Category: E-commerce

As an e-commerce business owner, your customers are the lifeblood of your business. If you take care of your customers, you will enjoy a steady increase in sales. You’ve already got a steady flow of orders placed through your website or e-commerce store, so you’re on the right track. But to further scale your business, focusing on your average order value (AOV) is essential. By boosting your AOV incrementally, you will increase your revenue flow and ultimately boost your online store’s bottom line. To help you accelerate your success, here are five highly effective ways to increase the average order value of your e-commerce store.

1. Personalization

In the digital age, consumers crave personalization. In fact, 88% of US marketers reported seeing measurable improvements as a result of their personalization initiatives. One of the most effective ways of boosting consumer engagement and increasing your AOV is by offering your customers tailored product recommendations based on their previous purchases. This is a simple approach to personalization that yields incredibly positive results.

2. Upselling And Cross-Selling

Another highly effective way of increasing your average order value is by cross-selling and upselling. It’s so effective that, on average, it can increase your revenue by 10 to 30%. By sending tailored product or service recommendations and adding opportunities to upgrade or add complementary products to the basket during the sales journey, you stand to increase your AOV on a sustainable basis while improving customer engagement.

3. Bundling

A branch of cross-selling, bundling is a tried and tested e-commerce technique that is utilized by a host of big e-commerce players across industries. And you should use it too.
Essentially, you take a mix of related items and place them into a multi-buy bundle that offers a certain element of savings (free shipping is a popular multi-buy incentive).
For instance, if you own a camping store, you could offer a Festival Bundle, including a pop-up tent, sleeping bag, torch, and reusable water bottle. Of course, you must make sure that your bundles provide you with a healthy profit margin. But if you get bundling right, you will see an increase in your average order value.

4. Loyalty Programs

Did you know that 69% of consumers select brands based on where they can earn customer loyalty points? This is a sure-fire case for the e-commerce customer loyalty scheme.
While this may be a more strategically demanding tactic, by investing ample time and resources into a customer loyalty scheme, you will see a sustainable rise in your store’s AOV.
Not only are repeat customers more economically viable to e-commerce businesses, but loyalty programs will empower you to deliver exclusive deals, discounts, and content to your consumers, increasing your profits in the process.

5. Campaign Automation

When it comes to implementing AOV-boosting tactics (including all of the above) effectively, using AI-driven campaign automation tools is essential.
At AdScale, we’ve created a platform that allows you to create, customize, and automate your advertising campaigns, as well as the bids and budgets.
AdScale allows you to use AI to automate and optimize your advertising campaigns, deliver personalized ad content to existing customers and prospects, and optimize your social media advertising and pay-per-click (PPC) activities, generating 10 times the average ROI.
By using automation tools to your advantage, you will gain the power to improve your marketing communications while boosting productivity, which, in turn, will increase your average order value.
A real win-win.

You know your products, but what does the market think? This is when you need Google Trends, easily one of the most essential tools for every business.
You heard right, with over 15 years of Google search data at your fingertips, your marketing plan will never be the same. Whether you want to discover seasonal trends, expand your product line, or improve audience targeting, Google Trends is your one-stop shop for all of this and more.

What Is Google Trends

Simply enough, Google Trends shows you 15+ years of data from people searching on Google. You’ll be able to compare keyword search volume for seasonal and geographical results as well as find related terms and topics.

Terms: Words you search for in your query in the given language
Topics: Displayed below terms, shows terms or groups that share the same concept

Similar to Google Search Console, with a few tips you’ll be well on your way to learning what you need to improve your store traffic and performance. So, take a moment, consider how all that data might help you refine your keyword and product lists.

1. Use Punctuation

To filter search results, use punctuation as follows:

2. Find Complementary Products & Categories

One of the best ways to increase profit margins is to find complementary products to bundle together or cross-sell.

Bundles: Two or more complementary products
Cross-sells: A product that complements an existing purchase but is from a different category (or vendor).

