Topline Tactics to Create Urgency and Increase Online Sales

By: Nigel Ewart|LinkedIn Profile

eCommerce Optimisation

Retail stores used to generate sales through a variety of tactics. They would offer storefronts to customers as places where they could to relax, away from the stress of everyday life. Then, once customers were in their doors, they would entice them with deals and glitzy displays.

Selling items used to be about enticing people to make a purchase. Yet, with the rise of eCommerce websites and online shopping, retail changed into something else. eCommerce optimisation isn’t about enticing people to purchase something, it’s about convincing them they have to.

The best way to do that is by making the decision seem more important than it actually is. To sell to people online, eCommerce websites need to create a sense of urgency behind the purchase. The ways stores can do that vary by industry — fashion retail differs from tech retail, for example.

It’s about convincing customers that they will miss out on once-in-a-lifetime deals, or that they may never have the chance to purchase something again. It’s urgent that eCommerce websites create urgency, or else they may not be successful. And to learn how to create urgency on your website, keep reading below!

1. Free Shipping, But Only For Immediate Buyers

The best way to create a sense of urgency behind a decision is to create a window of opportunity. If you can convince people that they need to act fast, then they will buy what you’re selling, since they will think it’s safer than missing out. And the best way to create a window of opportunity is by offering free shipping.

Nobody likes paying for shipping since it just adds to the overall cost of the item. To most people, it’s worth it to wait for an item if it means they don’t need to pay for its shipping. Paying for shipping is worse than paying for tax — people don’t see the point in it.

So, if you offer limited-time free shipping on your items, people will be more likely to purchase them. They will think that they’re avoiding an unnecessary, additional cost. Behind-the-scenes though, you can add the cost of shipping to the cost of the item itself, so you can save money while offering free shipping!

2. Warn Your Customers About Low Stocks

The best way to tempt people into buying something is to inform that your inventory is running low. When people see a message that something may not be supplied soon, they will realise the weight of deciding not to buy it. They will fear needing to wait for it to be restocked if it ever does get back on the shelves.

You can do this by using data from a cloud-based inventory system. If your inventory system alerts you that stocks are low, you should alert your customers about it too.

By warning people that stocks are low, choosing to not buy something will become a decision in itself. They will commit to not needing the item, and most people don’t like commitment. That means they will be more likely to make a purchase, while it’s available.

3. ecommerce Optimisation is About Making a Deal

Deals are fundamental to retail — they’re how stores attract people and convince them it’s worth it to spend their money. When people believe they’re getting 20 or even 50 percent off of something, making a purchase becomes an impulse.

This sort of tactic capitalises on people’s ignorance of how deals work. Consumers don’t usually know how long a sale may last, or if it may still be going on the next time they return to a website. They also may not know how much something may cost without a sale.

This sort of ignorance creates fear, which makes people uncomfortable. And the only way to assuage that fear is by purchasing the item. Offering deals don’t just make items seem more appealing; they also generate a fear of missing out, for which the only solution is making a purchase.

4. Notify Customers of Purchases Across the World

eCommerce websites have one advantage that average retails stores don’t: the internet. Since eCommerce websites are integrated into the digital world, they can create a sense of a global community. They can show purchases made across the world, which can serve two purposes.

First, notifying website users about purchases made across the world will make them feel like they’re a part of a worldwide phenomenon. By purchasing from you, they will become part of a global community of people. Buying items will become less about the items themselves, and more about being part of a community.

Secondly, notifying users about purchases being made across the world will scare them into action. They will begin to wonder how long your supply can last in the face of worldwide demand. To make sure they become a part of a global community, they will purchase it before the chance is gone forever.

5. Holidays Are Special Occasions

Holidays have traditionally been special occasions for retailers. It’s when people go out to shop and stock up on anything that they’ve been thinking about buying. Most of all, it’s when retailers make most of their money.

eCommerce websites can optimise themselves to make the most of any holiday in ways that traditional retailers could only dream. When a holiday comes around, websites can display a measurement of their current inventory of items. Just by revealing that information people understand the website expects an influx of purchases.

And by alerting people to an expected influx of purchase, eCommerce websites can ensure an influx actually happens. People will think that you may run out of the item they want overnight, or faster. So, they won’t spend a moment thinking about whether they should buy something and will act instead!

Your eCommerce Store is More Than a Website

eCommerce websites benefit from advantages that aren’t available for traditional retailers. They can tap into a wellspring of digital wealth through the internet, generating a sense of community and artificial urgency that retailers can’t. ECommerce optimisation means controlling the information consumers have.

The information you give people needs to construct a narrative that emphasises urgency. Your website should tell a story, and have consumers play the role of a protagonist. They will have a decision to make, and that decision will affect their own lives, and the lives of others.

When people believe that they’re the protagonists of their own stories, they will want a good ending. And if you construct your website’s narrative well, the best ending can only ever be making a purchase. Yet, making a website that does that can be hard.

That’s why we’re here. Contact us, and we will make sure that your website convinces people that they need to shop with you and that they must do it right away!