Four E-Commerce Strategies Retailers Should Know

Here’s a test: Ask a handful of friends how they prefer to shop – online, or in-store.

Chances are, many will say they use their laptops or smartphones to buy everything from groceries and household products to clothing – all thanks to free shipping and returns, reliable product selection, and fast, easy customer service.

They’re not alone. Market research firm eMarketer projects global e-commerce sales will eclipse $2.5 trillion within the next five years, accounting for 8.8 percent of worldwide retail by 2018.[1]

That bodes well for retailers that have had solid e-commerce strategies in place for years. But what about small and mid-size businesses? How can they make sure they get a piece of the pie?

The answer: By adhering to these four time-tested strategies for growing their online consumer base and sales.

1. Consider Your Content

Posting great content gives you an opportunity to do more than just entertain your customers as they fill up their shopping carts. Content (in the form of a blog, longer stories, videos, or infographics) increases brand awareness, improves search rankings, bolsters your social reach, and leads customers down the purchase funnel.

One key rule: Customers typically engage with content when it’s relevant to them. Patagonia mixes content and commerce with inspirational adventure travel videos that greet customers as they enter the site. Likewise, Net-a-Porter creates magazine-like editorial spreads with its products organically integrated, allowing customers a one-click experience to easily buy something they like.

Small-to-medium businesses might benefit from focusing content on niche areas. iFixit, for example, which sells tools and replacement parts, provides users with more than 17,500 crowed-sourced repair guides on its site,[2] complementing its product offerings.

2. Be a Smart Social Player

It’s likely that social media eats up a tiny fraction of your marketing budget. Duke University found that social media accounted for just 9 percent of budgets among top marketing executives surveyed in 2014. But that number is expected to grow to 22 percent by 2019.[3]

If you have to choose one area of focus, you may consider paid advertising on sites such as Facebook, which allow you to target customer segments by age, location, interests, and job title.

Another benefit to investing in social spend is accessing sophisticated analytics that allow you to monitor and measure your social campaigns by looking at the type of content that works best, and the actions customer take.

3. Make Checkout a Breeze

Imagine this customer: After pulling out their phone and finding the perfect cold-weather gear to take on a sailing trip, they become frustrated when the steps required to input billing and shipping addresses, supply credit card information, and select a preferred method of shipping become too cumbersome on a small device. Transaction: Abandoned.

If you’re a small or medium business owner, this kind of lost purchase can really cost you.

“In the current retail environment, where consumers are more frequently engaging with merchants through their mobile devices, merchants should think about creating mobile-friendly checkout experiences in order to provide a more enjoyable experience and welcome a wider variety of customers,” said Amy Parsons, Vice President of Global Commerce at Discover.

If you’re focused on online sales, it might include a progress bar to let your customer know how far down the purchase funnel they are. Or, it could mean rearranging the checkout process to allow the user to input their shipping address and preferred method of shipping before billing, or recognizing a returning customer based on their email, so they don’t have to re-enter their login over again.

4. Make Customers Feel Safe

The FTC reported that identity theft was the top consumer complaint of 2014 for the fifteenth year in a row. What’s more, the Identity Theft Resource Center reported 783 data breaches in 2014, up 27.5 percent from 2013. This number, the group says, only encompasses those reported, and that the figure is likely to be higher when unreported cases are folded in.[4]

So how can small businesses boost their online security? The options include installing a strong firewall, having a separate payment terminal network, and using security software that tests for vulnerabilities.

“Consumers are expecting to engage with merchants seamlessly and securely, which can pose a challenge to small-to-medium businesses as they look to enhance the consumer experience while maintaining strong fraud prevention measures,” Parsons said. “Two of the key hurdles these businesses face is implementing stronger security as well as ensuring these security measures do not impede a smooth check-out experience. One way to tackle this is by leverage Discover’s fraud prevention tools such as Fraud Alerts and Verify+, which increase security in the online space without slowing down checkout or impacting the customer.”

This article was brought to you by Discover Network. For more insights into consumer trends and the world of payments, visit Discover Network Perspectives.

[1] eMarketer, Dec. 23, 2014, “Retail Sales Worldwide Will Top $22 Trillion This Year”

[2] Practical Ecommerce, December 7, 2015, “5 Ecommerce Content Marketing Trends for 2016”

[3] Duke University, September 3, 2014, The CMO Survey: Social Media Spending High, But Impact Difficult to Prove”

[4] Identity Theft Resource Center, January 12, 2015, “Identity Theft Resource Center Breach Report Hits Record High in 2014”