Google Trends helps you find products by showing related topics and queries that might help you discover additional products customers might want, including styles.
Below, you can see the results after searching for “fall sweater”.

3. Increase Your Website Ranking – Learn When Topics Trend

In the above image, you can also review the top 25 related topics to “fall sweater” searched for on Google. This list should be your inspiration as you adjust your products and content to match what interests people the most.

These topics can then be used to create, update or republish old content, further improving your SEO. And, with that in mind, it’s never too late to work on link building.

With just a few tweaks and a bit of elbow grease, your search rank will grow, helping you to guarantee that when people search for your products, you’ll be at the top of their results.

4. Check For Peak Seasons

With your search rankings under control, it’s time to see why Google Trends is gold for finding seasonal products. While Black Friday and similar shopping holidays have a significant uptick in sales volume, there are plenty of other times of the year when even your least likely items begin to trend.

Your low-performing products could turn into high-converting gold if you nail the timing of your advertising. That’s right, Google Trends will help you to find the best time of year to focus your budget and even create some timely ad copy (be sure to check out Chubbies in example #9!). But ‘seller’ beware, while some items might come up every season, some fads hit fast and then disappear. So know a fidget spinner when you see one; there’s a time and place for everything.

5. Find Your Target Audience

Now that you know your peak season, it’s time for one of the most valuable aspects of Google Trends, geographical targeting. Now while you might think you know your audience, it’s important to consider where and when each of your products might do best.

Remember, Summer in one hemisphere is Winter in another and that means considering which products should be advertised in which countries at which time. Compare May and June in Australia above with November and December in the USA below.

To take this a step further, here we searched for the top sales and found the top 51 regions, 210 metropolitan areas, and 22 cities for targeting the right people, further optimizing our ad targeting.

Google Trends: Big Data At Your Fingertips

Altogether, Google Trends is an essential tool for designing, developing, and refining your marketing plans. From locating new and complementary products to audience targeting, it’s one of the best tools on the market to help you achieve the results you deserve.

Best of all, it’s free. So why not dive in, give it a shot, and see what you learn. It could be the game-changer you’ve been looking for.

All e-commerce advertisers have the same dilemma of effectively splitting their advertising budget between multiple advertising channels.
That’s why we have studied AdScale’s customer data to discover the average Return on Advertising Spend (ROAS) that e-commerce advertisers achieve from each channel. The study examined a sample of 412 AdScale e-commerce client accounts in 8 verticals that were advertising on Google Search, Google Shopping, Google GDN (mainly for remarketing), Facebook, and Instagram between September 2018 and March 2019.

Conclusion:

• Shopping campaigns resulted in the highest return with an average ROAS of 1212%. Furthermore, in 86% of accounts, Google Shopping outperformed all other channels significantly.
• Remarketing campaigns on GDN showed increased success rates when strategically targeting abandoned carts. 63% of accounts using AdScale’s automated remarketing campaigns for abandoned carts increased their performance by 42% when compared with accounts not using dynamic remarketing techniques.
• Facebook remains a major channel for most vertical businesses. A high variance between store ROAS is present. This appears to be representational of the vertical market itself and requires further examination.
• Search provided the lowest ROAS. BUT: When checking the lifetime value of Search customers, strong ROAS growth is clear. Evidence shows Search exhibiting a high relative accuracy when targeting new and returning customers with actual intent to purchase. Data reflects increases in ad spend efficiency and the success rate of dynamic remarketing campaigns.
• These results suggest that returning users are being driven to Search at a significant frequency and conversion rate when compared to other channels.
  Our study is ongoing and we look forward to providing more e-commerce insights.

If you would like to ask us a question or learn more, we would be happy to assist you.

The record-breaking e-commerce event of the year is over, but your opportunity to turn traffic into year-round customers hasn’t! That’s right, it’s time to talk remarketing. Here are 3 proven ways to grow your business by capitalizing on seasonal traffic.

