Ecommerce has become a more prominent sales model than ever, and businesses are continuously adapting their strategies to align with ecommerce best practices. As customer preferences and online shopping behavior continue to evolve, running a successful ecommerce business will depend on how your efforts align with these emerging trends.
But generating more online sales for your business doesn’t have to be daunting. With the right strategies, you can engage more customers and boost your sales. In this guide, we’ll look at 20 ecommerce best practices you should be following in 2025 to drive more revenue and build long-term customer relationships.
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Understanding your audience and how they engage with your brand is one of the most important foundations of growing a successful ecommerce business. To gain a deeper understanding of your target audience, you’ll want to analyze customer demographics like age, gender, location, income levels, and browsing behavior.
This will give you valuable insights into what your audience prefers and what problems they’re trying to solve. Use tools like Google Analytics, social media insights, and surveys to collect this data and keep track of it more effectively.
When you have a clear picture of your ideal audience, you can segment them into groups based on the behaviors or traits they have in common. For example, frequent shoppers could benefit from loyalty programs, while first-time buyers might respond better to a one-time discount.
But the key is learning about and connecting with your audience so you can personalize your messaging more effectively and build trust with prospective customers.
Ensure your business website and online store create a seamless user experience. This is critical for retaining visitors and boosting the likelihood that you convert them into customers. Check that your website pages load fast because even a one- or two-second delay can significantly impact conversion rates.
According to HubSpot, a one-second loading speed can mean generating three times the conversions than a site taking five seconds or more to load. This makes evaluating your website an important part of operating your online business. Try tools like Google PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix to find and fix any problems with page loading speeds as well as any performance issues.
You’ll also want to make your website mobile-friendly, as mobile devices drive so much traffic now. When creating your online space, go for a responsive design so you can make sure your site adapts to any screen size to deliver a consistent user experience. Keep navigation simple by organizing your products into clear categories, adding a search bar, and creating user-friendly menus.
Visual appeal can also play a big role in user experience and generating sales on Shopify. Use high-quality images, keep your branding consistent, and integrate a clean layout to make your site visually engaging. Don’t forget to prioritize accessibility via alt text for images and configure your site to be compatible with screen readers.
Optimizing your site is an ecommerce best practice that’ll be critical in cutting bounce rates, boosting time spent on-page, and encouraging customers to purchase from your shop.
Email marketing is still one of the most impactful ecommerce best practices for driving online sales. With Omnisend merchants seeing $68 for every $1 they invest into email marketing, it’s no surprise it remains one of the most effective elements of a solid marketing strategy.
Email marketing enables you to connect with your audience at all stages of the customer journey so you’re delivering relevant messages to the right people at the right time. A successful email campaign can also depend on the following key factors:
Automation: Automated processes can be the difference between an efficient campaign and one that falls short. Platforms like Omnisend can make your ecommerce marketing more efficient with tools for workflows, SMS, and email automation to keep your brand top-of-mind.
Personalization: Email personalization is also key to building a successful campaign. Use analytics and tracking tools to gain deeper insights into your audience so you can consistently deliver engaging, relevant content.
Segmentation: Successful ecommerce brands understand the power of segmentation. Grouping customers based on characteristics like shopping behavior, purchasing cycles, and level of engagement with your brand’s products can help you create more personalized messaging that builds trust and generates more conversions.
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Engaging and visually appealing product descriptions and branding are essential when it comes to building trust and converting new customers. Make sure your product descriptions are clear and concise while also highlighting the features, benefits, and best uses.
Stick with a tone and phrasing that will resonate with your audience and target related keywords to improve your store’s visibility in search engines. When creating your product descriptions, use high-quality images and videos so customers can see exactly what they’re purchasing.
Consider 360-degree views, too, as this added value can make your products even more enticing. Many ecommerce brands also show their products in real-world settings to help customers get an idea of how they can benefit. Having demos like this available can help you further boost conversions and keep customers returning to your ecommerce store.
Flexible payment and shipping options make it easy for customers to complete the checkout experience and can reduce cart abandonment. Consider offering your shoppers different ways to pay, including credit cards, digital wallets like PayPal and Apple Pay, and buy-now-pay-later options such as Klarna or Afterpay.
Flexibility in your shipping methods can also boost efficiency and encourage customers to complete checkout. Offer multiple options for different budgets, like standard shipping or expedited services, for customers who want faster delivery.
Display shipping costs and delivery estimates clearly at checkout to avoid any surprises. You might also want to consider offering free shipping for orders over a certain amount to encourage higher cart value.
Promotions and discounts are extremely successful best practices for ecommerce. Creating incentives for specific campaigns can create a sense of urgency and inspire immediate action.
Similarly, offering bundle deals will encourage customers to buy multiple items at once. Rewards programs, seasonal sales, and personalized discounts are also effective for attracting and converting customers.
Use your analytics to identify patterns in shopping behavior and create promotions that will meet these customer preferences. Promote your deals to maximize reach through welcome emails, social media posts, and ecommerce homepage best practices, such as ad banners or popups.
If you’re not promoting your ecommerce business on social media, you’re missing out. Social marketing is one of the most valuable tools for ecommerce because you can connect and engage with prospective customers.
Shoppable posts on Instagram and Facebook, for example, make it easy for customers to buy products directly from your feed. You can also use social ads to reach specific demographics and share your best-selling products, promote discounts, or announce newly launched products.
