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While there are many European e-commerce markets, the UK takes the lead at number one, with a market valued at €148 billion. It's more than double the size of France and is expected to reach €365 billion within less than two years. In addition, it comes in seventh as the largest cosmetics market worldwide.

It's not hard to see that the UK e‑commerce market is booming, providing you with an exciting opportunity to reach millions of people with your products. Knowing that this can help boost your business, check out these TEN tips that will help you get started!

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1. Ensure a good delivery experience

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If you didn't know, Brits care about the delivery experience. For 83% of UK consumers, delivery is one of the most critical factors that can make or break their buying decisions. For example, if shipping costs too much or takes too long, most of these consumers will look elsewhere for the products they want.

If you plan to ship products from a different country to the UK, you must obtain a GB EORI number, which appears on customs declarations. It's a must-have when importing your products into the UK. You will also need to get a GB VAT number.

It can take a minimum of eight weeks and up to 12 weeks to get the number, so apply sooner rather than later.

When expanding to the UK e‑commerce market, the goal is to make the shipment process as successful as possible. Of course, this means deciding if you will ship internationally or invest in a UK warehouse and begin shipping products locally, which is better for the environment and will help your business save money while meeting the expectations of UK consumers. 

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2. Avoid administrative errors

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Make a conscious effort to avoid administrative errors when diving into the UK e-commerce market. 70％ of UK consumers are willing to place an order if they know they won't have to pay extra to have their items shipped to them. However, you may unintentionally charge your customers additional fees if you haven't completed the proper documents.

The best way to avoid the hefty taxes and potential delays through customs is to complete your custom documents and include them with each package you send. You need to attach four specific documents to orders, including the order invoice, delivery note, customs declaration (CN23), and a Single Administrative Document for any parcels valued at more than £8,000.

Bigblue simplifies this process by automatically generating the documents needed to ship products with ease to avoid hefty taxes and lengthy delays.

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3. Choose the right carrier

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The next step on your to-do list is choosing the most suitable carrier to handle your packages. There are a few things to consider when selecting a carrier, such as their reputation for handling goods and how fast they can get your products to the customers. After all, you know that Brits care about the delivery experience and want to receive their merchandise in the mail quickly instead of waiting too long for what they've ordered.

Sadly, 1 in every 2 British consumers has avoided ordering items from international brands because they assume shipping would cost too much. If you plan to ship to the UK from a country like France, you can always choose UPS, the preferred carrier for express delivery. At Bigblue we use Royal Mail and UPS, the UK's two preferred carriers, for orders shipped from our Kuehne+Nagel warehouse in the UK. 

The carrier you select can make or break the shipping experience, so choose wisely. Of course, this means performing extensive research on the shipping carrier options available to you and learning more about which ones are best to work on based on different factors, including shipping speeds and costs.

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4. Decipher the consumption patterns of the British...

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The consumption patterns in your country of origin may be different from the consumption patterns of those living in the UK. However, the good news is that the British are e-commerce enthusiasts willing to spend money on products they've purchased online instead of from a physical establishment.

47% of Brits have made a minimum of six online purchases within the last three months. Therefore, by expanding to this international market, you have the opportunity to drastically increase sales and boost revenue! But before experiencing such expansion, you need to know why these consumers are more likely to abandon their carts.

British consumers will often abandon an online shopping cart if they notice delivery taking much longer than anticipated. In addition, if shipping costs are expensive, they will likely look elsewhere for the items they wish to purchase. Lastly, if they notice that the returns process would be overly complicated, they might not want to bother. Although most consumers don't plan on returning anything they've purchased, consumers may worry that if something doesn't work well for them or fit correctly, they won't be able to get their money returned to them.

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5. ... and adapt to it!

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Once you understand the consumption patterns of UK consumers, it's time to adapt to those patterns and use your new knowledge to your advantage. For example, 33% of UK consumers within the 18-34 age range will frequently return items for various reasons. 

If you're planning to enter the UK e‑commerce market, you need to be prepared for a potentially higher return rate than what you're currently experiencing in your country of origin.

Returns often come with hidden costs that can become quite frustrating as you work on growing your business. However, simplifying the return process can reduce these costs, keeping them low and appeasing the customers. 

Make returns fast, simple, and efficient to achieve better results. With Bigblue's return portal, it's easy to provide a more optimised experience that can prevent revenue loss from the returns process.

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6. Get into User Generated Content!!!

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Start honing in on the power of user-generated content and what it can do for your business as you focus on expanding to the UK. 63% of online UK shoppers have stated they trust customer reviews and will read them before purchasing something new. If you have positive ratings and reviews from previous customers, you have the potential to increase your sales by a staggering 270%.

So, what are some of the best ways to boost conversion rates and get more people visiting your website to purchase products from you? Place user-generated content on your site! Look on social media for consumers who've posted positive things about your brand and the products you sell and place some of those videos, pictures, and comments throughout your site to give consumers an idea of what others are saying. 

Consumers in the UK will feel more inclined to buy from you if they see the user-generated content and realise people are saying lots of positive things about your brand.

You can take a page out of Lashilé's book and post customer reviews on the front page of your website. Lashilé places its customer reviews at the top of each product page, much like what you'd see when shopping on Amazon for items. You can take this approach with any user-generated content on your brand to leave a better impression on the consumers.

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7. Embrace "Buy Now, Pay Later"

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Don't be afraid to embrace buy now, pay later, which will entice more consumers to buy from your business. Buy Now, Pay Later purchase volume in the UK has the potential to grow by 50% by the end of the year, reaching around €30 billion in 2023.

Offering such a convenient payment method would boost average shopping cart sales, with customers willing to spend more if they can break up the payments instead of paying for everything in one shot. Klarna, one of several buy now, pay later providers, noticed an up to 45% increase in the value of customer shopping carts.

It's all about finding the right partners to work with when selling to your UK consumers. Besides Klarna, you have other ways to provide consumers with the option of buying now and paying later, such as Shopify Payments, Mollie, and Scalapay!

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8. Switch your e-commerce to British time!

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Take the time to cater to UK consumers and provide a more inclusive experience. For example, 73% of products ordered online throughout the UK come from British merchants, and it's likely due to the fact that roughly 65% of online shoppers enjoy seeing fresh content in their language. Not providing content in their language or spelling could alienate consumers, driving them away from your brand.

Localise your ecommerce to the UK to achieve better results when selling to these consumers. The good news is that Shopify makes it easy to duplicate your store and change the language, so you won't have to spend too much time or effort on this transition.

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9. Prepare your marketing campaigns for the UK

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Next, it's time to build solid marketing campaigns that resonate with your UK audience. The UK has a reputation for being one of the most competitive e-commerce markets of all time, so you need to focus on developing an innovative strategy that produces excellent results. Look for inspiration from some of the leading e-commerce brands in the UK, such as Chilly's Bottles and Gymshark, to see how they're reaching their targeted audience and making a name for themselves.

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10. Anticipate your costs and resources.

