brand on a path to earn over $20 million in sales within two years of its founding.
To boost sales without increasing your customer acquisition costs, you need to make the most of your existing transactions. Focus on increasing your average order volume (AOV), or the average amount each of your customers spends when they order from your brand.
This should be simple enough if you already sell big-ticket items and can suggest small add-on items on your checkout page. But for most merchants, increasing AOV means a careful combination of personalization tactics, product bundling, and pricing strategies.
To increase your AOV this year, start with the following steps:
▶️ Personalization in action
Malo’o, an outdoor adventure gear solutions company, found success with product bundling by listing big-ticket products, such as their signature DryRack or a Lounge Wagon, with several accessories all on one product landing page. The bundles were offered at a 15% discount and still managed to increase AOV by 250%.
Fun fact: The AOV of an international sale is up to $9 higher than the average domestic sale, with EMEA customers spending the most overall per order.
With marketplaces and 3PLs making it easier than ever to add international distribution channels, taking your brand across borders can increase your sales with less capital than previously required.
If you’re a US-based seller, you may want to start with Australia, Canada, the UK, and/or Europe, before moving into markets like Asia, Africa, and Latin America, as this can typically be done within the same seller account you’re already using.
Here are some ways to start increasing and diversifying your revenue by selling in other markets:
▶️ Going global for 60% growth
Brands like Lululemon have successfully avoided stagnation by making their products accessible to shoppers all over the world. Most recently, the mega athletic brand saw 60% growth internationally, with $2 billion in first quarter revenue, an increase of 24% year over year.
With increased competition everywhere you look, exceptional customer service is the only kind that matters in 2024.
81% of consumers say they’re more likely to make an additional or repeat purchase after a positive customer service experience. On the flip side, 76% say poor customer service interactions will drive them to a competitor.
A well-crafted customer support strategy can improve brand awareness and drive customer loyalty, leading to increased word-of-mouth and ultimately: more sales.
Here are a few best practices for elevating customer support:
▶️ Marketplaces go big on bots
In April, secondhand marketplace Mercari launched its shopping assistant bot, Merchat AI. Users can ask questions like, “What should I buy my mom for Mother’s Day?” or “Find me a large turquoise ombre tumbler” and get instant product recommendations. The bot is still in beta, but Mercari is bullish. According to RetailDive, they’ve predicted that chatbots will become the primary customer service channel for about a fourth of businesses by 2027.
Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies are so much more than clunky facewear.
These right AR and VR tools can enhance the online shopping experience by allowing customers to virtually try on products, or visualize how products will look in their own space.
If it sounds far-fetched, consider this: 79% of customers say they’re interested in using AR to try products before they buy. Not just that, interactive AR product experiences have shown to increase conversion rates by 94%.
Start with these tips to harness the sales-boosting potential of AR:
▶️ AR meets AI for increased sales
Sephora’s digital-first strategy is the stuff retail headlines are made of. The mega beauty retailer’s AR app lets customers virtually try on makeup, and they’ve recently introduced an AI to help shoppers choose the right products, drastically reducing the likelihood of a return. This strategy has proven successful year after year, with Sephora driving a 23% increase in revenues for the LVMH group in 2023.
Same-day delivery can double conversion rates, while late deliveries and out of stocks can quickly lead to customer churn. While customers don’t always prioritize the fastest possible delivery, they’re counting on you to have the product in stock and deliver it when you say you will.
That means no canceling orders due to low in stock products, no unexpected delivery delays, and no “Sorry we missed you!” stickers from shipping carriers.
Here’s how streamlined logistics can lead to increased sales:
▶️ Reducing stockouts, increasing sales
After hitting the $1 million mark on Amazon, the team at fast-growing coffee brand Bom Dia realized it was getting a whole lot harder to forecast inventory. To reduce stockouts, while continuing to add new products to their portfolio, the team centralized their sales and inventory operations into Flieber, for one streamlined source of truth on all things sales and inventory. The result was a 120% bump in sales and countless hours saved.
Done right, an effective omnichannel strategy can increase YoY revenue by nearly 10%.
Unfortunately, many brands still get the user experience wrong, forcing customers to fill their shopping carts a second time, or causing cart abandonment when they switch devices.
To execute a sales-boosting omnichannel strategy in 2024, you’ll need to deliver consistent, personalized experiences that successfully translate across channels.
Here are some tips to increase your bottom line through best-in-category omnichannel offerings:
▶️ Driving sales through omnichannel excellence
Luxury clothing brand Psycho Bunny partnered with omnichannel inventory fulfillment solution Deposco, to sync its online and in-store shopping experience and turn its physical stores into efficient warehouses to fulfill online orders. By making this simple change to their retail operations, they successfully incorporated 60% of their stores into their available-to-sell fulfillment network and increased their inventory available to sell online by 20%.
Winning the sale is no longer just about the art of persuasion. It’s now a complex science that unites data analytics, deep personalization, and the capacity to meet customer expectations.
To get it right, you need tools to help you predict what customers want and to deliver on those desires, without missing a beat.
That’s where Flieber can help. Boost sales across your online channels and marketplaces, with the sales forecasting platform that tells you exactly when and how much inventory to order.
Browse the Flieber blog to learn more ways to increase your margins, or try Flieber Sales today and start forecasting for free.