Chatfuel: Chatbots + Abandoned Carts = Increased Revenue

Chatbots are easier to use than ever with Chatfuel’s pre-built flow templates. Not only will you be able to quickly automate FAQs & qualify leads, but you’ll also be able to recover more abandoned-cart revenue.

Your new and returning clients will receive customized messages encouraging them to complete actions or to upsell recommended personalized products.

Venngage: Create Compelling Ads

Chatbots cannot do all the work though. That’s where good ol’ fashioned ad design steps in. Thankfully though, Venngage makes creating ads easy with a huge selection of templates and blog posts of design ideas.

And, always remember, review ad copy tips for best practices!

Automate Remarketing Plans with AdScale

Now that your ads are ready, it’s time to automate your marketing plan. AdScale’s cross-platform dashboard makes it a breeze to create multiple remarketing ads across Google, Facebook, and more.

Your ads will automatically retarget customers with additional awareness, consideration, or conversion ads to pull them back into your sales funnel. That means your ads will reach the right clients at the right time with the right information, helping you to achieve the results you deserve!

A Final Thought:

A remarketing plan is an essential part of a complete sales funnel. Implement your strategy today, and stop your customers from slipping through the cracks!

Creating traffic is easy. Converting that traffic into sales is a challenge. But the real goal is creating customers that return to your store, time after time, as the source for the products you sell.
Now managing every intricate detail of your store’s day-to-day tasks might seem like a dream job for some people- as I look in my mirror- but for everyone else, there’s automation technology built to deliver results. So we gathered 3 Shopify apps that can automate your store marketing and scale your business.

1. AdScale: Automate E-commerce Advertising Across All Channels

First up is AdScale – an automated advertising platform that is built to drive more sales within any adverting budget. This app will sync and automate your work across just about every advertising channel you can hope for. By using one easy-to-use platform, users can quickly create, manage, and optimize ads, but then still make it to lunch on time.
AdScale uses its AI to analyze and optimize your store data against thousands of similar stores if that wasn’t enough. That means you’ll be able to create and automate budget-friendly and highly impactful advertising campaigns that actually convert. You’ll be able to run some of the most effective ad campaigns on the net, proven to increase ranking, organic advertising, and even lower your ad spend.

2. Rise.ai: Branded Currency Solution

Rise.ai is an automated branded currency solution for gift cards, rewards, store credit, and incentive programs. They’ll create your very own in-store currency proven to return more customers known to convert to your store while increasing their average spend per visit.
As Shopify’s #1 Gift Card App, they have proven that their system effectively automates the pairing of behavioral triggers with holidays, and other calendar-based personal events to create a comprehensive rewards system. Simply put, this app is a must-have for building customer buy-in and brand awareness. But hey, don’t take our word for it, check out some of their case studies showing their success with the Miami Heat, raw threads, and more.

3. Fera: Social Proof

Fera is your one-stop shop for improving Social Proof, an essential trust-building principle for driving conversions. They’ve made it their business to develop tools to make your cold-traffic warm-up to hitting that oh-so-important “Buy Now” button.

With over 10,000 e-Commerce stores and $1 billion dollars of merchant revenue influenced by Fera, it’s hard to argue their effectiveness!

You’ll create a more inclusive shopping experience that guides your customers to the content they are most likely to want. That’s right! All your customer movements will be tracked in real-time, providing you with the details you need to further optimize your customer journey.
A real must-have for improving conversion rates!

Get Automated!

It’s time to stop doing it all yourself and let a computer do the heavy lifting! As more stores become automated, and the market becomes more data-driven, there is no time like the present to invest in your store’s future. And hey, maybe make it home on time, knowing your store is in the right hands.
Here at AdScale, we have created a platform that allows you to customize and then automate processes for cross channel and platform advertising, synchronization, as well as bid and budget automatons. The marketplace is changing, and, by using AI, you’ll know you won’t be left behind.