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Start tracking your expenses to get an idea of how much you will need to pay to ship to consumers throughout the UK. It helps to anticipate costs to get a feel for how much you will need to spend to ensure it's worth expanding to the UK e‑commerce market. 

In most cases, it's worth it, especially if it means making thousands of additional monthly sales. Once you've anticipated your costs and resources, you can focus on your marketing campaigns and begin selling to this new audience of people who will love your products.

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Have you thought about expanding to the UK ecommerce market? The United Kingdom has the largest e-commerce market of all European countries, coming in at number three behind the United States and China. You may be surprised to learn that sales within the UK ecommerce market reached an all-time high of $169 billion in 2021 and will likely more than double, reaching around $368 billion within the next 12-18 months. 

With millions of people in the UK shopping online for their favorite products, it's an excellent time for your D2C brand to begin focusing on this international market.

Broadening your reach to an international market can provide numerous benefits to your business, enabling it to grow, and drastically increase revenue over the years. But before you start selling to these customers, you're probably wondering if it's a good idea to transition and begin serving customers throughout the UK.

The benefits of selling to UK consumers

While you now know that the UK ecommerce market is one of the largest, there are other additional benefits associated with expanding to an international market. As a business owner, you will have the opportunity to:

• Easily connect with an international market - Some markets are more challenging to relate to than others because of a language barrier. For businesses based in the United States, Canada, Australia, and other English speaking countries, nothing will get lost in translation when you launch your brand in the UK.
  If you own a European brand, coming to the UK will significantly speed up things when you are ready to open new international markets, because English is the official language of the country and one of the primary languages spoken worldwide.

• Boost sales revenue - Depending on your local market size, targeting the UK audience can help you double, triple, or even quadruple your sales in due time. If you're looking forward to experiencing tremendous growth and would like to bolster your profits, and a great opportunity to learn and expand into additional European markets.

• Build a solid reputation in a different country - Once you've developed an excellent reputation in your local country for your e-commerce, you may want to broaden your reach and make waves in different countries. Connecting with one of the largest international markets is a fantastic way to build your fanbase and build a strong community of influencers and consumers that will facilitate expanding to new markets by posting user generated content

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What to consider before launching your e-commerce in the UK

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With thoughts of benefiting from expanding to the UK ecommerce market currently on your mind, you're likely wondering what you will need to consider before you officially begin selling to these consumers. 

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What do the consumers care about most?

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Even if you know your targeted audience quite well, it's important to remember that UK consumers are different from consumers in the United States, France or any other local market. So what they care about during the e-commerce experience can differ. 

For example, in the United Kingdom, 70% of consumers feel more inclined to make a purchase when they know they won't have to pay extra taxes or fees when completing the purchase. In addition, 83% of consumers say that the anticipated delivery time can make or break their purchase. 

So, what does this tell you? It lets you know that lowering fees and offering speedy shipping times are two of the ways you can get UK consumers to complete purchases on your website.

Let's face it – the British have a reputation for expecting fast and reliable shipping services, meaning it's something you need to prioritize if you're going to sell products to them. After all, you want to offer the most enjoyable and unforgettable experience that encourages them to buy from you again. When you provide that ideal experience, you can turn first-time customers into loyal supporters of your e-commerce.

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Will you ship from abroad or from the UK?

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Another thing to consider is where you're planning to ship products from when selling to the UK market. You have two options – you can ship internationally or directly from the UK by investing in a UK warehouse. But which option is the best?

The delivery time will take much longer if you ship from abroad to the UK. Of course, this may be something you plan to do initially to test things out and see how well the UK market likes your products. It's a good way for you to gauge interest before going all out and investing in a UK warehouse that would hold these products and ship them out locally. 

However, if you want to make the most significant impact, shipping from the UK to UK consumers is the best way to do that. It's much cheaper than international shipping, and you wouldn't have to worry about purchases going through customs and taking several weeks or months to get to your customers. As a result, you could save on costs, your customers could save on shipping fees, and the customers would receive their items much faster than they would if you were shipping internationally.

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Additional benefits of shipping locally instead of internationally

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While the savings and faster shipping speeds are certainly a good enough reason to start shipping to UK consumers from a UK warehouse, there are a few additional advantages you may not know.

• You can make the shipping process eco-friendly - Shipping internationally can take such a toll on the planet. However, if you ship locally instead of internationally, you can lower your carbon emissions - shorter distances mean speedy delivery times and greener delivery methods, instead of shipping every order by plane for both express and standard orders. And it's the kind of thing you can mention to customers who may appreciate your green initiatives!

• The delivery process becomes much easier and more enjoyable for everyone involved - When shipping internationally, you have so much to worry about, including when your customers will receive their packages and how long those items will be stuck in customs. However, if you ship locally, you don't have to stress over that. In addition, the customers can get their products when they want and need them, improving their experience and increasing their likelihood of leaving positive reviews or creating user-generated content on your brand.

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What will you need to start selling in the UK?

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Don't forget to list everything you will need to begin selling to UK consumers. For example, you will need an Economic Operators Registration and Identification Number, also known as an EORI number. It can take up to 12 weeks to obtain one, so apply for it as soon as possible to avoid further delays. Along with this number, you will need to apply for a UK VAT number and create an account on the UK Government Gateway.

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Take the time to learn about the specific requirements of shipping to your UK customers. Once you know what you need to have to legally begin selling and shipping products to them, you can focus on building UK-inspired marketing campaigns designed with these audiences in mind.

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How to connect with UK consumers and entice them to buy from your e-commerce 

After you have everything you need to start selling to the UK ecommerce market, it’s time to begin building relationships with the UK consumers. These are some of the simplest ways to do that:

• Create a UK-friendly version of your website - While many people in the UK speak English, the spelling of words can differ. Be sure to make a UK-friendly website with all the correct spellings to provide a more inclusive feeling to the consumers.

• Build a campaign for the UK consumers - What works with consumers in America or your local market doesn't always capture the attention of those in other countries, so be strategic and create a marketing campaign specifically for your UK consumers. Think of how your products can make a difference in their lives and use that to your advantage when creating marketing materials.

• Connect with social media influencers from the UK - Start reaching out to UK influencers to see if they'd be willing to partner with your brand. You can offer to send them products for free, enabling them to start making influencer-generated content that they will post on their favorite social platforms, such as Instagram and TikTok. When they start posting to these platforms, it can help increase awareness for your brand and lead to many more sales.

With straightforward steps like these, you can begin catering to the international market, broadening your reach, and building a name for your brand in an entirely new country. You can turn this into an exciting opportunity to connect with UK consumers, providing high-quality products they will love. Launching your e-commerce in the UK is a wise move to make, especially if you’d like to start selling more and increasing your earnings. By taking the right approach, you can begin selling to this new market and gain thousands of loyal customers.

User-generated content is increasingly becoming important to e-commerce brands' marketing strategies. 

As acquisition costs escalate, UGC becomes an excellent conversion tool for online brands. As well as inspiring consumer confidence, they help to strengthen your brand's online presence - all at unbeatable prices because, most of the time... they're free! 

