Ecommerce has revolutionized the shopping landscape. Global retail ecommerce sales are projected to exceed $4.1 trillion in 2024.
The remarkable growth is beneficial for online sellers, yet it also highlights the increasing competitiveness of the ecommerce landscape.
The question is, which ecommerce marketing strategies can your brand use to attract potential customers, convince them to purchase, and turn them into ambassadors?
This post examines 13 essential ecommerce marketing strategies you can use to set your products apart from competitors and boost ecommerce sales.
Check them out!
Disclaimer: This content contains some affiliate links for which we will earn a commission (at no additional cost to you). This is to ensure that we can keep creating free content for you.
While most brands struggle to get to the first pages of search results, drive traffic, and increase conversions, you can do it with the following ecommerce marketing strategies. Use them to make your products stand out, get more sales, and grow your business.
Automation is one of those ecommerce marketing strategies that save your team time and help you increase sales.
Best of all?
You can apply it to different areas of your business, from customer service, sales, fulfillment, to marketing. And since most of these functions tend to be repetitive, automation can ensure they run smoothly while also boosting your service quality.
But how exactly can you use automation to market ecommerce sites?
There are several use cases, including:
Cart abandonment is one of the major concerns for ecommerce marketers, leading to revenue loss. Statista reports that cart abandonment rates exceed 70% in 2024. To recapture these customers, you invest in abandoned cart recovery emails.
Image via Statista
Abandoned cart automated emails let you automatically reach visitors who abandoned their cart and remind them to complete their purchase.
So, how do you ensure this email marketing strategy works in your favor?
Win-back campaigns are one of those ecommerce marketing strategies that help you stay top of mind with current customers.
But how?
This ecommerce email marketing strategy tries to win back people who've stayed for long without interacting with your content or purchasing emails.
When you automate win-back campaigns, you can keep track of when customers last bought or clicked your emails. You can also trigger win-back automated emails when a customer hits a certain duration without engagement.
Image via ActiveCampaign
As one of the most used ecommerce marketing strategies, automation can make it easy to know your customers, see which ones engage you most, and reward them.
And guess what?
If you segment customers by repeat purchases or average order value, you can build a loyalty program and use it to share offers.
With ecommerce automation, you can create high converting emails, measure engagement, and develop personalized lead nurture campaigns.
As one of the top ecommerce marketing strategies, automation helps you track contact progress so that you can send the right messages to your leads.
Best of all?
This ecommerce email marketing strategy can enable you to send messages relevant to individual leads interests, pain points, and their stage in the purchase journey.
For example, check out how Clinique used this email marketing strategy to ask the customer to replenish their supplies while including multiple cross-sells.
Image via SmartMail
Pro Tip: Automate customer support so that those who begin their searches with “help” or “how” can get directed to the FAQ page. It may not always lead to a sale, but it can make it easier for them to find answers that may lead to a sale.
Retargeting is one of those ecommerce marketing strategies that can help you increase conversion rate by showing ads to visitors on your website.
And why is it one of the essential ecommerce marketing strategies?
It gives off an always there feeling and can make your products memorable. It can also increase your click-through rates since people already know about the products you advertise.
But where can you use remarketing?
Google Ads and Facebook Ads.
When you use Google Ads, people will see your ads on blogs, YouTube videos, websites, and third-party mobile apps when they leave your site.
With Facebook retargeting ads, your ads will show on users' timelines and Instagram.
But what techniques can you use to increase sales with this strategy?
Pro Tip: Aggressively retarget people who visit your ecommerce platform for the first time but don't add anything to their cart. Give them compelling reasons to buy, like a 50% off their first purchase.
Getting new customers to your ecommerce business can get tricky, especially if search engines do not find your site.
But it's not impossible to get and retain audience attention, especially if you use the right ecommerce marketing strategies.
And one of the most-used ecommerce marketing strategies?
SEO
Using ecommerce SEO can make it easy for potential customers to find your products through organic search.
But how?
Keyword Research: Create a list of intent-based target keywords that help you in your ecommerce SEO.
On-Page SEO: Implement the keywords you find on your product pages, meta descriptions, titles, URLs, H1 tags, product and category descriptions, etc.
Product Pages: Ensure they have unique descriptions, highlight technical specs, include social media share buttons, clear images, and helpful product videos.
Technical SEO: Fix duplicate content, orphaned pages, keyword cannibalization issues, broken links, duplicate URLs, missing descriptions and alt text, etc. Additionally, build your backlink profile and increase page speed.
Local SEO: Leverage local SEO marketing tactics, such as claiming your Google My Business profile, getting local links, and building backlinks from local sites.
Other marketing tactics you can use to ensure users have great experiences while on your website:
Pro Tip: While adding keywords on each product and category page may take a long time, you can start by updating the most important pages. Go to Google Analytics if you've set up ecommerce tracking, and sort your pages by revenue or traffic sessions to find the most popular.
