E-Commerce in 2021: 5 Strategies Every CEO Needs to Increase ROI & Grow Sales

Author: James Carnell

E-commerce sales boomed at the height of the pandemic. Ten years’ worth of e-commerce growth happened in just 90 days as shoppers scrambled online for necessities in the backdrop of stay-at-home orders, stringent movement restrictions, and store closures.

Many online brands might’ve noticed exponential growth in 2020, and the boom is only going to continue in 2021 and beyond. More than 2.14 billion people worldwide are projected to make online purchases in 2021, while e-commerce market sales will reach $6.54 trillion in 2023 compared to $3.53 trillion in 2019, according to Statista.

However, Shopify’s 2020 annual report on global e-commerce trends predicts that online sales in the U.S. will slow by 7.8% as traditional businesses start to recover from the effects of the pandemic. Despite the slight deceleration, e-commerce will still experience more wins than losses over the next five years, and a win for e-commerce is a win for your brand.

Here’s an in-depth look at the five most effective trends and growth strategies you can leverage to increase your ROI and grow sales in 2021.

1. Increase Focus on Cross-Channel Shopping

There’s something different about Instagram. At one point, Instagram was the app where you posted pictures and shared memes. But with the launch of the redesigned Instagram Shop feature this year, the app embraced the e-commerce boom by showing users shoppable items they’re most likely to buy.

And Instagram isn’t alone in this endeavor.

TikTok partnered with Shopify, granting merchants from the e-commerce platform access to a broader audience. Through this partnership, Shopify merchants can create and connect a TikTok for Business account, where they can use a ready-made template and select which product they want to feature.

The bottom line is this: nearly every social media giant, from Facebook and Instagram to YouTube and TikTok, is an avenue to shop. By increasing the focus on social selling, e-commerce brands can gain substantial visibility.

Case in point, Levi’s, headed by CEO Chip Bergh, recognized Facebook’s potential to drive online sales and filtered their products based on the number of likes each had.

The power of peer reviews is undeniable, and Levi’s also leveraged that to create a “Friend Store,” which allowed Facebook users to view products their friends had liked or purchased. This strategy was so effective that Levi’s Facebook likes skyrocketed from 180,000 in 2009 to more than 17 million in just four years.

2. Employ User-Generated Content

Nothing builds a stronger sense of trust around your brand than content that comes from your customers.

When users post photos, reviews, or videos on their platforms, your engagement spikes, and your products are showcased to audiences you might not have been able to reach otherwise. You can even share user-generated content across your brand’s platforms to let potential customers know your product is reliable and trustworthy.

Mattress company Puffy, founded by CEO Arthur Andreasyan, encouraged user-generated content by hosting an interior design-themed giveaway on Instagram. Customers shared images of their decked-out bedrooms, which featured the Puffy Mattress. This strategy not only cultivates trust but also creates an element of desire for the brand.

Another example of user-generated content is a Twitter post by the meal-kit company HelloFresh that posed this challenge to followers: “Tell us how you use HelloFresh without telling us how you use HelloFresh.”

In response, some customers posted pictures of meals prepared with HelloFresh ingredients, while others shared comments, such as, “I cook amazing meals for my husband and me three nights a week. But I don’t know how to cook.”

3. Create an Individualized Shopping Experience

With e-commerce, customers often miss out on a personalized shopping experience, but emphasizing it for your business could just be the thing that boosts conversion rates.

Offering your customers an individualized shopping experience is also an effective way to stay in touch with them even after purchase, opening avenues for feedback and helping you gain more insight into your target audience and their needs.

Online wine subscription club Winc, founded by Xander Oxman and Geoff McFarlane, has enhanced the wine-buying experience with its personalized approach, which is useful for experienced wine drinkers and novices alike.

Initially, when users go to Winc’s homepage, they fill out a “Palate Profile Quiz.” Based on answers to the quiz and the customer’s ratings of past purchases, Winc recommends wines tailored to their preferences. Customers’ purchasing history also shows exactly what they like. The Winc team uses this information to create personalized emails that showcase other wines customers might enjoy.

4. Standardize Sustainability

The rapid growth of e-commerce has had a detrimental impact on the environment. Discarded cardboard boxes, plastic wrapping, and Styrofoam boxes accumulate in tons when they end up in landfills. But as more and more people become environmentally conscious, e-commerce brands have followed suit and reconsidered their business model, not just by introducing recyclable packaging but also in their practices.

Canadian apparel company Tentree, founded by CEO Derrick Emsley, produces eco-friendly products and promises to plant ten trees for every item sold. The company collaborates with non-profits for this initiative and plants trees in Ethiopia and Madagascar, where deforestation is a primary concern and leaves the land vulnerable to floods and other natural disasters.

On the other hand, TOMS implemented sustainability practices by creating packaging made out of recycled waste materials and printing with soy ink. Some TOMS products themselves are made with environmentally-safe materials, such as organic cotton and recycled polyester.

5. Adopt Data-Driven Marketing Strategies

To grow, you need to measure your progress, which is why adopting a data-driven marketing strategy can significantly improve your ROI and increase sales in the process.

Data-driven marketing yields measurable results directly from your customers, allowing you to deliver content and products suited to their needs and preferences. A data-driven approach can also boost customer engagement. When you deliver content that resonates and profitable products, customers are more likely to interact with your brand and offer positive feedback.

Online company Rent the Runway, founded by CEO Jennifer Hyman, used data to expand the business and bring a yearly revenue of $100 million. The company focused on collecting valuable data from customers and using that data to foster partnerships with high-end designers to provide luxury items on a rental basis.

Rent the Runway recognized that to enhance customer experience, they needed data. When customers first visit the website, they have to create a detailed profile by answering questions about their preferences. Fashion is ever-changing and style is subjective, so the profile helps the company understand each customer and emerging trends.

As they browse, they can favorite the items they like, giving Rent the Runway insight into the customer’s style and general fashion trends. Gathering customer data allows Rent the Runway to offer personalized recommendations and build a strong relationship with their audience.

Many businesses are in on the secret now: e-commerce is the future of shopping, and its power is evident now more than ever. But as more and more e-commerce businesses pop up, staying afloat means adapting to changing trends for survival.

To create an immersive shopping experience and grow your business, implement these five strategies, and start by creating an effective action plan that also addresses areas of improvement.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or management of EconoTimes