5 Ways to Get More Repeat Sales for Your eCommerce Website

Here's How to Increase Your Return Customers On Your eCommerce Website

In this day and age it’s important to build relationships with your customers on your eCommerce store. There’s so many benefits to creating and maintaining a positive relationships especially repeat sales. But how do you start? Obviously having a great product is key but sometimes you need other ways to start the relationship and get the ball rolling. 

According to a study by Adobe, repeat customers are responsible for generating 40% of a store's revenue - which is only 8% of its customers. Obviously this relationship is important and when it’s a positive one it can have some great reward. Whether it’s a simple addition to your packaging or downloading an App to your store, there are a few options that can help your repeat sales.

1. Keep the relationship warm right away

Make sure that your communication lines are open after your customer makes a purchase. Are you sending an order received message? Are you including easy access to your customer support line?
In the digital age it’s important to maintain a positive relationship with your customers since they aren’t getting the in-person experience of shopping in a store with an associate. Making sure you are available - but not annoying - is crucial to keep that positive relationship. 

We recommend creating an email sequence post-purchase that includes; 

• Order Received - let the customer know that you got their order and offer a support number or email in case they need to make changes.
• Order Shipped - build some trust with your customer and notify them when it’s shipped. This also builds excitement that they’ll soon have your product. 
• Optional / Day of or Arrival Email - depending on the voice of your brand, sending out a product delivery confirmation email can build excitement - something like “Hope you love your new product! Again if you have any questions, let us know!” 
• Later Check In Email - let your customer know you want them to be happy. Does everything fit well? Do they know your return process? Do they need a product to go along with what they already ordered? Sending one final email about their purchase to check in can be a great warm email if done well.

2. Add a discount coupon with their purchase

Everyone loves a discount. Whether it’s a few dollars or free shipping, sometimes that can be a huge game changer. One way to encourage a repeat customer is to send a little include with their first order that offers a discount code for their next order. From there, you can even send a reminder email about the discount in the email about an expiration date of the discount ending soon.

3. Add a subscription button

If your product is something that is in some way consumable or has an end life, a subscription is a great idea and can offer your clients savings. Things like candles, any type of supplements, beauty products, food or beverages, and even experiences or clothing. 

With the promise of recurring revenue, you can get a discount to your clients to encourage them to sign up for a subscription. We see this as a win win because you’re able to charge a little less, but also keep customers coming back with automated subscriptions. 

4. Build a loyalty program

Reward people for shopping with you! Similar to how we mentioned earlier that people love discounts, they love being a part of an exclusive club that also offers them discounts. 

There are numerous options of plans you can develop like: 

• Flat discount offered to all loyalty members
• Increasing awards based on the amount purchased
• Personalized offers based on each individuals habits. 

Obviously some options are more work than others, but there are Apps that you can install into your store that have different ranges of options.

5. Targeted Marketing Based on What They Bought

    Remember those emails we talked about earlier? Take it to the next level and personalize them based on their purchasing habits. Using smart marketing software, the options are almost endless on what you can do to reach your customers. A few examples of ideas we’ve done before: 

Do you have two products that bundle well together - say a tent and a rainfly? Say they bought the tent, you can send an email immediately after with the option to add the rainfly to increase your AOV (average order value).
Do you have a customer with a high CLV (Customer lifetime value?) that hasn’t shopped with you in awhile? If it’s been over a month, send out an email letting them know you miss them and share a few items similar to what they’ve previously ordered with free shipping.

With a positive relationship, you can build trust, which can ultimately build loyalty to your brand. Having a team of people rallying behind your business is great not only because they’ll promote you to others but because they’ll keep shopping with you! We recommend these tips to cultivate a positive relationship with your end consumer - but remember - keep it real and stay helpful.

Do you have an eCommerce Marketing Strategy in place? 

We can help. Our team loves to help you grow your business - whether it’s conversion rate optimization, setting up email campaigns, or optimizing your eCommerce store design. Fill out our form here so you can chat with one of our digital strategists about what we can do.