While related to SEO, content marketing is one of the ecommerce marketing strategies that can help your products rank while helping you build backlinks.
But what’s the procedure for succeeding with ecommerce content marketing?
First, create blog posts by finding purchase intent keywords you can use to create informative content related to your products.
For example, you can use keyword research tools or Google to find phrases people use when they need more information about products.
Image via Google
Alternatively, use topic research tools, brainstorm with your team, monitor audience interest online, etc.
Then, once you create your content, publish and promote it on other marketing channels, including email, social media platforms, forums, question & answer sites, guest blogs, etc.
Pro Tip: As content marketing is one of those ecommerce marketing strategies that help ecommerce websites guide buyers across their journey, create content for every stage. Create educational content for the awareness, point them towards your products during consideration, and show them why your products are the best during the decision stage.
What positions reviews as one of the most critical ecommerce marketing strategies?
Almost everyone reads online reviews in today's online world. They also depend on them when making purchase decisions.
Reviews act as social proof, and you can showcase them in the form of ratings, product reviews, social posts, and unboxing videos.
Furthermore, knowing others had a great experience with your products sends a powerful signal that your target audience can trust your brand and that you have legitimate products.
But how do ecommerce brands use reviews to drive sales?
Image via Really Good Emails
Pro Tip: Identify terminologies and vocabulary customers use when reviewing your products. Then, use them to inspire your product descriptions, ads, packaging, and overall ecommerce marketing strategies.
The total ad spending on social media is estimated to reach $220 billion in 2024. Businesses today are ready to spend this whopping amount on social media paid advertising because people now use social media platforms to research brands, products, and services they want to purchase.
All the leading social media platforms allow you to create impressive ads to market your products and draft traffic to your website.
So, what's your excuse for not including social media campaigns in your ecommerce marketing strategies?
Not sure how to do it right?
Social media ecommerce marketing involves a set of tactics that can help you market an ecommerce business. For example:
Build brand awareness: Use images, blog post links, video marketing, etc., to build brand awareness on current products or create a buzz for a new product launch.
Advertise: Leverage advanced targeting features on most social media platforms to advertise your products. These can help you drive traffic to your online store or increase conversions.
Customer service: Use these platforms to reply to customer questions, engage their comments, and collect feedback.
Social Listening: Monitor mentions and conversations around your ecommerce brand online. Use the information to understand what people love about your products, the problems they encounter, and overall sentiments.
But what best practices govern social media for ecommerce?
Pro Tip:Leverage link retargeting on Facebook to target anyone who clicks on your curated content. These include media coverage, industry news, reviews, or content taking people to third-party websites. Doing this enables you to offer value while expanding your retargeting reach.
As one of the most popular ecommerce marketing strategies, Google Shopping shows users products related to what they search for at the top of the search engine results page. And when they click on an item from your ecommerce website, they get directed to it.
But how do you get your products eligible?
Submit a catalog of your products to Google Merchant Center. Google then uses your data, including titles, descriptions, images, etc., to show your products on search results when potential buyers run a search.
But what makes it one of the best ecommerce marketing strategies?
Broader Reach: Most consumers start their research on Google search, allowing you to place your products in front of many potential buyers.
Better Qualified Leads: Traffic from Shopping ads is mostly intent-based or from shoppers who know exactly what they want now.
Increase Returns on Investment: Proper management of Shopping ads can increase your profits, especially if you leverage Surfaces across Google. This way, you can attract buyers without paying when they click on your listings.
Hyper-targeted Marketing: Combining this with Google Ads can provide you with a targeted way to reach more potential customers. It can also enable you to reach shoppers on home devices and Google Assistant on smartphones.
Pro Tip: To make your pricing competitive, see whether you can lower your shipping cost since Google showcases the total purchase cost.
In recent years, influencer marketing has become a powerful ecommerce marketing strategy that yields great results. According to a survey, brands worldwide spent over $34 billion on influencer marketing in 2023.
Image via Statista
Influencers and ecommerce brands are a match made in heaven. Brands want to expand their reach and build a positive brand image, and influencers can help them create original and genuine content.
Consider this campaign by Daniel Wellington, where the luxury watch and jewelry brand partnered with influencer Ginn to promote their zodiac jewelry collection.
Image via Instagram
The brand can reach out to the genZ and millennials who follow this influencer through lively and unique content.
Here’s what you can gain by investing in an influencer marketing campaign:
When collaborating with influencers, it's essential to be vigilant for potential red flags. Leverage the expertise of a reputable influencer agency to search, vet, and partner with genuine content creators.
Sit with them to communicate your expectations and brand guidelines. For the best results, give the influencers enough liberty to create posts and videos in their own style. You can use coupon codes or unique links to learn leads directly to the product page and make a purchase.
One of the new-age ecommerce marketing strategies you must consider is social commerce. Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube have evolved into platforms where you can directly sell your products.
