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Checkout Tactics
10 Useful Elements for a Post-purchase Thank-you Page (and 3 to Avoid)
February 21, 2020 • Pamela Hazelton
One of the most underutilized features of online stores is the post-purchase thank-you page. A thank-you page often contains only order details. That’s a mistake. Here are 10 useful elements to include on a thank-you page, and three to avoid.
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Checkout Tactics
What’s a Good Conversion Rate for Ecommerce?
February 6, 2020 • Pamela Hazelton
A common question from ecommerce businesses is, “What is a good conversion rate?” The answer varies based on the business and the definition of "conversion." In this post, I'll look at the most common ecommerce conversion types, reported averages, and how to improve.
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Customer Retention
Yes, Smaller Ecommerce Stores Can Evolve (and Prosper)
January 21, 2020 • Pamela Hazelton
Merchants know that ecommerce is highly competitive. It's also dynamic and ever-changing. Alternative forms of selling and servicing (such as social commerce, voice commerce, and chatbots) are examples. What can a smaller online store do to keep up?
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Customer Retention
Use Cross-selling to Increase Trust, Loyalty, Sales
January 7, 2020 • Pamela Hazelton
Cross-selling is the act of successfully offering complementary items on the same or subsequent orders. This tried-and-true practice can help retailers of all sizes and product types boost average sales totals and customer loyalty.
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Payments
For 2020, Multiple Payment Options Are Essential
December 23, 2019 • Pamela Hazelton
Offering multiple forms of payment, especially for mobile shoppers, will be key in 2020. The payment methods your store accepts can make or break a sale. There are five main types of payments for ecommerce sites. Merchants should offer all of them.
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Conversion
‘Tis the Time to Capture Sales from Procrastinators
December 9, 2019 • Pamela Hazelton
Procrastinators prefer to buy several gifts in one shopping session. Sites that sell a variety of items will fare better, though stores that cater to a niche market may also realize great success. Follow these tips to ensure your business appeals to those late holiday shoppers.
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Product Pages
10 Last-minute Strategies to Capture Holiday Revenue
November 29, 2019 • Pamela Hazelton
Gearing up for the post-Thanksgiving holiday selling season is never easy. It takes time and planning. Here are some last-minute strategies that may help.
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Product Pages
Organization Is Key for Holiday Gift Guides
November 8, 2019 • Pamela Hazelton
Is your store’s gift guide ready for Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday? Gift guides can be as simple as listings of products that have something in common, such as subject, category, or price.
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User Experience
Minimalist Design Can Increase Ecommerce Sales
October 21, 2019 • Pamela Hazelton
Minimalism can present products in a refreshing way and focus on key selling points. The result is more engagement and conversions. When considering a minimalist design, keep the following conversion pointers in mind.
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Product Pages
Non-standard Product Images Can Spur Sales
August 22, 2019 • Pamela Hazelton
Quality product photos are crucial to selling online. Since they cannot physically touch an item, shoppers need to see all the core details. To maximize sales of a product, though, you need multiple types of images — beyond studio shots. Here are three types of non-standard photos that encourage sales.
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Product Pages
Simple Tweaks to Product Pages Can Drive Sales
August 8, 2019 • Pamela Hazelton
Adjusting layouts on a per-product basis is costly and time-consuming. It makes sense instead to focus on the most crucial elements of the page — to communicate benefits to the highest number of product-page visitors. Here are six ways to do that.
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Product Pages
5 Benefits of Ecommerce Loss Leaders
July 25, 2019 • Pamela Hazelton
Whether clearing out last year’s styles or promoting the latest gadgets, loss-leading strategies are used by companies of all sizes. There are good reasons for online stores to sell select products at a loss.
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Shipping & Fulfillment
9 Tips to Improve the Overall Shipping Experience
July 10, 2019 • Pamela Hazelton
There is no shortage of studies that confirm the importance of free shipping. But a comprehensive shipping strategy extends beyond free. It includes other crucial elements that impact conversions and customer satisfaction.
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Customer Retention
Branding Is the Key to More Ecommerce Sales
June 20, 2019 • Pamela Hazelton
Positive branding is key for any business. It takes a lot of work over time, but the benefits make it worthwhile. The products you sell, interactions with shoppers, transparency — all impact branding.
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Checkout Tactics
How to Get More Form Submissions, Even on Checkout Pages
June 11, 2019 • Pamela Hazelton
Obtaining shoppers' contact information is valuable for ecommerce businesses. But consumers are reluctant to provide their email address, or name, or phone number. There are ways, though, to streamline the process.
