All You Need to Know About eCommerce Marketing

These are troubled times for businesses around the world. Economic insecurity, worries about sales, and the 24-hour news cycle of constant doom and gloom have dried up business. Traditional brick and mortar stores have suffered the worst of it since they usually don't have any other outlet to generate sales other than at the counter.

And even though governments are gradually easing lockdowns, many customers would be too skittish to risk their lives walking to a store in person - not if they can order the product online. It is terrible news for businesses that have been too late or are unwilling to adapt and use technology.

This is where eCommerce marketing comes in. Many more small businesses are now striving to increase traffic and conversions by leveraging eCommerce marketing. But here's the cold hard truth: the lockdown will affect online stores just as it would brick and mortar stores.

The difference lies in the extent of the damage done and the bounce back. While sales for most brick and mortar stores have come to a grinding halt with zero turnovers, online stores continue to generate sales, albeit at a slower pace than before. Having said that there are many categories of products which have registered double-digit growths using the online channels; once the lockdown started easing up, clearly showing preferences of users to stay indoors while shopping for their preferred brands.

In our research for a leading hypermarket store in Saudi Arabia, we studied user behaviour and market traffic trends. The cumulative traffic in the shopping category nearly doubled in the month of March - April, the same time when the Covid-19 is keeping many of us lockdown in our homes.

Ecommerce marketing involves the use of various promotional tools to drive traffic to your online store, convert prospects into paying clients, and keep clients coming back for repeat orders. It requires a holistic marketing strategy that requires both on and off-site optimization.

An in-depth marketing strategy plays an essential role in driving customer loyalty, building brand awareness, and increasing online sales. It is composed of several parts that include content marketing, Email marketing, influencer marketing, and PPC marketing.

And while 2020 has been one big foul so far – things can still go from bad to worse in terms of economic insecurity if you wait too long. Now is the perfect time to optimize eCommerce marketing; it's never too late to open your online business and start selling.

The number of users being re-engaged via online shopping is now higher than ever before. Are you worried about getting left behind and losing to others? Time to make the big move to eCommerce.

While growth is slowing for businesses in all sectors and niches (online and offline), the chart above indicates that online stores have the clout needed to absorb the long term economic impact of lockdowns that would otherwise wipe out traditional brick and mortar stores.

As you can see from the all India traffic trend for the past 90 days, how the interest on specific categories of search went down and now as we are easing up the lockdown, the user interest is bouncing up back and reaching their normal state. The same is not true when we talk about the offline retail space.

Brand Reputation is More Important Than Ever Before

Customer perception can make or break your business. Data suggests that most online shoppers are redirecting their spendings on name-brands over generic products. 40% of surveyed customers noted that the trustworthiness of a brand would play a significant role in purchase decisions, putting it about the same rank as the price of the product (at 39%). E-commerce stores can play an essential role in earning trustworthiness.

Your customer's perception will ultimately reflect on your bottom line. Does your online store appear as customer-centric, eco-friendly, modern, and safe?

Our eCommerce solution also lets you cultivate a positive brand reputation that builds loyalty to drive more sales.

 

Wrapping Up

The total effectiveness of your eCommerce marketing strategy depends on your use of the marketing mentioned above tools. There are a plethora of eCommerce tools out there; make sure to start using them all.

To help marketers keep on top of the pandemic and maximize their valuable sales, Refresh Ideas brings you SEO-optimized e-commerce platforms that help you engage your old clients, win new ones, and maximize sales.

Now is the perfect time to optimize your eCommerce marketing with the help of professionals at Refresh Ideas. Get in touch with the pros now to generate high-quality leads and maximize sales! Get Ready to Adapt and Use Technology, Build Digital Channels, Optimize & Audit Existing Channels. Don't lose out the time in testing; we have a process and framework that helps retail companies succeed.