6 Tips to Increase Online Sales & Revenue

Crafting the most successful customer shopping experience can be a lifetime’s pursuit. Many businesses, big and small, devote large portions of time to evaluating and testing how to increase online sales effectively. While there is no silver bullet solution for every company, there are several universal improvements, throughout the entire checkout process, that organizations can implement to increase revenue. 

Discover six immediate steps to take regarding how to increase revenue for e-commerce businesses looking to improve their performance.

1. Providing Options, Options, Options

Not all customers begin their shopping trip with several payment options available at their fingertips. For example, some customers may be limited to Visa card purchases, while others may be on a tight budget and looking for installment-style payment solutions. Integrating reliable payment merchants, such as a Braintree or PayPal payment processor, into a website can increase online sales for business owners while offering a broader range of flexible solutions for consumers. 

These large-scale merchants work with all major credit card providers to appeal to a wider variety of customers. Additionally, these merchants also partner with or provide their own Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) solutions that have been proven to increase conversion rate by 20-30%. To add a cherry on top, BNPL can also increase revenue for businesses by increasing the average order value at checkout.

2. Don’t Forget International Shoppers

For companies that may be experiencing a plateau in performance and asking how to increase revenue and begin an upward trajectory again, looking beyond US borders is a great place to start. Expanding into international markets immediately opens businesses to a brand new set of consumers and can set sellers apart from competitors. 

Integration with notable payment gateways such as Stripe provides companies with stress-free, instant currency conversions no matter where the original transaction takes place. With Stripe currently operating in 47 countries, the hardest part of expanding will be deciding which countries to start with first.

3. Cart Reminders are Key

One popular method of how to increase online sales is to create a sense of urgency with customers while they are actively shopping on-site. For shoppers leisurely adding items to their cart, adding timed pop-ups or site banners reminding them they have items in their cart that can expire encourages customers to check out before abandoning the web tab. Reminders such as low inventory or a limited-time promotional coupon are common but effective messages to begin testing on-site.

4. Implement a Seamless Checkout Process

Any slight hiccup or inconvenience in the checkout process can lead to customers abandoning their cart. It’s imperative for companies to ensure a quality, smooth checkout in order to increase online sales. Using a well-reviewed, verified plugin partner such as Payment Plugins allows business owners of any coding knowledge to easily add payment methods  to their site. To ensure a seamless checkout experience, businesses using Payment Plugins can contact us directly with any questions or installation troubleshooting.

5. Remember Express Checkout to Increase Conversion Rate

As mentioned above, the fewer steps customers need to take from the cart to final confirmation, the more likely they will be to complete a purchase. In fact, as many as 87% of online shoppers have admitted to abandoning checkout due to difficulties or length. New payment options such as express or one-click checkout allow customers to finish checkout as quickly as possible, and thus increase conversion rate for businesses.

Stripe is the newest merchant to add one-click payments with its new feature, Link. Find out more about how the benefits of express checkout with Link can lead to several positive benefits, including increased revenue.

6. Offering Transparent Shipping and Fees

When considering how to increase revenue, being overly transparent about shipping costs and fees may seem counterintuitive to some sellers. However, having customers who feel surprised by added fees or unexpected shipping costs at checkout can lead to higher cart abandonment. 

And don’t just take our word for it. In an expansive study around cart abandonment, extra costs at checkout like shipping or fees was the number one cited reason for ditching their carts at 48%. Creating clear messaging around shipping thresholds from the start builds trust and limits disruptions from customers at checkout.

How to Increase Online Sales with Plugins

While there is no perfect one-size-fits all experience for every ecommerce site, taking certain reliable steps to build a smooth checkout process will increase revenue and build customer loyalty. Implementing these steps starts with integrating trusted payment merchants to your site. Take the guesswork and stress out of installation by using a trusted and experienced plugin like Payment Plugins used by thousands on WordPress.

Get started today!