Your traffic is great, but it just isn’t converting. So why aren’t more customers clicking that big ol’ beautiful buy button? We examined a few hundred new Shopify stores and found that creating a clear sales funnel can be quite a challenge for new sites! That’s why we have put together this guide, so you can change the most common conversion killers into sales!

Step 1: Guide Customers To Product Pages That Convert

Placing a clearly labeled call-to-action button, such as View Catalog or Shop Now, on your homepage draws your customer’s attention and keeps them focused. And a focused customer is exactly what you want. When you’ve spent hours working on your site, but you still aren’t converting your customer traffic into sales, this is where effective call-to-action buttons step in. This quick fix is the first step to creating traffic that converts.

Step 2: Take High-quality Product Images

Now that you have call-to-action buttons it’s time to focus on product images that convert. And that means your clients want to see high-quality images that show each product in the best light possible. It might take a bit of work, but this is the eye-catching difference that will help your products and ads stand out against the crowd. 

Your product might be advertised all over the internet, by people all over the internet, so be original, use unique images to make a significant difference. 

Tip: Remember, seeing is believing, so always use purposeful images showing how products are used as well as look from various angles!

Step 3: Link Your Images To Their Variants

Now that you have great images, where do you put them? Keep in mind, too many images can really be a conversion killer! Keep in mind, 3-5 images are optimal as too much information will distract your customers from clicking that golden “buy now” button! That’s why linking your images to the different colors, sizes, and features of your products can really help you display exactly what your customers want, without all the clutter!

Your customers will know exactly what they are buying, but there won’t be any confusion over what each style means. This will increase customer confidence in your products while also helping them to move more quickly to that “buy now” button!

Tip: Use the Shopify App Store to find the best product variant app for your store theme.

Step 4: Describe Your Product Like A Professional

Once those high-quality images have caught your future client’s attention, they are going to want to know the details that justify buying your product. Your customers want to know why your product will benefit them, and there should be no guessing about it.

A quality description stops customers from guessing and helps them to know that hitting the “buy now” button is the right decision. 

Tip: Make the description feel warm by helping people imagine the product. Ask yourself who, what, where, when, why, which, and how questions to start brainstorming!

Bonus Tip: Proofread! It’s amazing how a single misplaced word, spelling errors, or general grammar mistakes can change how people perceive the credibility of your shop!

Step 5: Create Social Proof To Connect Your Customers

Now that you have written quality product descriptions and included all those fancy images, it’s time for you to give your customers a voice too! While you can pump out as much content as you like, client reviews will help you improve your store by showing that your products are not just real, but your clients are proud to have them.

Apps such as Loox seamlessly integrate reviews into your store helping you to crowdsource support from your current and former customers. This can help you make improvements as well as display exactly how amazing your products are.

Step 6: Use A Store Checkup Tool

Over 80% of Shopify merchants fail because their stores aren’t ready to deliver a good shopping experience. Yet they could avoid a lot of the most common problems by simply using a FREE Store Checkup tool.

You get: 

• Automated Checkups
• Personalized Store-Readiness Reports
• In-depth guidelines for store optimization

AdScale’s in-depth personalized optimization tool is ready for you to use today. Try it free for 14-days and know you’re ready to sell!

Today all major e-commerce players use AI to solve advertising problems in order to edge out the competition. But how will AI advertising get you to the major league?

The Problem Is…

Stores could specialize in selling a single product, yet most carry dozens of brands and collections to capitalize on the various needs of customers. While this does increase opportunities, it also increases the resources to be managed.
Keep in mind, assuring store advertising accuracy can quickly become a job occupied with many essential yet tedious tasks. Consider the amount of work required to professionally manage new product launches, pricing changes, or changes in stock.
This issue is further compounded due to the speed at which the customer journey changes. So, in order to effectively advertise, stores must be available on multiple channels to target and keep customers.

