Upselling is one of the most important things an eCommerce store can do. Whether it’s presenting customers with a more expensive or “upgraded” alternative of the item they’re looking at, or simply showing them more options before they purchase, it’s a great way to increase revenue. But many small eCommerce businesses don’t do it, either because they feel upselling is too aggressive, or they’re not sure how to go about it. 

However, as we’ve said in a previous blog, no apparel eCommerce webstore should ever miss an opportunity to upsell. You don’t let customers walk out the door of your brick and mortar retail store with a pair of pants without first making sure they’ve seen your other styles of pants and complementary shirts. So why should your online store be any different? 

There are various approaches and things to consider when trying to upsell on your eCommerce platform. Here are our tips for upselling.

Choose which products to promote and upsell wisely

First of all, featuring just any product probably won’t work in driving more sales. Think carefully about how the product you’re choosing will appeal to your customer—you want to make their lives easier by showing them something that’s likely to meet their needs and appeal to their interests. Choose items that either sell well, are reviewed well (on review pages, your own product pages, or social media), or are most relevant to the product you’re selling.

For example, if your brand sells lingerie, you’ll want to show a customer who’s viewing one pair of underwear other pairs that are more high-end or in different styles that cost more. You’ll also want to present items that pair well with that underwear, that ideally are at a higher price point. Savage x Fenty does this well with a section on their product page titled “Xtra items you may like,” which includes a number of higher priced, complementary bras the customer is likely to be interested in.

Categorize your inventory to find upselling opportunities

In order to do the above, it’s a good idea to go through your inventory and categorize all of your products in a spreadsheet by type, price, and whether they’re priced at a “regular” or higher, “luxury” level. You will then be able to see your upselling opportunities by looking at which “luxury” products could be promoted alongside “regular” products. Start with your best-selling, most popular (or positively reviewed) products, if you have a lot of merchandise, and go from there.

Promote recommended accessories or pairings on product pages

Once you’ve identified which items work well together for upselling opportunities, you can add them to individual product pages. Add these higher priced items at the bottom of the page under a headline such as  “You might like” (as Reformation does), “Similar items” (as Asos suggests) or “Customers also bought” (as Levi’s does).

You should also include other items in your modelled product photos to show styling options, and call these out in product description copy. Another tactic is to include a section lower down the product page that offers these other products, under a headline like “Buy the look” (as Asos does) or “Model is also wearing” (as Everlane does), or even something as simple as “Check these out too” (as Dollskill does).

Group complementary products on your homepage

Don’t limit these complementary product pairings to specific product pages. You’ve gone to the effort to find what works best together and presented these options to your customers as they click through and consider individual items. Make it easier for them (and for you) by featuring a selection of items that work well together on your homepage.

This could be in the form of seasonal or timely promotions or campaigns that feature the items together in one photo, or that group different product photos together to create a look or style. Anthropologie pairs a number of “casual” items together on their homepage under the headline “Take it easy,” for shoppers who may have gone to the website with one of these items in mind (like relaxed-fit pants), but who are then inspired to explore other similar-style products like loose-fitting dresses or camisoles.

Personalize your recommendations to your customer

One surefire way to create a powerful shopping experience is to personalize the content you’re showing your customers. Nosto reports that 66% of consumers will not purchase from a brand whose content is not tailored to their interests. By segmenting your audience and targeting your different groups of shoppers with content that matches what they’re looking for, you’re in a much better position to increase your conversion rates.

Pay attention to where your customers are coming to you from and use this information to offer them products that they’re likely to be interested in. For example, if a customer clicks on an ad you’ve placed in a marketing email or on social media that’s showcasing your winter line, take them to a page with these or similar products. They’ll be more likely to purchase if you show them what they’re interested in straight away. Don’t make them search for it!

Install pop-ups in cart and on checkout page

Take advantage of upselling opportunities at every step of the sales process, right up until the purchase is finalized. You can display product upgrades and complementary items in the cart and on the checkout page, before your customer completes their purchase.

Adding a deal here can provide a good incentive, such as providing a threshold to get free shipping (with a customized tagline like “add $x to get free shipping,” or more generic messaging that doesn’t need to be calculated for each customer, like “free shipping on orders over $x”). Bundle deals on more basic apparel items like T-shirts (for example “buy two get one free”) can also be great upselling opportunities.

Present these items in your follow-up marketing emails

Whether the customer completed the purchase or abandoned their cart, send them follow-up emails that once again present the upsell options you provided earlier. If it’s an order confirmation email, this could mean a simple thumbnail or two with a photo and link to the item along with a tagline such as “keep shopping,” “need something extra?” or “get it on your next order!” This will keep your offer in your customer’s mind, and give them an easy way to revisit it.