This article will reveal the best practices of the most successful e-commerce brands to achieve successful UGC campaigns and how you can apply them to your brand to succeed in your strategy! 

1. Boost brand presence with UGC across social networks.

A key feature of any UGC strategy is making your customers want to create content about your brand. Only if inspired will your customers make the best user generated content campaigns to drive success for your brand.

First, you should share your brand-specific hashtag across all social media platforms. This way, your customers know how to tag your brand when they’re creating UGC. Other leads can click the hashtag to view more user generated content focused on your brand (as well as your brand’s social media and website, too).

Next, your focus should be generating the best user generated content campaigns to inspire the creation of user generated content.

Many brands have successfully achieved this by hosting competitions or providing incentive in the form of rewards for creating UGC.

Fast-growing clothing brand UNIQLO partnered with TikTok to host a #UTPlayYourWorld contest, where platform users were encouraged to share short videos wearing the UNIQLO ‘UT’ logo shirt. 

Contest winners earned space on the brand’s platforms, enabling them to gain higher visibility for their own socials. The result: 95,000+ TikTok users created content for the contest, generating a total of 330 million views. 

Many of these views no doubt came from leads who were eventually turned into customers.

Similarly, GoPro puts user generated content at the centre of its marketing strategy. By implementing UGC best practices, a large proportion of GoPro’s YouTube content – include the three top performing videos – is user generated content.

This cost the brand nothing, since production was entirely in the hands of the customer – using GoPro equipment of course. 

In return, GoPro received authentic content that would raise awareness of their brand, since the channel has received billions of views. 

GoPro user generated content has become so prolific that the brand even gives awards to the best user generated content. The brand also hosts daily photo challenges to keep the influx of user generated content fresh. 

In addition to competitions, it’s a good idea to check what customers are already posting about your brand (or similar brands). 

By leaning into what your customers are already inclined to do, it could give you some ideas to create the best user generated content campaigns to inspire your customers to make content.

Simply communicate via your website and social media about the content you’d like to see – and where and how you’d like to see it – and your customers are likely to respond.

Moreover, employing UGC tools like Flowbox can help to drive your UGC strategy at a greater scale, as well as collect content created by your customers to integrate into your wider digital strategy.

2. Generate social proof through influencer UGC.

User generated content is incredible at leveraging the power of social proof.

By definition, social proof is a phenomenon in which people observe and emulate the actions of others in a given situation. 

This roughly translates to “they’re doing it, I should be doing it too”.

In a marketing context, social proof – a.k.a. evidence that someone else is using and enjoying a product – fuels purchasing decisions.

This can come from all kinds of user generated content examples. However, influencer UGC is especially effective.

When someone we admire uses a product or service, we automatically hold that brand in higher esteem. The social proof that an influencer values a product enough to share it on their social media is enough to make many customers believe it’s worth buying.

Countless campaigns have proved the effectiveness of influencer marketing.

Recently, Glossier marketed their new blush by using the product on celebrity clients, sharing the results in native feeling content on social media. 

In response, customers posted 1,700 UGC images trying out the blush in the first 7 days of the campaign. This jumped to 6,000 images by the end of the fourth week. 

As more people posted images associating themselves with the brand and its products, it encouraged more to do the same. This is a phenomenon known as the ‘bandwagon effect’. 

Human beings are social creatures. As such, we seek to be part of a wider community – particularly one occupied by those we admire. The best user generated content campaigns present the opportunity to do just that.

3. Continue the momentum on your website.

User generated content doesn’t have to start and end with social media. In fact, a number of big brands have incorporated user generated content into their websites as part of their UGC strategy.

Calvin Klein has an entire landing page dedicated to user generated content. In the place of edited, professionally shot photos of models, real customers sporting the brand’s clothing take pride of place. This gives prospective customers a more relatable idea of how they might look wearing the brand.

Not only does this deliver an authentic experience to leads browsing your website, it can also enhance your brand’s relationship with its existing customers. 

Displaying user generated content on your website shows your customers you value and appreciate the UGC content they’ve created. Feeling rewarded for their loyalty to your brand, they’re more likely to remain loyal – continuing to make purchases and to be an advocate for your brand.

User generated content on your website also improves brand trust. 

As we discussed earlier, trust is vital to converting leads into customers. People want to know that when they spend money, they’re going to get something valuable in return.

A recent study showed that 96% of travellers are more likely to trust a recommendation from an individual than branded content. With this in mind, the Hilton hotel chain uses user generated content to improve trust in their hotel experience.

Hilton integrated photos from the #MyHGV user generated content campaign into their website. Highlighting the authentic experiences of previous customers, this display helps convince leads of the value of the Hilton hotel experience. It highlights that customers – just like them – had a great experience with the brand.

Remember: always ask your customers for consent to use their content, as some may not want their photos posted all over your website. To avoid damaging your relationship with your brand advocates – and to prevent issues with copyright – always get customers’ permission first.

4. Re-use UGC in your email campaigns.

Email marketing is crucial to keep your customers reminded of your brand, to inform them of promotions and – of course – boost revenue.

Email marketing is a key driver of sales, responsible for around 19.8% of all e-commerce transactions. Only two channels accounted for more: paid search (19.9%) and organic traffic (21.8%).

Essentially, email marketing is neck and neck with the top sales channels. So ensuring your email marketing campaigns are as persuasive as possible is essential to e-commerce business success. 

By using UGC best practices, you can make email marketing part of your UGC strategy.

Lingerie brand Ysé repurposes customers’ Instagram photos for their newsletters and email campaigns. With email subjects reading “they look so good on you” and “you in Ysé”, the brand harnesses user generated content examples to bolster the personal relationship the brand has with its customers.

What’s more, by embellishing email campaigns with user generated content, brands can activate the ‘bandwagon effect’. You can show leads how great other customers look with your products, tempting them to want a slice of the pie.

Embedding user generated content in cart abandonment emails is especially effective. By showing customers what they could have experienced if they’d checked out – highlighting that other customers have done the same – you tempt them into returning to a purchase they previously decided against.

💡 Bigblue Tip

Follow-up emails have an average open rate of 75%.
The Bigblue app allows you to send your customers ultra-personalised, branded post-purchase emails!

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To reap the many incredible benefits of UGC for your e-commerce business, implement the four UGC best practices listed above to create the best user generated content campaigns.

With over 12 million e-commerce shops, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for brands to attract, and retain customers.

Traditional marketing channels are becoming more and more expensive, and Customer Acquisition Costs (CAC) are at an alltime high. In such a competitive environment, brands need to be creative when marketing themselves to thrive among their competitors. 

One way they are accomplishing it is through user generated content (UGC.)

In the last few years, brand strategies focused on increasing user generated content have skyrocketed in popularity – because they work. In fact, UCG is up to 42% more effective than brand-created content, and generates almost seven times more engagement.

In the social media age, UGC strategy is dominating the marketing sphere as one of the most lucrative tactics for businesses – especially, for e-commerce brands. 

