There are suggestions that up to 50% of all retail will be online by 2030. That might be a bit on the high side, but with a current growth rate of 15% per annum – it will not be long before e-commerce in Australia is 50% of all retailing. Already 73% of Adult Australians have made a purchase online.

Here are 20 tips to help readers get the most out of the growing e-commerce opportunities and the inevitability that all successful retail businesses will be omnichannel sooner or later.

1/20 – Tightly identify a small market

Listen to venture capitalist Mark Cuban when he says, ‘target the smallest possible market’. It reduces costs and improves results – and you can tailor your offering to a small market.

2/20 – View online business as an extension of offline business

Fully integrate your offline and online business environments providing an omni-channel experience with one stock control and one marketing strategy. Consumers are dealing with one brand.

3/20 – Make it as easy as is humanly possible

The easier it is for consumers to find and use your site, the more likely it is that they will make a purchase. It is critical to have product in stock. Convenience powers e-commerce.

4/20 – Avoid complex processes and instructions

Consumers want to buy not read; click and purchase not fill in forms and provide information that adds no value to them. Complexity is the third greatest cause of cart abandonment.

5/20 – Deliver today

Slow delivery flies in the face of the demand for convenience and will reduce sales. Same day is best. and three days is acceptable. Slow delivery is the second most common cause of cart abandonment.

6/20 – Make delivery free

A recent survey suggested that in 2019 approximately 60% of e-commerce sites have or are considering free delivery. The principle cause of cart abandonment is expensive delivery.

7/20 Monitor cart abandonment assiduously

Loosing sales through cart abandonment is a critical issue for everyone selling online. After investing in and being successful in attracting customers – it is essential to convert as many as possible

8/20 – Don’t rely on discounting

There is an erroneous view that price is the major driver of online purchasing. It is NOT. Convenience is the major driver of online purchasing. Free delivery is generally better than a discounted product.

9/20 Consider a marketplace platform

It is expensive to drive traffic to your website. That is why 2019 saw a 74% increase in the use of online marketplaces (shopping centres) where promotion and cross selling is facilitated centrally.

10/20 – Consider an online community

Few strategies will reduce the cost of driving traffic to an e-commerce site than an online or brand community. Online communities provide a plat form for sharing content and building loyalty.

11/20 Deliver certainty

One of the principle concerns consumers have with e-commerce is a lack of certainty. Make sure that every promise made to every customer, especially regarding delivery, is delivered on.

12/20 – Implement an SEO strategy

Most SEO consultants promise the world and deliver an atlas. Most SEO consultants are SHIT! It is however essential to find a good one to maximise organic traffic to your site.

13/20 – Address all manner of devices

Some 60% of people now buy online using a mobile devise. It is therefore essential that your e-commerce site works as well on a smart phone as it does on a tablet, laptop or desktop.

14/20 – Engage every enquirer you can

Collect e-mail addresses from as many visitors to the site, as you can. Develop a database and use that database to engage customers and potential customers alike. Newsletters can work well.

15/20 – Think about lifetime value

Look past the transaction value of an enquirer to their lifetime value by developing and using your database to cross sell, up sell, on sell and drive referrals. Relationships drive cost efficiency.

16/20 – Test ideas

A feature of the online environment is the capacity to trial different products, different price points, different deliver options systems and different promotional methods etc and track outcomes

17/20 – Follow up after delivery

After the product has been delivered, follow up and confirm delivery, thank the customer for their business, suggest associated products and gather feedback on how your offering might be improved

18/20 – Automate all aspects of engagement and online marketing

There is plenty of software out there that can help reduce costs and drive sales automatically. Just about all marketing and engagement online can be automated, saving time and money

19/20 – Personalise the experience

As with any marketing, the more personalised e-commerce shopping is the better. There is plenty of software out there to enable you to customise all customer messaging and the broader experience

20/20 – Have a competitive advantage

Know why a potential customer should buy from your site rather than another and then hake that reason the centre piece of your offering and your marketing. This will reduce costs and boost sales.