As you can see, there are multiple ways to upsell on your fashion or apparel eCommerce website. The most important thing is to implement a strategy and follow through with it, otherwise you risk missing out on a lot of extra revenue. We’d be happy to help you devise and execute an upselling strategy that suits your business. Get in touch with our team today.

Sustainable fashion is here to stay. While some have decried it as a trend, the growing number of brands, either starting-up or adapting, to become sustainable is showing us that this is a growing sector of the fashion industry—and with good reason. 

Environmental benefits aside, consumers are clamoring for brands that share their views. As we’ve shared in a previous blog, transparency and sustainability is key for apparel eCommerce webstores. According to Forbes, if your brand isn’t helping consumers improve their environmental and social footprint, you’re in danger of disappointing 88% of them. 

In the post-COVID-19 world, customers want pieces that last, says the New York Times. There is a shift in focus from newness to longevity, not just in the products, but also in the companies that make them. 

If your fashion brand is one of the many that is already prioritizing sustainability, you’re clearly in a favorable position. But the benefit is only there if consumers know about it. So how do you showcase your brand’s sustainability? Read on for six tips on how to do just that, and reap the benefits.

Have a clear mission statement

Sustainability can look like many things—for Los Angeles Apparel, it means committing to paying their workers a fair living wage, providing employees equity in the company and creating more jobs with their local factory. For Courtyard LA, it’s about using sustainable fabrics and releasing limited ranges to reduce their effect on the environment. Whatever sustainability looks like for you and your business, you need to make it clear to your customers. That’s where a mission statement comes in handy. Create a separate page on your webstore with text, images or video that outlines your commitment to sustainability. It should sum up your approach in a few sentences, while also leaving you the ability to then expand on it. Reflect on your values and how your brand embodies them. Are you committed to raising awareness of environmental issues, reducing your and others’ impacts on the planet, reusing existing products? Or all of the above? Spell it out like New York designer Mara Hoffman does on her website. Her statement is honest and personal, acknowledging that sustainability is a journey that her brand is committed to.

Mention sustainability on your homepage

Some brands are bashful and hide their sustainability efforts by only mentioning them on their product pages or ‘About’ pages. You are doing a wonderful thing as a sustainable brand—why not sing it from the virtual rooftops? Reference your sustainability directly on your homepage. This could be in the form of a small banner at the top of the page with a few words, or it could be a more graphic element showcasing a particular initiative, technology or approach that you employ. Organic cotton brand Pact proclaims their sustainability with a huge headline calling themselves “Earth’s favorite clothing”—a clever pun that neatly communicates their mission. While you may or may not have the help of a copywriter to craft your tagline, a few bold words can go a long way. Everlane also features their sustainability on their homepage via a section about their “promise” to provide “radical transparency.” This links to more information about their “sustainability initiatives” and “About” page, which details their ethical approach. Choose how loud and proud you want to be with your sustainability message, but at the very least include a few words on your homepage.

Spotlight your partner organizations

Many brands, sustainable or otherwise, work with multiple organizations to achieve their business objectives. You work so hard to cultivate these relationships and build networks that adhere to your vision of sustainability—why not champion this on your website? You could build a whole page on your webstore that outlines these partnerships and helps foster a more tight-knit community of sustainably focused buyers and providers. Mara Hoffman does this well by sharing their commitments to various organizations, listing how each one helps them achieve their sustainability goals. You can also illuminate your supply chain through informative text and images, as Eileen Fisher does. The brand provides an in-depth look at the “farms, factories and faces” behind their clothing, as well as an up-close look at their factories in the US. Any shopper visiting their webstore can get as much detail as they want, straight away, about how the brand is backing up their claims and “living their values.” If you’re already doing the same, why not spotlight your efforts as they have?

Call out any sustainable materials prominently

Any sustainable products that you’re sourcing or producing should be clearly called out and celebrated on your webstore. Whether it’s deadstock or recycled fabrics that you’re rescuing from the landfill, or sustainable materials you’re starting with from scratch, these are all very worthwhile efforts in sustainability and deserve to be celebrated. Ensure that you highlight all of these details in your product titles and descriptions, both on the individual product page and collection pages. Beyond text, you can push your sustainability message even further through photos. A close-up swatch-style image of your fabric can showcase its quality in an eye-catching way. Reformation does this well, communicating the unique nature of its limited fabrics. Alongside shipping and fit details, the brand also lists the “sustainability impact” of every product, providing estimations of water use that really illuminates the environmental effect of every item they sell.

Amplify your sustainability focus on social media

It may seem obvious, but the value of social media in spreading your sustainability message should not be overlooked. Use the content you create on your webstore to inform your posts on socials and boost your brand message to the masses. There is potential for you to build a loyal following for your commitment to transparency, as each post holds your brand accountable. Customers are growing increasingly savvy with keeping brands in check, so you can be sure to increase engagement with every post you make about your noble efforts. It’s also a great way to build your network with other like-minded brands and organizations.