What is user generated content (UGC)?

Any content created by your customers about your brand is user generated content.

In practice, this could be anything from clients sharing reviews on social media, to posting entire YouTube videos unboxing products they purchased from you. 

Two of the most effective platforms for implementing UGC strategy are Instagram and TikTok.

Instagram’s reputation as a picture-posting platform makes it the ideal hub to share photos of products and experiences. What’s more: the ability to use hashtags allows pictures to be easily associated with your brand – and direct leads towards your online store.

Similarly, TikTok and its trend-fueled culture has been driving video views, and influencing users in their purchasing decisions in everything from beauty products to books.

What makes user generated content special is its authenticity. Which allows consumers to connect with a brand. Actually, consumers are around 2.4 times more likely to view user generated content as authentic than content created by brands.

User generated content examples exist because customers want to create content about your brand. So, they do – without being influenced

In this article, we’ll see why UGC are so interesting for your business and how D2C brands integrate them into their marketing strategy.

1. Consumers listen to other consumers.

Traditional marketing methods – in which messages about products come from the brands themselves – aren’t as effective in the social media age.

Instead, consumers look to the opinions of other people when they are considering buying a product. Over half of millennials look to friends and family members when making a purchasing decision.

As such, 64% of marketers believe word-of-mouth marketing is the most effective form of marketing.

Well, user generated content is the word-of-mouth marketing for the digital age. 

Through social media platforms such as Instagram, YouTube, Twitter and TikTok, customers are posting about their interactions with brands. In doing so, they’re influencing the purchasing decisions of their followers.

If your brand successfully implements a UGC strategy, it’s akin to distributing a sea of personal recommendations. This is incredibly effective because the content is coming from a source your new potential customers trust: other customers.

2. Generates trust.

If customers have never heard of your company or seen other customers use – or review – your products, they’re probably not going to trust your brand.

A lack of brand trust can be fatal – especially to e-commerce businesses. 

After all, to feel comfortable entering their card details onto your site, your customers need to trust the legitimacy and quality of your brand and its products. The good news is that 92% of customers are more likely to trust a brand recommended by their peers.

Simply knowing of your brand through user generated content examples helps to generate awareness and familiarity: the cornerstones of brand trust.

Knowing that more of your customers have had successful, positive experiences with your brand – shown through their UGC content – helps further build this trust.

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3. Drives brand loyalty.

By offering chances to engage with your brand, you create opportunities for the relationship between your brand and your customers to grow.

When you encourage customers to create content with their purchases, like their posts and/or repost their user generated content on your own platforms, you increase engagement and loyalty towards your brand.

Why is brand loyalty important? 

Because it keeps customers coming back to your brand (crucially, over others). Since it’s less costly – and more profitable – to encourage repeat customers than to attract new ones, this is vital to e-commerce success.

What’s more: brand loyalty generates brand advocates that deliver positive word-of-mouth marketing to potential future customers.

4. Presents the opportunity to receive feedback.

Perhaps a less obvious advantage of user generated content is its ability to generate feedback.

Receiving feedback is an essential cog in the business machine. Feedback allows problems with your product/service to be identified, so that you can make improvements and keep customers happy.

As a result, user generated content and word-of-mouth marketing about your brand should stay positive and encourage sales.

Feedback also allows your brand to take stock of its strengths, identify its unique selling points and market accordingly to boost sales.

5. It boosts brands’ online presence.

As discussed earlier, customers are more likely to view and engage with user generated content than content created by brands. This makes UGC excellent for boosting brand awareness.

More than this, because of the digital native nature of UGC, it’s unparalleled for your web presence. The best user generated content campaigns boost SEO and let search engines know that browsers are engaging with – and interested in – your brand and products.

Customers sharing reviews on social media, posting photos of your products among countless other user generated content examples all direct traffic back to your online store. 

The cumulative effect of these things can help to boost your site rankings and expose your brand to more leads.

6. Often, it doesn’t cost a thing.

68% of customers would be willing to leave a review after their order if you ask! The most incredible part about user generated content ? It’s free !

What is user generated content? It’s content created by customers.

In other words, in addition to being an incredible marketing tool it’s also one of the most cost-effective. After all, your customers create your marketing content for you.

You’ll indeed need to put some energy into inspiring your customers to make content about your brand and products. However, once you’ve got this formula down you can look forward to viewing high quality branded content made by your customers – that cost you nothing and increase your sales!

Returns can cost your business... According to the latest Shopify report, the cost of returns in e-commerce is indeed expected to peak at over $550 billion this year!

If you want to know how much the bill will be for your business, just multiply your projected sales volume by the average return rate (15%). And, of course, add in the cost of returns (if you are responsible for them), restocking fees, lost and damaged items, etc.

As expensive as it is, the bill for product returns is unavoidable. No matter how good an experience you provide to your customers on your site, you can't avoid these demands.

However, these requests do not mean the end of your relationship with a customer. On the contrary, if the customer has shown enough interest to place an order, all is not lost! Take advantage of this opportunity (even though it may seem like a poisoned chalice at first glance) to maintain contact. You may even succeed in increasing its Lifetime Value!

Yes, it is possible to turn the person wanting to return their product into a loyal and profitable customer for your brand. In this article, Bigblue explains how to monetise your returns!

Why monetising returns in e-commerce?

Like any business, the goal of your e-commerce business is to be profitable and maximise your return on investment.

However, the main expense of your online business is the acquisition of new customers. The figures are clear: acquiring a new customer can cost up to five times more than retaining an existing one. Your brand cannot afford to lose the consumers it has managed to attract to its site and convince to place an order!

On the other hand, the online shopping experience, despite many efforts to improve it, remains much more uncertain than the in-store experience. This is why one in two consumers consider the return policy as a determining factor in their purchase decision. This is perfectly logical, given that 44% of them have already returned an item purchased online.

Monetising returns is therefore an absolutely essential strategy for sustaining your e-commerce business. It will indeed impact your ability to convert potential new customers. But above all, it will enable you to build loyalty, since 72% of buyers are more inclined to buy from you again if they have had a good return experience with your brand in the past!

Monitor returns and choose the right strategy for your e-commerce

In order to monetise your e-commerce returns, it is crucial that you have a good understanding of why your customers may return a product.

Among the statistics that you should pay attention to are the following:

• Overall return rate, but also for each item;
• Variations in your return rate over certain crucial periods (such as holidays or any important period in your industry - sales, season, etc.);
• Return rates for each product category or range;
• NPS score of your e-commerce;
• Return rates by geographical area;
• Customer satisfaction rate after an interaction with your support.

This data will allow you to define key performance indicators, in order to monetise the returns of your shop. You will be able to focus your efforts on the weak points of your customer experience (product descriptions, image quality for better colour rendering, etc.).

1. Offer an exchange for a variation

On Shopify, 60% of returns are requested because the customer ordered the wrong size or style of clothing after browsing the e-commerce site.