When asked, marketers said that social media shopping tools and SEO were the two channels that yielded the highest ROI in 2023.
Image via HubSpot
Social media shopping can be overwhelming for first-time users. Focusing on these basics will set you on the path to success.
SMS marketing is one of the most effective ecommerce marketing strategies to reach out to your customers directly.
You might wonder how a simple channel like SMS can drive results compared to technologically advanced means. Surprisingly, 58% of brands ran more SMS campaigns in 2023 than in previous years.
SMS is still effective because it is direct and delivered on their most frequently used device, their smartphones. More often than not, customers open a branded SMS to see the message.
SMS marketing has some limitations. You have to convey your message concisely without a character limit. You also can’t share images or videos like you do in an email; you can only share links to desired landing pages.
However, you can adopt smart tactics to optimize SMS campaigns to drive specific results for your business. Use SMS to update your customers about order confirmation, recent purchases, and tracking details.
You can share specific links to provide early access to a sale. Sending alerts about low stock, back-in-stock, or flash sales can create a sense of urgency. SMS can drive more clicks in such situations compared to emails and social media posts.
We can’t stress enough the need to optimize your product pages if you want to build a sustainable ecommerce store.
All online stores have high-quality product images and decent product descriptions. What else can you do to make these pages more impressive?
Bring in augmented reality. AR opens a new frontier when it comes to delivering enhanced customer experience. This technology helps you bring your products to life and allows your customers to understand how they would look in real life.
Take a look at the images below. Artlabs creates virtual 3D product images for its clients. It also uses AR to offer virtual try-ons, where buyers can see how a pair of shoes or clothing would look on them.
Image via Artlabs
Many businesses, including cosmetics, apparel, accessories, home decor, and others, use such technology to deliver immersive shopping experiences to their customers.
The possibilities of using AR as one of the innovative ecommerce marketing strategies are endless. Explore how you can include AR on your website and stay ahead of the competition to win more customers.
Your customers are always ready to spend more if you give them the right reason. That's where cross-selling and upselling emerge as strong ecommerce marketing strategies.
When a customer buys a product, you can recommend related products that complement the initial purchase. On the other hand, upselling is about encouraging the buyers to opt for a bigger deal to avail of greater discounts or free goodies.
In the following cross-selling email, Frontman sends a personlaized email recommending similar products to the customer who just purchased a product used to treat acne.
Image via Really Good Email
When buyers receive such personalized recommendations, they are more likely to try them. This ensures repeat purchases and a steady stream of revenue.
There is no denying that we are in the age of AI. When it comes to ecommerce marketing strategies, AI is disrupting the landscape like never before. Businesses that adopt this new technology are ahead of the curve.
As AI continues to evolve rapidly, here are strategic ways to integrate AI into your ecommerce workflow for a competitive edge:
Q1. What are ecommerce marketing strategies?
A. Ecommerce marketing strategies are tactics you use to drive traffic to your ecommerce business, convert visitors to paying customers, and retain those who purchase.
Q2. How do you create a digital marketing strategy for ecommerce?
A. Use the following tactics to create a successful strategy for your online store.
Get an in-depth look at these and more ecommerce marketing strategies above.
Q3. How do you advertise ecommerce?
A. Ecommerce advertising is one of the ecommerce marketing strategies where you use paid messaging to promote your products online. You pay for clicks, placements, impressions, etc., on platforms like Google, Facebook, YouTube, news sites, etc.
Q4. How do you develop an ecommerce marketing plan?
A. Use these steps to develop a working plan:
Q5. How is Ecommerce useful in marketing?
A. The following are reasons ecommerce is useful in marketing.
Q6. What are the 3 types of ecommerce?
A. They are:
Q7. Will the ecommerce market survive for long?
A. Yes, it will.
With lockdowns, travel bans, and retail store closures, most people have started shopping online. Additionally, most of them say they will continue shopping online even after the pandemic.
Q8. What are the best ways to increase ecommerce sales?
A. Use these ecommerce marketing strategies to increase online sales:
Check out other tactics to increase ecommerce sales and boost revenue.
Q9. How do ecommerce get sales?
A. Ecommerce marketers get sales from selling their products and services online. They use various ecommerce marketing strategies to promote their products, then give consumers who visit their site a range of options to pay for the goods or services.
Q10. What are the ecommerce marketing metrics?
A. Some important ecommerce metrics to track include:
Check out other crucial ecommerce metrics you should measure.
Implement all of these ecommerce marketing strategies if you want to build brand awareness, drive traffic, and increase online sales.
Most importantly, don't forget to track and improve those that work better with your type of audience.
What ecommerce marketing strategies mentioned above will you try out first? Is there any you need more details about? Comment below, and we can offer more guidelines to help you succeed.
Disclaimer: This content contains some affiliate links for which we will earn a commission (at no additional cost to you). This is to ensure that we can keep creating free content for you.
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