3 Ways to Keep Customers Coming Back to Your Ecommerce Store
According to a report from Monetate, returning visitor transactions made up 48 percent of ecommerce sessions and almost twice the dollar amount of new shoppers. Similarly, new shoppers have higher bounce rates than returning customers – that is, they leave the site after visiting only one page, without purchasing.
More than ever, it’s important for sellers to actively court and maintain existing customers. Here are three tips to keeping your customers, and keeping them satisfied.
Personalize offers
Consider customers’ past purchasing history and create deals and discounts based on their shopping patterns. For example, if a customer consistently buys vintage clothing from the 1970s, the next time you receive a shipment of items from that era, reach out with a heads-up email about the new merchandise and offer a discount or another incentive for acting early. There are many sites that allow you to offer personalization to your site—check out HubSpot,Marketo or Visual Website Optimizer to get started.
Reward customer loyalty
Your returning customers help your bottom line, so consider helping theirs. Create a program that gives points for purchases, free shipping for orders over a certain dollar amount, or free gift wrapping during the holidays. To help drive sales, send out personalized coupon codes or advance shopping opportunities to frequent customers. Find more information by checking out FiveStars,Spendgo or flok to get started.
Create a customer newsletter
A newsletter helps customers to become better acquainted with you and your store. A regular newsletter can provide insight into your products, updates to your store policies and a sneak peek at upcoming specials. If your content is concise and entertaining, it may just spur shoppers to return to your store sooner than expected to see for themselves what you’ve shared in the newsletter. Learn more by checking out MailChimp, ConstantContact orSendGrid.
Store exposure is key to your ecommerce success, but don’t limit your marketing efforts to new customers. By reaching out to and appreciating repeat buyers, ecommerce sites can reap the rewards that come from nurturing customer loyalty.