If your online shop offers fashion apparel or accessories, you are likely to find yourself in this situation. Your customers will not be able to try on their item before checking out. Some have even taken to ordering multiple sizes, favouring e-commerce brands that make returns easy.

💡 The example to follow: Zalando allows its customers to return their items in the same packaging. The brand even communicates that they can try them on at home, and only pay for the clothes they like or fit!

The advantage of this strategy for monetising returns is that it allows you to maintain the relationship with your customers as well as your sales revenue. Returning an item in exchange for a variation saves you the hassle of getting a refund, and ensures that your item ends up in your customer's hands. If they have a smooth and easy exchange experience, they will be more likely to recommend your site.

The downside is that this solution can also increase return requests, putting your business at risk. The key is to find the right balance to encourage your prospects to order (with the confidence that they can exchange their item if they need to). All the while, making sure they make the right choice the first time.

How can you monetise exchange-for-variant returns?

To reduce the number of exchange-for-variant requests as much as possible, be as clear as possible about the characteristics of your products. In the fashion sector, this means a very detailed description of the cut and composition of your clothes. But also high quality photos to render their colour as accurately as possible, etc.

Also make sure that the selection of colours and the visual display of your articles are as fast and fluid as possible. This will allow your customers to easily browse through all the possible variations of the same item. And choose the one that best suits them.

💡 The example to follow:  Adidas gives ultra precise sizing advice. For example, the brand indicates which models fit small, and shares recommendations based on a customer's previous orders.

2. Offer an exchange for a new product

In addition to sizing issues, your customers may request a return because they are not satisfied with their order.

Don't panic: this doesn't mean that they don't like your brand. It just means that the shirt they ordered on your site doesn't fit, or that your mattress doesn't offer the support they were looking for.

To turn this negative experience into a positive one, and again avoid the refund option, your brand must be flexible. This means making it easy to exchange for another product on your site.

This approach will allow you to monetise returns and even increase your sales. When a customer knows they can return an item and exchange it for a product that suits them better, they will feel more confident about buying more or a higher value product.

But returns for another product are also a great opportunity for cross- or upselling. Because your customer has already had their product in their hands, they have a better appreciation of the quality your brand is likely to offer. They may therefore opt for another, more expensive model. Or even complete their order with additional items!

How to monetise returns with an exchange of the product?

Requests for exchange for another product increase the rate of repurchase from your brand by almost 34%. Use this data to your advantage by suggesting relevant similar or complementary items in your exchange management email (or via the customer area on your site).

💡 The example to follow: Tediber allows its customers to try their mattress for 100 days! A good way to encourage the decision to buy, and to allow people who don't know the brand to discover the quality of its products (or to opt for another model, if necessary).

3. Manage refund requests by offering in-store credit

Sometimes your customers will not want (or need) to order from your brand again immediately. Again, your goal is to avoid at all costs that your relationship ends there, and that they ask you for a refund.

To give them more flexibility, and to give them time to discover the other products you offer, a good option is to suggest an in-store credit. This works in the same way as a gift card and above all boosts your strategy of monetising returns, as in-store credits result in immediate redemption from the brand in 40% of cases!

By offering credits in your shop, you give your customers more freedom to choose between a variation of their product or a completely different item. Above all, you give them the time to better immerse themselves in the world of your brand, and to choose a product that really suits them. In addition to retaining the revenue generated by the initial sale, this gesture of goodwill may also encourage them to increase the amount of their order by opting for more expensive products or complementary items!

How can you monetise returns with credit on your e-commerce shop?

If a customer returns to your shop to use their credit, this is an excellent opportunity to present them with new products that they would have missed on their first visit! So take advantage of this opportunity to show them your new collections (giving them enough time to use their credits).

Also, make good use of the data you have (and the comments you may have collected via your customer support or feedback form) to make ultra-personalised, and therefore more impactful, suggestions!

💡 Leading by example: Caval bends over backwards to offer as much flexibility as possible to its customers. Returned products can be refunded within 30 days. But after that time, the brand offers a credit to use in shop!

4. Offer a refund

Refunding an order is the return option that offers the least value to your e-commerce business. Unfortunately, in some cases, your customer will not have been seduced by what your brand had to offer. They will not want to exchange their product for another or even a voucher. And you will definitely have lost the revenue from the initial sale.

However, this does not mean that they will not be able to recommend your brand in the near future. Or even recommend your products to friends and family to whom they might be better suited! So don't give up, and always take the opportunity to leave a positive impression of your company.

Offering a refund is also a good way to boost your conversion rate, as your customers will feel more secure.

How do you monetise returns for refunds?

To monetise your e-commerce returns, even when your customers demand a refund, be as clear as possible about the conditions under which you agree to refund them. This will prevent abusive requests and save your customer support a lot of time!

Never forget to specify :

• How long it will take to process each customer return request;
• When and how they will receive the refund in their account;
• Whether you offer a full refund, or deduct a return fee;
• When you refuse to refund an order.

💡 The example to follow: Amazon states exactly where and when its customers will receive their refund. As for the brand Asos, it has set up a blacklist of customers who have made too many return requests thanks to an algorithmic system!

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E-commerce represents a tremendous opportunity for entrepreneurs to launch their brand. Logically, many are storming this new Eldorado to grow their business. The result is an increasingly saturated sector, in which it is difficult to carve out a niche for yourself, and especially to keep it. This is where the post-purchase experience comes into play…

To ensure their sustainability and profitability, brands tend to focus on generating new sales. But in reality, their work has only just begun! It is by maintaining contact, and multiplying touchpoints with your post-purchase customers that you can ensure that they become loyal supporters.

Today, due to the saturation of the e-commerce market, consumer loyalty is no longer based on the price or quality of a product. What deeply connects them to one brand rather than another is the experience it offers them. If you fail to meet their demands, your customers will leave you.

To avoid unwanted disruption, Bigblue shares its checklist for nurturing your post-purchase experience. Discover the processes and solutions that will help you deliver a consistent experience across all your sales channels! 

The post-purchase experience: a key factor in customer satisfaction

Many brands spend a lot of time and money on designing their e-commerce platform or integrating the latest technology to wow their customers.

However, these elements are not as critical to the customer experience as many companies think. Consumers expect the site they are about to order from to work perfectly and continuously. So they don't even pay attention to this aspect of their experience anymore, unless it's malfunctioning.

Their only requirement is that the design of the website or application is modern and user-friendly. And that the automation tools facilitate their shopping experience. But these things don't matter if your brand can't deliver their product quickly and in the least restrictive way possible...

The speed, convenience, availability and friendliness of your customer service is what determines the quality of your post-purchase experience. Each of these factors will have an impact of more than 70% on consumer satisfaction. One more reason to give them special importance!

Exceeding customer expectations to boost business results

When your brand meets or exceeds the expectations of its customers, there are undeniable business benefits. In particular, a greater capacity to retain existing customers, but also to increase the amount of their average basket.

