5 questions your ecommerce business should ask to grow online sales

Now’s the perfect time to sell products or services online. In 2023, around 60 million people in the UK shopped online, and that number is projected to reach 62.1 million by 2025. Ecommerce is booming, but if your sales have plateaued and you know you have the potential to sell more, you’re not alone. To help you unlock sales growth, we’ve put together five questions every ecommerce business should ask themselves to grow online sales, ending with practical next steps you can take with EKM to boost ecommerce growth. 

1. Do I truly understand my customers’ needs?

Few things in ecommerce stay the same – and your customers’ needs are no exception. This means you need to stay close to your customers to keep your products or services relevant 

as their expectations evolve. Keep your finger on the pulse by listening to shopper feedback, tracking their behaviour on your website, and looking for shifts in how and why they buy. The better you understand your customers, the easier it becomes to adapt and keep them coming back. 

2. Am I attracting the right audience to my online shop?

Not all website traffic is valuable. You could have thousands of visitors, but if they’re not ready to buy, your sales won’t grow. Real growth comes from attracting high-intent customers – and smarter audience targeting can help you reach these shoppers. Whether it’s running paid ads designed to reach people who mirror your best customers, or creating content that draws in those already looking for your solutions, the goal is simple: bring in buyers, not just browsers.

3. Is my website optimised for conversions?

Your website is your digital storefront – and if it’s slow, clunky or confusing, visitors won’t stick around. That’s why optimising your site for conversions is essential. This means speeding up your website (just one second faster can increase conversion rates by 5.6%), creating a smooth mobile experience, and designing simple navigation that helps shoppers find what they need quickly. In addition to these improvements, optimising your checkout for conversions and offering a seamless payment journey can encourage more visitors to make purchases. 

4. Am I maximising each customer’s value?

It’s easy to get caught up in winning new customers, but it’s just as important to increase the lifetime value of your existing customers. Repeat customers are more profitable than one-time shoppers – they spend 67% more than new customers, and 41% of an ecommerce store’s revenue is created by only 8% of its customers. Instead of focusing all your energy on acquiring new customers, look for ways to increase the value of your existing customers. This could include creating upsell or cross-sell opportunities, offering relevant product recommendations after a purchase, or building a loyalty programme that rewards repeat buyers. 

5. Am I tracking the right metrics?

While sales are what matter for your ecommerce business, they’re not the only metric you should be measuring. KPIs like website traffic, bounce rate, cart abandonment rate, average order value and customer lifetime value (CLV) indicate how well your sales funnel is working and where you might be losing potential customers. By measuring these metrics, you can get insights into customer behaviour, identify bottlenecks in your funnel, and make informed decisions to drive sales conversions. 

Accelerate sales growth with EKM

Asking these questions is a great starting point, but if you’re serious about boosting online sales, we recommend working with an ecommerce growth partner like EKM. Our experts have the skills and experience to grow your online sales through our pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, search engine optimisation (SEO) and Custom Design services, or check out our Evolve package – perfect for any ecommerce business looking for a team that can design, build and optimise their website and provide expert insights that keep sales climbing. Supercharge your online sales with EKM – request a callback to get started.