8 tips to improve your online sales

Online shopping sale days have become more common with a number of major events throughout the year.

8 Tips to improve your online sales

Events like Click Frenzy, Black Friday and Cyber Monday are becoming more popular among businesses for boosting sales.

Here are some tips to help your small business make the most of online sale events throughout the year.

1. Optimise your online store

Online shoppers have come to expect easy and smooth transactions when buying online. Make your online store the best it can be by optimising your site to convert visitors into customers and make sure it has the bandwidth to handle any increase in traffic on sale days.

Some eCommerce platforms, such as Shopify, allow you to email visitors who abandon their shopping carts on your website. This can give you one last chance to remind customers that their items are still waiting and even offer a coupon.

2. Embrace click and collect

Adding a click-and-collect option to your online store gives customers the convenience of online shopping without the shipping time and cost.

Power Retail surveyed 1,000 online shoppers and found that 63% of people had used click & collect. Customers are continuing to choose click and collect because it is faster and cheaper than shipping.

For more on click and collect, read Power Retail’s article.

The key to click and collect is to have accurate stock levels that update in real-time and processes that allow you or your employees to reserve items as soon as an order comes in.

3. Adapt to the sale day and target market

Sale days can be a great opportunity to move old or out of season stock. Think about the type of consumers you might get for each sale day and what they might be shopping for.

Finder does a great breakdown on the types of people that typically shop on each of the big sale days. Take a look at the Black Friday statistics from 2024.

If you had an online store last year, check your analytics for trends on what your customers looked for and bought.

If you’re interested in measuring analytics, doing keyword research or improving your search engine optimisation, find out more on Website analytics.

Consider adding a ‘gift ideas’ section to your website and creating social media posts or blog articles to encourage customers to browse for items.

Bundle pricing, gift packs, vouchers or offering gift wrapping can also make shopping easier. Keep in mind how long it will take to package and deliver products during busy periods like EOFY sales, Boxing Day or Christmas.

4. Focus on what your business can offer customers

As a small business, consider promotions that are less likely to damage your profit margin, such as:

an extended returns policy
free or discounted shipping over a certain amount
quantity discounts
gift wrapping and cards
gift with purchase.
Offering pick-up or fast local delivery will draw shoppers who have a deadline and can’t afford shipping delays. Don’t worry, we’ve all been there last minute trying to find gifts.

If offering a gift with a purchase online, make sure it’s something that will be cheap enough to post and factor the cost into your margins.

5. Use your small scale to your advantage

Capitalise on what customers can get from your business that they can’t from big stores or brands. Use the fact that you are local, have relationships with many of your customers and can offer an in-person and personalised shopping experience to your advantage.

Some of your customers may be intimidated by crowds and might not like busy in-store sale days. Your small sized store and fast delivery of products can appeal to these people.

A carefully wrapped package and personalised note in online orders can also go a long way to create a connection with customers you may never see face-to-face.

Read more about the power of packaging with our article, Why unboxing should be part of every online retailer’s marketing strategy.

6. Promote on social media and in newsletters

If you’re thinking about running a sale, there’s no better way to promote it than through a social media campaign. This can be done with paid advertising to attract new customers or with organic posting to let your existing customers know you have a sale.

For tips on starting a business social media account or ways to improve your existing one, find out how to Use social media for business.

Promote your sales in advance on social media and get your followers to spread the word with these tips:

Experiment with one of the big sale days and start with a small-budget social media campaign.
Offer exclusives to social media followers and newsletter subscribers.
Hold competitions for followers who tag friends in your posts or repost your promotion posts to spread the word.
Widen your net with #blackfridaysales #blackfriday2025 and other related hashtags in your posts.
Use banner and profile images on your social media channels and google business profile listing to promote your sales day campaigns.

7. Make it an exciting event

Your small business may not have the capacity to do what the big stores do, but there are ways to keep your customers engaged.

Here are some small ways to take advantage:

Organise different promotions for different days (or times) of a sales period ask customers to post on social media and tag you in exchange for a chance to win.
Reward your social media followers or newsletter subscribers with VIP discounts or early bird deals.
Set a limit on a particular deal at the beginning of a day to get customers to act quickly.

8. Reach a wider audience with an online marketplace

There are pros and cons to small businesses selling products through online marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, Catch, Ozsale or even Facebook Marketplace. These platforms provide a large audience for you to tap into.

For big sale days, marketplaces are often the most efficient ways for customers to do their shopping. Getting your products out in the market can also be faster this way if you’re starting from scratch.

One thing to remember, you give up a portion of your profits to the marketplace provider and lose some of your brand identity to the bigger umbrella brand.

Instead of interacting with you, customers interact with the marketplace, so you lose some control over the customer experience that many small businesses find essential to building connection and brand loyalty.

Ultimately, the decision to use a marketplace will depend on your business plan and the goals you’ve set for your business.

When selling on an online marketplace make sure you:

Add as much detail as possible to your listing, including important keywords, tags and filters.
Consider using the marketplace’s advertising options to bump your products to the top.
Add different shipping options and make your pick-and-pack as efficient as possible.

Take your online sales to the next level

Improving your online presence starts with digital marketing. Some businesses build a website, others use a social media page or an online store. At some point you’ll need to start promoting yourself. Here are some resources to get you started or to help you improve your existing strategies.

Business Victoria
13 Mar 2024
business.vic.gov.au