The customer experience has thus become the new battleground for e-commerce players. This is precisely because in a saturated market, acquiring new customers is becoming increasingly complex and expensive. In its report on the future of customer experience, PwC found that one in three customers will stop buying from a brand they like after one bad experience. 92% will completely cut ties with a company after two or three negative interactions.

Another very important figure to remember is that 86% of customers say that the post-purchase experience is fundamental to their decision to buy from the same brand again.

The loyalty loop

Your goal in building customer loyalty, and therefore the sustainability of your brand, is to activate the loyalty loop. After all, a satisfied customer will spend 67% more than a new customer placing their first order.

Why is this? Simply because the main effect of the loyalty loop is to shorten the buying journey. For a new customer, there are 4 stages in the buying journey:

• Initial consideration ;
• Active evaluation;
• Researching potential purchases;
• Conclusion (purchase).

A customer who has already purchased from your brand will tend to simplify or even skip the active evaluation stage. This allows you to boost your conversion rate, and increase the amount of your average cart.

But to activate the loyalty loop, your brand must take care of its post-purchase experience. Once the order has been placed, the consumer will look at how you continue to meet their expectations, to determine whether they will order from your site again.

For example, over 60% of facial care customers conduct post-purchase research online. To retain them, companies need only take advantage of this great contact opportunity to strengthen the customer relationship.

The objective and subjective approach to the post-purchase experience

To justify the investment you are about to make in your post-purchase experience, you can take two complementary approaches.

• The objective approach: Lifetime Value (LTV). The objective approach: Lifetime Value (LTV), as figures show that brands that keep their customers happy for 100 days will keep them loyal for the next 5 years. Investing in your customer experience can potentially double your revenue in just 36 months!
• The subjective approach. It makes sense that the attention you pay to your customers' satisfaction, even after they have placed their order, will make them feel valued and that their needs are being heard. These efforts have a tangible impact, which you can measure in ROI. But above all, they will allow you to build a lasting relationship with your customers, arousing their emotions and generating positive memories.

The Bigblue checklist for a 5-stars post-purchase experience

Now that we have deciphered the importance of your post-purchase experience, let's move on to the practical tips for improving it.

Here are all the ingredients you need to include in your customer experience to make sure it works!

1. Facilitate post-purchase communication

After checking out, your customers will have many questions that your brand needs to make sure it answers. The challenge is to make the information they need readily available.

This will not only allow you to meet and anticipate their expectations, but it will also save your support team a lot of time, as consumers won't have to turn to them for answers.

According to Zendesk, 91% of your customers would use an online FAQ if it were available and adapted to their needs. So make sure you take care of this page on your website (which is also an excellent SEO tool). And make it more visible in your post-purchase experience (by adding a link in the order confirmation or follow-up email, for example).

2. Offer self-service tracking

Did you know that the "My Account" page in your customer area generates 64% of the return traffic to your site?

To optimise it even more, you just need to enrich your post-purchase experience by adding the features your customers need. In particular, you can add an order tracking tool, which they can use on a self-service basis.

Once they have placed an order, consumers feel the need to track it. Yet 56% of e-commerce sites do not merge post-purchase tracking into their website.

Seize this opportunity to stand out from your competitors, and enrich your customer area with a powerful tracking tool that will reassure them while facilitating the receipt of their package!

You can also take advantage of this page (and the traction it generates) to mention :

• Information about the order (name and characteristics of the product, price and quantity ordered);
• The status of the order and the date on which it was confirmed;
• Information about the shipment and receipt of the products;
• Tips on how to use or maintain your product (as Veja does with its sneakers);
• The announcement of your next collection, or complementary products that could generate cross- or up-selling opportunities).

💡Bigblue Tip

The French brand OMA&ME provides its customers the most accurate delivery experience ever thanks to Bigblue’s Tracking Page. A unique interface where customers can track their orders in real time.

3. Send a follow-up email with recommendations and discounts

Speaking of upselling, another opportunity to build customer loyalty and drive purchase intent comes in the form of your follow-up mailing. Order follow-up (or confirmation) emails have the highest click-through, open and conversion rates. On average 70%, compared to less than 20% for other emails!

Given that 75% of customers are likely to buy products based on personalised recommendations, it would be a shame not to take advantage of this extra touchpoint to recommend your products to them. 1 in 4 customers will click on a recommended product when they are following their order.

Therefore, consider presenting additional products in the order tracking email. Just make sure (based on the purchase history) that it is not an item that the customer has already returned. Even better: give them a discount to encourage them to buy from your brand again.

4. Take care of your post-purchase experience to activate word of mouth

An optimised post-purchase customer experience will also encourage your customers to become true ambassadors of your brand. Indeed, 92% of consumers say they trust product recommendations from family and friends!

By ensuring that you respond to, and even anticipate, your customers' needs once they have placed their order, you give them a good reason to buy again. But also to share their experience within their network and therefore to vouch for your brand...

A good way to boost this dynamic is simply to encourage your customers to "sponsor" their friends and family in exchange for a promotional code. This is what the Spanish brand Alohas does with success.

5. Do not underestimate the importance of customer support

Your customer support is an indispensable part of the post-purchase experience. It therefore has a considerable impact on the satisfaction of your customers. So focus on their pain points, making sure your after-sales service is available and responsive, especially when it comes to managing returns.

There are many reasons why your customers may want to return or exchange an item. If you're in the fashion business, they are even more likely to do so (between 15% and 20%). But when it comes to returns, human beings still provide the best service. To avoid time-consuming exchanges with your support, consider simplifying your returns policy. And once again, make it accessible and understandable, especially via your FAQ.

By facilitating returns directly from our portal, Bigblue has reduced support tickets for From Future by 20%. That's a 30% time saving for their operations team.

6. Measuring customer satisfaction to continuously improve the post-purchase experience

It's one thing to keep your customers happy. But it's another to ensure that they are actually satisfied with your post-purchase experience! In fact, only 1 out of 26 dissatisfied customers really complains.

So think about giving your customers a voice and offer them the opportunity to share their feedback with you. This is very valuable data for improving what needs to be improved. And to evolve your post-purchase experience in line with the naturally changing needs of consumers.

At Bigblue, your customers' satisfaction is our priority. That's why 94.3% of our shoppers are satisfied with their experience. Discover our tools to improve your post-purchase experience and get your brand off the ground!

Like many e-tailers, you are probably experiencing customer support overload. It's mathematical: you receive too many support tickets + your brand doesn't have enough agents available or time to answer them = your customers are unhappy and no longer buy from your e-commerce website.

On average, the technical support of an e-commerce brand receives 492 tickets every month. That's more than a hundred tickets a week, and about fifteen every day. Whatever the size of your team, you are probably not equipped to deal with such demand. And even if you were, you probably have better things to do with your time: boosting your marketing strategy, launching new products…

The good news is that the answer to dealing with such a flood of support tickets is not necessarily to hire more agents. Instead, a much better approach is to prevent potential friction in your current post-purchase experience! It will also allow you, when a support ticket cannot be avoided, to handle it more efficiently (and proactively) by finding the right balance between automation and customisation. 