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Product Pages
The Bare Essentials for High-converting Ecommerce Sites
May 22, 2019 • Pamela Hazelton
Driving traffic to your online store is one thing. Turning a decent percentage of visitors into buyers is another. That’s why businesses should always make sure the site is shoppable before spending a dime on advertising. A conversion-worthy website focuses on key elements that work together. Call them "essentials."
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Conversion
What’s a Good Conversion Rate? It Depends
May 8, 2019 • Pamela Hazelton
When it comes to analyzing online businesses, a common question is "What is a good sales conversion rate?" It's difficult to answer because conversion rates vary greatly and depend on many factors, including product offerings, target audiences, prices, and devices.
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Customer Service
Using Facebook Messenger Chatbots to Support Live Chat
April 23, 2019 • Pamela Hazelton
Chatbots can help bridge the gap between live chat and self-help support pages. While highly customized automatic chatbots require a large financial investment, there are many ways to affordably integrate more personal conversations.
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Product Pages
7 Reasons Your Mobile Site Isn’t Converting So Well
April 15, 2019 • Pamela Hazelton
Most online stores are seeing more traffic from smartphones. But desktops and tablets still generate higher conversion rates. Here are seven reasons why.
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Product Pages
6 Selling Tips from Auto Manufacturers
March 21, 2019 • Pamela Hazelton
Ecommerce merchants can learn a great deal from auto manufacturers, who spend millions to understand how people shop and the choices they’re likely to make. This is evident both in showrooms and on the internet. Studying their marketing and websites can tell us a great deal about consumers.
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Product Pages
Building Landing Pages That Convert
March 5, 2019 • Pamela Hazelton
Online stores need a healthy balance of landing pages, especially for anchor products and product categories. Landing pages have a specific goal, such as getting people to sign up for email newsletters or purchase a product.
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Product Pages
3 Ways to Overcome Shoppers’ Desire to Touch Products
February 22, 2019 • Pamela Hazelton
Ecommerce stores are convenient and offer much to consumers. But online shopping has one big disadvantage: Buyers cannot touch the products. In this post, I will discuss three ways for ecommerce businesses to overcome a potential buyer’s desire to physically handle a product before buying online.
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Checkout Tactics
5 Tips for Selling without Discounting
February 7, 2019 • Pamela Hazelton
Increasing sales via discounts, coupons, and undercutting competitors (or a combination of all three), isn’t typically the best practice for smaller companies.
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Customer Retention
8 Micro Conversions to Instill Trust, Obtain Customers
January 23, 2019 • Pamela Hazelton
Micro conversions are smaller actions that can lead to sales. Micro conversions can instill trust, and therefore influence the 90 percent of visitors who do not intend to immediately purchase.
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Product Pages
6 Key Components of Product Videos
January 8, 2019 • Pamela Hazelton
Video is a crucial part of selling online. What once was a secondary, supporting element is now a primary educator about what a product is and what it does. When creating a video, be sure it includes the following core elements.
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Analytics & Data
Fine-tune Google Analytics for a More Profitable 2019
December 24, 2018 • Pamela Hazelton
If there is one new year's resolution for boosting ecommerce conversions in 2019, it's to get your store's analytics in order. Otherwise, you will never understand the impact of changes to your site. You’ll also miss out on potential target audiences — long-term, loyal customers.
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Checkout Tactics
7 Conversion Snafus That Kill Ecommerce Sales
December 7, 2018 • Pamela Hazelton
There are many reasons for high ecommerce exit rates and abandoned carts. Most are logical. Take the new year to address problems that may be decreasing sales conversions. Here are seven often-overlooked sales killers.
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Customer Retention
10 Holiday-selling Tips to Boost January Revenue
November 26, 2018 • Pamela Hazelton
While you are busy handling lots of holiday orders, take a few minutes to analyze your online store to increase the chance of getting post-holiday sales. Here are 10 tips to enter 2019 stronger than ever.
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Product Pages
5 Simple Ways to Boost Conversions
November 7, 2018 • Pamela Hazelton
When it comes to increasing conversions of an online store, smaller ecommerce sites have to focus on more down-to-earth tactics. Here are five ways to improve on-site conversions without breaking the bank.
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Checkout Tactics
8 Ways to Increase Conversions from Mobile Users
October 23, 2018 • Pamela Hazelton
Mobile users have long outnumbered visitors on desktops and tablets in respect to catalog browsing. But, finally, the number of mobile purchasers is increasing. There are plenty of ways to encourage mobile sales conversions. In this post, I'll address eight of them.