According to Oberlo, over 2.71 billion people bought things online as of 2024. This figure accounts for more than 33% of the world’s population, indicating that more consumers are choosing the convenience of online shopping as the years go by.
These numbers show the massive importance of attracting as many visitors as possible to your online store. Without this, you can’t increase your online sales.
But how do you do this, you ask? No worries! We’ve compiled these 10 proven strategies to help you successfully sell merchandise online.
1. Define Your Niche and Target Audience
Discovering how to serve your customers in a way only you can and knowing where you best fit in the market are two foundational steps to selling brand merchandise online successfully. Here are some questions you must find answers to:
- Who are my products helping the most?
- What are their pain points?
- What are their online shopping behaviours and preferences?
2. Choose the Right eCommerce Platform
Choosing the right eCommerce platform to sell merchandise must be done with your customers (and business) in mind. You must consider certain factors, including security, SEO capabilities, responsive web design, scalability, and payment methods. Platforms like Etsy, WooCommerce, and Shopify are common choices for successful brands.
3. Use High-Quality Product Images and Descriptions
Images and descriptions work hand-in-hand to paint a complete picture of the merchandise you’re selling. Your compelling product descriptions provide vital information about the specifications and features of your brand merchandise, and the images give your customers visual confirmation of these details.
4. Price Your Products Strategically
Identifying the right pricing strategy is not easy. But you can get it right by carefully calculating the production cost of your brand merchandise, conducting market research to understand your customers’ perspective, and comparing your prices with those of your competitors. You can also base your pricing on the perceived value of your merchandise.
5. Offer Multiple Payment and Shipping Options
Online buyers are looking for convenience. If you want to build a successful business selling your merchandise online, offer your customers convenient payment options and shipping solutions. Offering multiple options caters to your customers’ preferences and expands your horizons to new markets.
6. Leverage Social Media Marketing
You want to sell your merchandise, so you need people to buy. To find these people, you need to promote your business. And what better tool to promote your merchandise than on social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook? These platforms also help you connect more deeply with customers, which can be huge for the growth of your business.
7. Run Limited-Time Promotions and Discounts
Many online shoppers add products to their carts and then hesitate to purchase. This doesn’t benefit you as an e-commerce business. So what do you do? You run strategic, limited-time promos and discounts. The result? You turn hesitant visitors into buyers, and your customers get special offers. Everyone goes home happy.
8. Build Trust with Customer Reviews and Testimonials
No one wants to buy products from untrusted sources. So, how do you build trust and elevate your brand’s credibility? You do it by showing potential customers what other customers like them have to say about your merchandise. Positive experiences help your customers develop trust and assurance that they can rely on your brand to deliver quality.
9. Optimize for Mobile Users
A significantly higher number of online shoppers use their mobile phones. Therefore, an online store that isn’t mobile-friendly risks losing many potential customers.
10. Track Analytics
Tracking analytics gives insight into how well your previous promo campaigns have performed and how your customers interact with your online store. This data allows you to make better-informed decisions to improve sales in the future.
Harness Our Creativity at UCT (Asia)!
At UCT (Asia), the success of your business, whether online or physical, is our top priority. We are the best heads to call for anything marketing. Whether you need proven marketing strategies to excel in a tough market or you’re looking for premium merchandise for your online brand or campaign, we’ve got you covered.
Talk to us now about how we can help your business grow.
