5 simple ways to grow your online sales in 2023

Happy New Year- now what?

The New Year is here, and that means one thing: you’re probably sick and tired of hearing about everyone’s New Year’s resolutions. Apparently, even e-commerce entrepreneurs are supposed to make them. But let’s get real: this time-honoured tradition is rubbish. Resolutions just don’t work! How many of us actually stick to them for more than a few weeks — or even seconds, if our resolution was to switch to cold showers?

Smart people make plans of action, not resolutions — and we want to be smart, right? So instead of painful and pointless new habits that you will abandon after 5 days, here is a simple 5-step plan to make 2023 the best year EVERRR for your online store. And we’re going to achieve this by getting your online checkout into the best shape of its life (with no gym equipment required).

1- Show your shipping costs.

From the Baymard report we know that extra charges like shipping, tax and fees are the number one reason people don’t complete their purchase: it’s responsible for nearly 50% of those sad abandoned shopping carts.

There are several smart solutions to this heartbreaking problem. You can be upfront by showing the shipping costs throughout the checkout process, instead of giving people an unwelcome surprise at that critical final stage. You can offer free shipping on orders over a certain amount.

Or you can include those extra charges in the product price itself: just don’t forget to show those magic words beloved by all customers — FREE SHIPPING — as prominently as you can.

2- Add a guest checkout.

A store that demands its customers to create an account is a store that’s cursed. No, really: people hate that. It’s the second biggest reason for cart abandonment! Make sure your customers don’t leave you for someone else who doesn’t ask for their hand in marriage just to make a single purchase. Let them check out as guests. You could give them an option to create an account — if they want to — simply by setting up a password at the final step of the guest checkout; you can even offer an incentive, like a discount. Plus you can let them checkout through their social media account — just make sure to include several options to please Facebookers as much as Instagrammers and all other social animals.

3- Make customers feel safe.

There are all kinds of dodgy online sellers around, and some of us have been burnt. No wonder many shoppers suffer from ‘stranger danger’ syndrome when they visit an online store for the first time: this suspicion is responsible for 1 in 5 of all abandoned carts.

Show people you can be trusted, by displaying all and any proof of credibility you have. It can be customer reviews, star ratings (high ones, we hope!), and security certification marks like Norton or Verisign. It also helps to clearly display your customer support number. A shopper who feels safe is more likely to buy from you and come back for more.

4- Add more ways to pay.

These days e-commerce payment preferences are more varied than ever. Sure, debit and credit cards are still popular, but there are all sorts of other options out there now: PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and many other e-wallets, depending on the country and person you’re selling to (even “Buy Now, Pay Later”, payment installments, and subscriptions— but you knew that already.) You don’t have to offer every single payment option out there, but by providing a good selection, you’ll be catering to most preferences. Plus, it can make checkout super speedy, especially on mobile — and who doesn’t love a fast checkout? Your customers will thank you for it — not just in words but in purchases.

5- Add a human touch.

An online store can be a lonely place. No shop assistant to greet you or help you make a choice, no one to tell you how great that propeller hat looks on you, and no one to speak to if you have a problem. Shoppers don’t like it: so much so, that 87% of them spend less or completely leave brands that don’t provide great customer service.

So, while your store may be entirely virtual, it’s important for shoppers to know they can talk to a human to ask a question or make a complaint (but let’s hope not!) Give people what they want by providing as much visible customer support as possible. You can add a live chat, either with real people or a smart chatbot (those are growing in popularity — hello, future!). You can add a contact form with a quick response guarantee, or you can display a contact phone number somewhere they won’t miss it. Whatever you do, make sure your service contact info is visible, so that your customers feel less alone in their quest for the perfect purchase.

It's easy!

And that’s it! We hope you can see how easy it is to make 2023 a brilliant year without any ridiculous resolutions about cold showers, journaling or drinking less coffee (phew!). Just 5 simple steps you can get done in 5 days and then reap rewards all year —  turning your browsers into buyers and one-time shoppers into faithful fans.

Nets is part of Nexi Group – the European PayTech. We have the scale, the capabilities and the proximity to provide the simplest, fastest and safest payment solutions, to people, businesses and financial institutions– and still have the local knowledge and accessibility. ​We offer complete end-to-end payment solutions, built with cloud technology and delivered as a service for your web shops. ​Our innovative design enables high quality, secure, and efficient payment transactions to optimize the customer shopping experience—because it’s not just checkout! ​For more sales and customer loyalty— and less abandoned shopping carts!