Conclusion

As we said earlier, sustainability is a journey, and a commitment that brands must not take lightly. If you are in the business of being sustainable, we salute you. Show other brands how it’s done and be a model for the future, on your webstore and beyond. We would love to help you reach your goals, so please get in touch with our team if you would like more help with furthering your message.

The mobile age is here and more people are turning to their cell-phones for their shopping needs. Almost 230 million people purchase items online with that number only expected to increase each year. To meet customers’ needs and make their viewing experience easier, having a mobile app or mobile version of your eCommerce store will give customers a better, smoother overall experience and can help drive sales on your webstore. But while mobile native apps and PWAs can be costly, there are actions you can take today on your existing eCommerce store that will make it more mobile accessible to your customers and profitable for your business. Keep scrolling to learn the best practices to make your apparel and accessories eCommerce store mobile-friendly.

Include Simple Navigation

If you want users to enjoy visiting your site on their mobile device, you need to have an easy to use and simple navigation. Navigation directs your customers to where they want to go or to find what they are looking for. Due to limited screen space on phones, your content must not look overcrowded on a mobile device. An overcrowded navigation can cause disconnect, confusion, frustration and lead to the user exiting the site. Navigation menus on both mobile devices and desktops have the option of having dropdown lists. Multiple dropdown menus may structurally fit on a desktop but will take up the majority of space on a phone. Avoid this issue by keeping your mobile navigation to a few dropdown lists and all in a single column or row. 

Fawn Shoppe has an excellent example of simple, clean and mobile-friendly navigation on their homepage and landing pages:

Limited-time sales and discount codes

Why do you think your inbox is constantly flooded with limited-time sales and discount codes? Because they work! These time-sensitive initiatives are a no-brainer for creating a sense of urgency in your customers, and almost seem to create a ticking clock in their minds. If someone is interested in your product or service and sees an end date or expiration date for a discount code, it’s a trigger that compels them to make up their mind on whether or not to purchase. A deadline is a powerful incentive to action. Help your customers make up their minds by giving them a time limit.

Create Easy Registration

For every store, easy registration is a must. It is where your brand gains customer information to send future emails, newsletters, messages and fulfill orders. Most people do not want to spend longer than a couple of minutes inputting their information just to browse a store. Plus, a small screen with a complicated registration may deter people from continuing to purchase. Instead, stick with the option of an easy registration at checkout that involves limiting your required fields to an email or phone number. You can ask for additional information like shipping or billing addresses and payment information later when the customer is at the end of their checkout process. Another option would be to allow users to register using their Facebook or Google account. Even on mobile, this is a simple 1-click option that will collect all the necessary data fields without requiring customers to enter the fields one by one.

Position CTAs Properly

Trying to click on specific buttons and tabs can be hard enough on a mobile device, so placing call-to-action (CTA) buttons incorrectly can make the user experience nearly impossible. In most cases, the user will leave the page and most likely never return if they can’t find the navigation and purchasing links they’re looking for. You can avoid this from happening by strategically and correctly placing your CTAs and making them easy to find. And it’s especially important to make sure to place key CTAs like Add to Cart and Checkout front and center.

Accept Guest Checkout

When people use their phones to make any purchases, they are expecting a fast checkout process. And in many instances, customers prefer to skip registering during checkout or altogether. Phones have made information fast and accessible, so the checkout process on a mobile device needs to be the same way. The best way to achieve a fast checkout on mobile (and desktop as well) is to accept guest checkout. This option allows your business to sell to a more diverse audience because it encourages one-time customers to purchase as well. While setting up your checkout page, make sure to include a CTA that states checkout as a registered user or guest checkout. This may limit some registration fields; however, it gives your brand a wider possibility of new customers.

Write Short & Catchy Content

With the limited physical viewing space on a mobile device, it is important to keep your content short and catchy. Lengthy product descriptions, long blog posts, or too many images cluttering product pages divert many mobile device customers. Make the shopping experience easier by using short, catchy, and essential content on product pages. To help keep your content short and memorable, we recommend working with a marketing firm that knows how to create concise yet impactful content, including photos, graphics, video or written copy.

Size Images Correctly

Mobile screens and computer screens are two very different layouts. An image that loads and fits for a desktop website could take up the entire screen on its mobile counterpart, take too long to load or create pixilated or low-quality images. To avoid these scenarios, you need to correctly size your mobile images or partner with a marketing firm that knows how to format images for desktops and mobile devices. Even though there are no set sizing requirements, it is best to keep mobile images as small as possible to balance image quality against mobile networks download speeds and file size against mobile data caps. Generally, images range from 240 x 320 to 2560 x 1440 in size.

