Increasing Ecommerce ROI

Ecommerce can be a source of market research data, a service to your customers, or a way to encourage consumers to buy your products in brick and mortar stores — but you certainly also want it to lead directly to sales and revenue. Ecommerce ROI is probably your most important metric for your website if you sell anything online.

Once you have an ecommerce site set up, what can you do to increase sales?

Do the math

Increasing ecommerce ROI is simple math. Your revenue from your ecommerce site comes down to the number of visitors x the conversion rate x the average purchase dollar amount. Increase any of those three things and you will increase revenue.

• Increase traffic. Online conversion is low; most of your visitors will be browsing rather than buying. That means that you need numbers. A great blog, strong social media, and optimized web pages will encourage traffic. Using your analytics to make strategic decisions will keep traffic increasing. Well-planned ads can bring in the shoppers, too. Don’t skimp on this step; there’s no substitute for visibility.
• Increase conversions. The first step here is a modern, usable website. Consumers say they don’t trust an outdated or DIY-look website as much as a polished, professional site. They also will not shop with a website that has a frustrating cart or confusing navigation. Enticing pictures, complete product descriptions, and easy to find information on things like shipping and return policies are also a must.
• Increase purchase amount. More items in the basket or higher priced items will do the trick. Offering free shipping (online shoppers’ number one favorite perk) on orders over a certain amount. Offer “People who bought items in your basket also liked” suggestions. Display products in sets with “Get the look!” pages or “Starter kit” offers.

Examples

Let’s look at some numbers. If we have 100 visitors and 4 of them shop with us, with a $25 average purchase, we’ll expect to make $100. Change one of the numbers and see what happens:

• With 200 visitors, 8 will shop, and we’ll make $200.
• With 100 visitors but a 50% increase in conversion rate, we’ll make $150.
• With 100 visitors, 4 shoppers, and a $50 average basket, we’ll make $200.

All that is nice, but if we increased all three metrics, we’d make $600. Work on all three areas, and you’ll see your best possible outcome.

We can help

Our strategy document will give you a custom step-by-step strategy for increasing traffic and conversions at your website. We’ll look at everything from your competitive landscape to your social media presence and provide a thorough explanation of what we discover — and a checklist of action steps that will make a difference to your e-commerce ROI.