Retailers can boost growth despite eCommerce declines

With inflation rising and growing cost of living pressures, consumers are curbing their spending habits, including online. According to advisory firm BlueRock, in August 2022, online sales were down 3.5%, compared to the prior month, and are tracking at 19% down year-on-year. 

"Retailers are now wondering how they can increase their online sales in the face of new challenges," says Simon Brosolo, Managing Director at BlueRock.

"However, online retailers can overcome these challenges and boost their sales."

Generate more with less

"If your website looks great and traffic is healthy, but visitors aren't converting into paying customers, you need to explore Conversion Rate Optimisation," says Brosolo. 

"This approach includes identifying opportunities that can bring improved conversion, then designing and testing a variation of the website against what already exists. Whether it's your homepage, checkout process, or writing new content, this can optimise every aspect of your website to increase your conversion rate," he says.

"By testing different strategies including identifying underperforming parts of your website and improving what's already effective you will get data-driven insights into whats working and whats not."

Upgrade to a seamless ecommerce solution

To achieve ultimate success in online retail, Brosolo says retailers need an end-to-end ecommerce solution that integrates with their business systems. 

"When a modern, high-converting website integrates with back-end systems for business freight and inventory management, you not only provide a seamless customer experience and increase sales, you save your teams precious time, the company's money and a whole lot of admin headaches," he says.

Invest in customer experience

"Getting customers to your online or physical store is only half the battle," Brosolo says. 

"You need to ensure you're delighting them at every step to give yourself the best shot at a sale and repeat business. As interest rates are rising, consumers are questioning the state of the current economy, so investing time to improve customer experience is essential.

"A consumer experience strategy is about understanding the motivations, wants, needs and pain points of your customer at every point in their journey with your brand, whether it be using a chatbot on your website, interacting with your social media accounts, completing the online checkout process, or navigating a return," he says.

"Investing in your CX strategy is important. It isnt a quick fix, but it will give your ecommerce sales a boost that will provide long-term ROI."

Invest in brand and content

Brosolo says consumers don't just want just a product or service anymore - they want an experience. 

"Strategy and creativity play equal parts when it comes to strengthening your brand, content and visual identity. Producing valuable content that your customers love is one of the most important aspects of your marketing strategy," he says. 

"It helps you connect with your customers, boost brand awareness and drive traffic to your website."

Bottom line

"While eCommerce might be declining, there's no need to panic as it is understandable given the current economic environment," Brosolo says. 

"As such, it is important to seek professional advice to understand the current landscape of the industry and its consumers. 

"Reaching out to multidisciplinary firms such as BlueRock can help your business discover ways to keep your operation on the right path and see success into the future."