Always Upsell

Just because there is a lack of space on a mobile device does not mean you can overlook the opportunity to upsell your products. Upselling on product pages and shopping carts introduce customers to new purchasing opportunities. Think of it as the impulse items that many brick-and-mortar stores use to entice customers at checkout. After the product information, show off more of your webstore’s inventory by including links to items that other customers who bought this also viewed this or people also viewed. Studies show that 61% of customers say they are more likely to buy when companies include upselling that matches their preference. Many stores recommend other products that complete an outfit or are similar. An apparel eCommerce store that partners with InteractOne, Kabaryare Fashion has a simple way of upselling similar content with an analogous style and price when customers view their products.

Conclusion

Shopping through mobile devices will become more popular as technology continues to advance. Have a step up from other competitors by following these best practices to make your apparel and accessories eCommerce store optimize mobile shopping. Contact us today for more information on how InteractOne can help your webstore become mobile-friendly.

eCommerce is having a moment. We’ve always known brand websites are important for extending your business’s presence and reaching more customers. But with the uncertain future of experiential retail due to COVID-19, now it’s more important than ever. 

But it’s not enough for your brand to simply be online. Your eCommerce platform needs to accurately reflect your physical store. This means translating the positive experience customers have in your shop into a positive user experience, or UX, on your webstore. Google Search recently announced it will be favoring websites with great UX, so now is the time to shape up. 

Fortunately, regardless of whether you’re a consumer or a provider, we are now in “an environment where imagination and technical ability, not wealth, are the only barriers.” Meaning, if you have the drive and commitment to succeed online, you can.

Here are six actionable tips for how to better reflect your fashion brand’s physical store online.

And don’t forget to check out Part 1.

Eliminate clutter

Think of your eCommerce storefront like your physical retail store: both work best when they’re clean and minimal. Clear out the cobwebs by streamlining your eCommerce storefront. Make your offers immediately apparent. Don’t confuse your customer with lots of information—keep it simple, and focus on your central product(s) and ethos. If you’re a sustainable brand, such as United By Blue, put that information on your homepage, with a link to click through to another page with more detail. By sticking with basic information, you ensure your homepage is not only user-friendly, but that it also loads quickly.

Ensure your logo is front and center and easy to read

You have your logo pride of place on your store’s front window, door and sandwich board; that same approach needs to be taken with your web store’s homepage. Ensure your logo is high resolution and scalable, so that it is mobile-friendly. Test that it displays well on both desktop and mobile, and try visiting your website on different mobile devices to minimize any bugs. It may sound simple, but by branding your eCommerce store correctly, you ensure it communicates the same level of professionalism as your retail store.

Keep a consistent visual language

Use the same colors, textures and themes that you thoughtfully chose for your retail store in your online store. And if you don’t have colors or textures? Keep that same simple palette online. Whether they’re online or offline, all of your customers should be reading the same visual language from your brand. This consistency is key to creating a harmonious experience and gives returning customers the assurance that they’re in the right place. New customers will also feel confident when they see this cohesion across your website, social media pages and in photos of your retail store. What’s more, they’ll trust that this same commitment to quality translates to your products.

Mimic the layout of your physical store

Make it easy for people to find what they’re looking for by ensuring your online store’s layout echoes that in your physical store. That means if you generally greet shoppers with new season items, then show them special ranges or collaborations, followed by older items and accessories, or sale items, this same customer journey needs to be replicated online. You can also carry this product hierarchy over to your navigation bar and/or dropdown menu. Keep it cohesive to avoid confusion.

Have clear, high quality photos

You wouldn’t leave your products lying flat and lifeless on a display cabinet in the front of your store, so why would you have low-quality, lifeless product photography on your webstore? The key is to have clear, high-quality mannequin or display photos, as well as high quality flat-lay photos. Plain white backgrounds allow your products to really shine, and won’t distract your customers. The more your photos accurately represent your product and show people exactly what they’re buying, the more likely they are to click “add to cart.”

Make it mobile-friendly

More than half of online shoppers make purchases using a mobile device, so while you spend hours making sure your desktop site is beautiful, ensure you also pay attention to how it scales to mobile, and remember to optimize each page. Think of it like how a shopper takes a glimpse of your retail store through the window—they might click on it for a second, and if it loads badly, they’ll click out. First impressions are crucial, and these are increasingly happening on mobile. Users who have a negative experience in your mobile store are said to be 62% less likely to purchase from you in the future. So make sure your eCommerce site is up to scratch. Progessive Web Apps (PWAs) are all the rage in the eCommerce industry. They replicate the app experience on a mobile browser for a fraction of the cost and commitment of a Native App. Now is the perfect time to implement a PWA to your digital offerings. To learn more about PWAs you can check out our recent blogs here.

Conclusion

By taking the same care with your eCommerce storefront as you do with your physical storefront, the greater your chance for success online. Represent your range online as you would in-store—with your unique style, care and attention to detail. For help on how to make your webstore better reflect your retail store, click here to speak to a member of our team.