So it's worth the effort! Providing your customers with an excellent post-purchase experience will indeed turn them into loyal customers. Which is no small feat, considering that repeat sales cost you 7 times less than acquiring new buyers. 

Thanks to Bigblue, our customers cut the number of support tickets in half. In this article, we explain how you can focus on the aspects of your experience that matter most to your customers and make your e-commerce support more effective!

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What do your customers want from their post-purchase experience?

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One of the main reasons why an e-commerce brand fails to meet its sales targets is because of the dissonance between what it considers important and what really matters to its customers. If you want to boost your conversion rate, and keep your buyers coming back, the best approach is simply to meet their needs. But also, to do it better than your competitors…

However, what consumers want is a consistent, user-friendly and fast shopping experience. They tend to buy from an e-tailer if it has been able to deliver exceptional value. And with a minimum of friction and stress. Conversely, almost one in three say they will turn away from a brand they love after just one bad experience! 

Which doesn't really leave you much room for error....

A good post-purchase experience can even increase your average ticket. 40% of consumers say they are willing to pay more for more convenience and a user-friendly experience. This brings us to the crux of your e-commerce support: the combination of effective technology and a human touch that makes your customers feel heard and valued. 

Almost 80% of consumers stress the importance of competent help and friendly service. Your challenge is to use the right technologies to minimise friction. You also need to make your shopping experience more human and offer personalised and proactive help when it is needed!

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The self-service approach

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The first step to reducing your tickets is simply to answer the questions your customers might have before they even ask them. This is the famous "better safe than sorry" approach. 

The self-service strategy, applied to e-commerce support, is particularly interesting for small teams that have to manage a large customer base. It is simply a matter of providing customers with an information base that is sufficiently detailed and didactic to answer any questions they may have about the delivery of their order or the return of an item. 

Very simple resources such as an FAQ (frequently asked questions) page, informative blog posts or even video tutorials can help you significantly reduce enquiries. 

At Bigblue, we do our best to make sure that the product delivery information is as clear as possible. But also, to make sure it's available when your customers need it, and without them having to search for it. For example, our brand tracking emails show them the status of their package or return. 

Our branded returns portal also gives your buyers all the information about your product return policy. They can initiate a return or exchange request from within the platform and don't have to worry about it.

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The self-service approach can also be boosted with two very effective tools…

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Your brand community

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Your most loyal buyers can be a valuable resource for your e-commerce support. A discussion forum on your e-shop will allow new customers to ask their questions to the community and receive clear answers based on concrete purchase experiences. This is a good way to relieve your support agents. It is also a way to motivate your customers by offering coupons (or other benefits) to the most active ones!

Brands that use this strategy report a 56% reduction in support tickets.

Bigblue Tip 💡

‍92% of customers are more likely to trust a brand that has been recommended by their peers. Integrating UGCs into your customer support tools and marketing strategy is a great way to boost your sales! Discover UGC experts' secrets to double your sales.

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Artificial intelligence

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AI-powered chatbots can redirect your customers to your FAQ section or a relevant blog post based on their question.

So they take over the simplest queries from your agents. And in the process, they collect relevant data before connecting them with a real agent when they need further assistance.

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The right balance between automation and personalisation

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As mentioned above regarding product returns, you can't always avoid the inevitable. Applied to your e-commerce support, this implies that despite your best efforts, some of your buyers will need more concrete help and will ask you for it by sending a support ticket.

The trick is to find the right balance between automated handling of these support tickets and a more human approach. This strategy will allow you to save time on the simplest requests and to offer personalised help when needed.

On the one hand, automating the most repetitive tasks will allow your agents to save time by sending pre-written contextual messages to your customers. This requires you to analyze the most common questions or requests. But also a little A/B testing to formulate a short and direct answer allowing an efficient resolution. For example, by redirecting them to a more detailed article on your website!

Instead of rewriting each response email, you can now use these pre-recorded templates. This will allow your brand to reduce the time spent on the most complex support tickets by 80%!

Automation can also help you redirect the most complex or urgent requests to the right teams more efficiently. And therefore, resolve the issue more quickly.

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Streamline the handling of e-commerce support tickets

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Support tools, such as Intercom, allow you to streamline your workflow. For example, by filtering new support tickets based on user data (such as subscription type, where relevant). Then, assigning them to the agent or chatbot that would be best suited to resolve them.

Tickets are also prioritized automatically, based on the severity of the stated problem. And the agents are notified on Slack to speed up its resolution.

Here again, AI does a lot to streamline a process that would be extremely time-consuming if it were manual. Above all, it classifies the most urgent requests and allows your e-commerce business to be proactive in resolving a problem!

Thanks to Bigblue, you can also receive the rate given by your customers to their delivery experience. If something went wrong, you know immediately and can contact your customer before they do to reassure them or resolve their issue. Rather than letting a disgruntled shopper turn away from your brand after a bad experience, you have the opportunity to reverse the trend. It's a great way to prove to them that their needs are being taken care of and that your brand is doing its best to meet them!

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Adopt a multi-channel approach to e-commerce support

Customer queries can be communicated to you in many ways - not just via a support ticket. If a buyer has discovered you on a particular channel (e.g. your Instagram account), they may be tempted to contact you through that channel. This strategy is all the more common when your e-commerce support is slow to respond to them on another platform (e.g. via email).

It is also double-edged, as the response you can give on your social networks will be visible (and therefore useful) to a larger number of potential buyers. It will also show your responsiveness and the professionalism of your support. On the other hand, it makes the problems your customers are facing visible to a wider audience.  By doing so, you may risk dissuading a future buyer from placing an order!

This is why it is essential for your support team to have an overview of what is being said about your brand and what your customers are saying about it. It is also important that they can resolve issues raised in a dedicated channel.

In addition to the live chat available on their website, some brands (such as Nordstrom) choose to offer their customers instant access to their support team via Slack.  The interactive platform allows all customers to receive an answer or even a quick solution to their query. They can also access the queries of other shoppers, without any potential negative impact on your brand image. 

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E-commerce support: good tools that work together

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Your e-commerce support is the keystone of your post-purchase experience. It is therefore a powerful lever to boost your customer satisfaction and generate repeat sales.

To reduce your support tickets and save time on what your agents have to deal with, you need to be on two fronts:

• Your buyers' dissatisfaction. By minimising fictions, you will prevent them from needing your support;
• The time it takes to resolve a problem: if it takes too long, it will affect your customers' experience and limit your retention capacity.

Thus, many tools are available today to optimise your e-commerce support and allow you to save time! The challenge for you? Choose the most efficient and relevant ones for your company. But also to integrate them so that you don't find yourself constantly switching from one to the other.

Integrating your support tools will also allow you to make the most of the data they collect for your brand. You'll be able to analyze the KPIs of your ticketing system to identify sticking points. And eventually, you'll help your teams improve these key metrics (average resolution or response time, etc).