The Ai Solution Is…

AI manages resources so every product receives the specialized attention deserved. From campaigns to advertising budgets, it does the heavy lifting. This means that stores can be confident in carrying as much as wanted in order to meet customer needs.
For advertising to be effective, it must have live sync between the shop and the advertising campaigns on all channels. AI assures that your shop and campaigns are always accurate, advertised in the right places, at the right time, and at the right budget.
AI efficiently maps the complex customer journey while creating robust solutions. This takes the guesswork out of understanding touchpoints and customer habits, further optimizing cross-channel work.

Here Is A Small Exercise

Imagine a shop that has 350 products in 4 categories and an advertising budget of $45K. The shop wants to advertise its products on major channels such as Google Shopping or Facebook.
How much money should the store spend per category per product per channel per day to maximize their returns?
Hint: On your money it says – “In God We Trust”
Answer: By using an automated AI platform, such as AdScale e-commerce, advertisement beliefs can be replaced with real AI solutions. AI takes out the guesswork by quickly & accurately making informed decisions that do drive more revenue while reducing your campaign management time and costs.

Let AI do the work and Try a Free 30-day Trial Today!

You’ve already designed your Shopify store, sourced your products, and you’re ready to launch. Exciting, right?!

But after all of that groundwork, the hardest part still awaits: reaching your customers. You can have everything in its right place, but without generating traffic to your store – your business can fall flat on its face. Ouch! Even harder than just bringing traffic, is targeting relevant traffic that will convert. Digital advertising is a costly enterprise, especially if you are misfiring your ad budget at the wrong targets!

No need to worry! There are simple and effective solutions to drive targeted traffic to your store. Here are 4 bulletproof ways to get relevant traffic with zero effort:

1. Automated Advertising On Google & Facebook With AI Technology:

With AdScale’s AI technology you can leverage the power of crowd-source matching for automated precision advertising.

The software takes your store data and cross-references it with a database of 40,000 similar shops in your product categories – to gain major market insights. AdScale then applies this valuable info to dynamically sharpen your audience targeting and take advantage of new market opportunities. AdScale automates major amounts of required work from your side, and successfully reaches quality customers for your store automatically.

2. Customer Referral Programs:

Remember your clients are your biggest fans and potential sales generators. Apps like Referral Candy empower your customer base as affiliate marketers.

This enables your existing audience to drive valuable traffic to your store by harnessing the influence of word-of-mouth marketing. You decide how to reward your referrers as they build customer trust as online brand ambassadors for your store. The results speak for themselves as Referral Candy has already generated hundred of millions of dollars in referral sales for merchants.

3. Ad Exchange:

Teamwork makes the dream work! Ads by Varinode’s Shopify app connect you to a network of online stores that are directly related to your store’s niche.

Your store’s ads will display on similarly themed online stores, reaching consumers that are already primed to shop. Customers simply click-through your displayed ads and land conveniently in your store’s check-out basket. Cha-ching! Connecting with a network of stores produces higher quality traffic than that obtained via popular (but less focused) social network ad platforms.

4. E-mail Marketing Automation:

New customers are valuable but costly. While return customers are a different story. As stated in Harvard Business Review, 2016. “acquiring new customers can cost 25 times more than retaining them”.

So what’s the best way to reactivate existing clients? How about a fully automated email solution. This will keep your store/products in front of your loyal shoppers. You’ll need an app that makes it easy to create customized email templates, automates abandoned cart recovery, and automatically sends post-purchase communication. Recommended: OmniSend, a great option to get started with email marketing automation.

Automation Age:

You’re already working hard enough, so why not let automation help you take a load off by optimizing your Shopify store. Let AI-driven advertising for e-commerce stores step in to customize and then automate processes for cross-channel advertising, synchronization, as well as bid and budget automatons.

The e-Commerce marketplace is quickly changing and, by using AI, you’ll know you won’t be left behind. There is no time like the present to sign up and receive your Free 14-Day Trial!