Improve your post-purchase experience and reduce the time you spend on e-commerce support by choosing the right tools. With Bigblue, you can take a more proactive approach and resolve customer queries (return requests, delivery tracking) without mobilizing your agents!

Thanks to our integration with the support tools Gorgias and Zendesk, your customer support team gets the information they need directly in the support ticket! From the moment we started to use the Bigblue+Gorgias integration, we reduced our time spent on ticket by 50%, Simon de Swarte, CMO & Co-Founder of the sneakers brand CAVAL said.

Curious to read more on how Caval cut his support workload with our app. → Read the full story

SEO is a very important acquisition lever for e-commerce sites that are very dependent on their online visibility. Working on SEO (or Search Engine Optimisation) has become almost mandatory to develop the sales of your e-commerce site and your referencing on search engines will allow you to attract more customers.

What are the main marketing levers for e-commerce? What are the benefits of SEO for e-commerce and how to implement a good SEO strategy? In this article, we take a look at the key elements to take into account to boost your e-commerce site and sell more!

What are the main marketing levers for e-commerce?

E-commerce marketing consists of using different levers and strategies to :

• Increase traffic to your e-commerce site
• Convert these visitors into customers
• Retain these new customers

There are different type of content marketing and methods to increase the performance of an e-commerce site:

• Emailing is one of the main levers of traffic acquisition. Your audience expects news and promotions to be sent by email. Think of making a newsletter or prospecting email campaigns. For this, you can turn to an email sequencing tool like LaGrowthMachine.

• The blog that will allow you to feed your website with content. It improves your search engine ranking and can be part of an inbound marketing strategy.

• SEA (or Search Engine Advertising) with Google Adwords will allow you to obtain immediate visibility on search engines by paying. It is a cost per click and allows you to get quick results with high transformation rates if the keywords are well studied beforehand.

• Social networks will allow you to communicate directly with your audience and this will impact your reputation. Using them also allows you to be close to your customers and to measure their satisfaction (comments, opinions, etc.).

• Retargeting (or advertising retargeting) will propose to the user to come back to your website if they have left it previously. This technique uses the user's browsing data (cookies) to consult their visit to the website. Thanks to retargeting, you can offer tailor-made advertisements (e.g. products that the user has looked at).

• SEO is a long-term investment and must be worked on consistently and regularly. Results will start to appear at least after 3-6 months. It will allow you to acquire quality traffic in addition to gaining notoriety thanks to your good positioning on search engines.

Now that you know the different marketing levers for e-commerce, the hardest part remains. Indeed, the levers presented will only be useful if a strategy with precise objectives has been put in place. Remember that the number one objective is to obtain quality traffic. Indeed, if your visitors arrive on your site and leave it 5 seconds later, it is useless (bounce rate).

In the following, we will use the example of SEO to list the advantages of this strategy and how to implement it to get the maximum benefit.

What are the advantages of SEO for e-commerce?

A well-referenced e-commerce site is like a shop on the Champs Elysées. There will be a lot of traffic in front of the shop and it will therefore have a better chance of attracting customers. On the other hand, a poorly referenced e-commerce site is more like a shop hidden at the end of a street with little traffic.

The first page of Google has a click rate of +90%. This means that if you are on the 2nd or 3rd page of a search engine, you have very little chance of being seen. Internet users trust Google for their search results and as they are increasingly looking for quick information, they will consider the first results as the most relevant.

With a relevant SEO strategy on your e-commerce site, you will be able to

• Increase your brand awareness
• Capture more traffic to your online shop
• Win over new customers
• Increase your turnover

SEO is also the most profitable acquisition lever. Indeed, it has the advantage of bringing you customers for free. It is true that to improve your natural referencing, you will have to use a lot of resources in time and money but once you are well positioned on different keywords, the traffic you will get will simply be free!

Here are some of the benefits of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO):

• Having visitors interested in your products
• Improving conversion rates
• Increasing your visibility and therefore lowering that of your competitors
• Anticipate sales through constant traffic on different keywords

How to implement an SEO strategy in e-commerce?

In order to implement an effective SEO strategy that will allow you to appear in the first results of search engines, it is important to follow the following steps:

Research effective keywords

This step is essential to ensure that you rank high in search results. Choose keywords that are relevant to your business and long-tail keywords can also help you rank quickly in certain niches where your competitors are not yet present. Think in terms of user requests and you can also use tools like answerthepublic.com which will allow you to know what is or is not searched for in your sector of activity.

💡 Bigblue Tip

Semrush offers the "Keyword Gap" tool that allows you to find the keywords used by your competitors that you will need to rank for in Google searches!

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Optimise SEO with links and navigation

To rank your pages, Google crawls them with the help of robots that will go to your site. Linking your pages together will facilitate the exploration of your e-commerce site. This is called internal linking. Try as much as possible to position links between pages that may be complementary.

Optimise the content of your site's product pages

When a customer wants to buy on your website, it is important to understand that they cannot see the item in real life, nor can they touch it. The aim here is to answer any questions they may have. First of all, write attractive product descriptions. They should be very detailed and mention all the features of the product you are selling. You can also add presentation videos, assembly or user guides to your customers to advise and help them.

💡 Bigblue Tip

As they can change regularly (especially in the clothing sector), do not waste too much time putting many keywords on your product pages. We recommend you instead to optimising your category pages!

Creating a blog

The aim of the blog is to help users choose their product. It will also have a role to play in your search engine positioning. Update it regularly, offering visitors to your site content related to your sector of activity. Above all, do not use duplicate content. Google doesn't like it and you risk losing a lot of visibility on your website.

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Improve the user experience and usability of your e-commerce website

It is important to design your e-commerce site well so that navigation on it is as smooth as possible. Think UX and UI design so that your visitors stay on your site as long as possible and get to the end of the purchase process. A slow loading page, a misunderstanding in the sales path can frustrate the consumer and make him leave your online shop.

💡 Bigblue Tip

By June 2022, the share of mobile traffic reached 65.5%. Moreover, about 30% of e-commerce visitors don't make it to the bottom of a page. If your customer have to scroll, you're likely losing an equivalent potential revenue with each visit! If you are looking for inspiration, we recommend you to have a look on websites like 900.Care one's.

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Measure the results of your strategy

The implementation of SEO marketing operations must be measurable to know if you are going in the right direction. Google Analytics will allow you to analyse your traffic and see where it is coming from. This way you can see if the increase in traffic has led to an increase in turnover and you can then monitor your strategy with the help of statistics.

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Conclusion

If you are looking at an SEO strategy for the first time, the first thing to remember is that it is a medium to long term acquisition strategy. The ROI (or Return of Investment) of SEO will not be immediate and is part of a process of continuous improvement of your web presence. Move forward regularly and be patient!

Forget the quantitative and focus mainly on the qualitative aspect to attract an audience that is most likely to become your customers. Capturing an unqualified audience can be detrimental to your website's SEO.

Finally, think mobile. Adapting your website to mobile phones has become essential as more and more people buy from their phones. Your website must therefore be responsive design and offer a smooth shopping experience on smartphones.