8. Implement upselling and cross-selling strategies
Upselling and cross-selling are necessities in ecommerce, as these tactics can help you increase your average order value. With upselling, you encourage customers to purchase a higher-end version of the item or add-ons specifically for the item they’re considering, while cross-selling suggests complementary products that can enhance their original purchase.
An example of this would be an ecommerce business recommending a laptop case to someone buying a new laptop, or offering a discount on an extended warranty for the computer.
To implement upselling and cross-selling effectively, consider using product pages, checkout prompts, and personalized emails to showcase suggested upgrades, add-ons, or complementary items. Highlight the value or benefits of any additional products that get recommended to customers to make these offers even more compelling.
9. Use customer reviews and testimonials effectively
Image viaShopify
Customer reviews and testimonials are ecommerce design best practices that can directly influence shoppers’ perception of your brand. These forms of social proof build trust and ultimately impact purchase decisions.
As customers purchase from your brand, encourage them to leave reviews with follow-up emails after purchases or by offering incentives like discounts or loyalty points. Here are several more ways you can encourage and use reviews to build trust and drive more sales:
Email marketing: Use reviews and testimonials in your email campaigns to reinforce your brand’s value and encourage customers to visit and purchase from your ecommerce store
Social media: Share new feedback from customers as a way to highlight the value of your products or even encourage customers to leave reviews on your page, showcasing these as part of your profiles
Website content: Feature customer reviews as case studies, in blog posts, and on your website to reiterate your brand’s value and further build trust with your audience
Influencer marketing has become a staple of ecommerce marketing because it’s a cost-effective way to boost brand awareness and drive traffic to your online store. This ecommerce best practice allows you to tap into larger audiences and position your brand as a go-to in your industry.
To integrate this strategy successfully, partner with influencers who share your brand’s values and whose followers align with your target demographic to get the most authentic engagement from the collaboration.
You can offer incentives like affiliate codes, commission-based rewards, or freebies to encourage influencers to promote your products. But make the focus on building genuine partnerships so you get only organic, relatable content for your efforts.
11. Invest in paid advertising
Image via Google
Paid ads are very common in ecommerce marketing, as they can help increase visibility and drive more targeted traffic to your website. Consider using PPC campaigns to target high-intent keywords and get your brand in front of the right customers who are actively searching for products like yours already.
Google Shopping ads can also showcase your products visually to attract more shoppers. These will show up at the top of search results to grab more attention and encourage clicks.
Retargeting with paid ads is another effective tactic that will display personalized ad content for people who previously visited your website but didn’t take action. Retargeting ads can help keep your products top of mind and encourage shoppers to return and complete their purchases.
Loyalty programs are proven to build long-term customer relationships and encourage repeat sales because they incentivize customers to shop with you more than once. You can allow customers to redeem points for discounts, free products, or trial offers and make them more likely to purchase from your shop again.
Referral programs add another layer to a customer loyalty strategy. You can use them to encourage existing customers to refer their friends and family in return for certain incentives, such as discounts on future purchases.
But referral programs don’t just bring in new shoppers. They can also strengthen relationships with current customers and improve your brand’s reputation.
When it comes to running an online business, mobile optimization isn’t optional — it’s essential. In fact, Statista found that mobile purchases made up 60% of all global ecommerce sales in 2023, with projections that this will climb to 62% by 2027.
This means a mobile-first setup is critical for generating more ecommerce sales and improving the overall user experience.
To integrate a mobile-first approach effectively, start with a responsive design that will adapt seamlessly to different screen sizes for a consistent browsing experience.
You’ll also want to make load times faster and ensure navigation is streamlined for mobile devices, including clear menus and search functionality to help visitors find products more quickly. Keep testing your mobile site regularly to find and fix any potential issues before they can affect the customer experience.
Data analytics will be your closest ally as you grow your online business, as it’s one of the most essential ecommerce website best practices for understanding how customers interact with your store.
Be sure you’re monitoring key metrics on a regular basis so you can make informed decisions that help you achieve your business goals. Here are several areas you’ll want to stay on top of consistently:
Conversion rate: Tracks how many of your website visitors complete a purchase. A low conversion rate, for example, could indicate issues like confusing navigation or inadequate product descriptions.
Average order value (AOV): Encourage customers to spend more by offering free shipping thresholds or product bundles. Use Google Analytics or other ecommerce platforms with built-in analytics features to simplify your data collection and analysis so you can make improvements.
Cart abandonment rates: Measures the rate at which customers add items to their shopping carts but never check out. Factors like surprise fees or a lengthy checkout process can increase cart abandonment, so make sure you’re tracking and addressing any issues so you can avoid lost sales.
A complicated checkout process is one of the leading causes of cart abandonment. A Statista survey found that 22% of respondents reported abandoning their purchases mid-checkout because the process was too long or complicated.
Actions like requiring an account or wading through endless add-ons before completing a purchase can make it more likely that shoppers will leave their carts behind. Reducing this friction can significantly improve your cart abandonment and conversion rates, along with customer satisfaction.
For example, allow guest checkout and ensure there are as few steps as possible to complete the entire process. This will make it even easier for customers to complete their purchases.
For instance, combine things like entering shipping and billing information to minimize unnecessary steps. And if you haven’t yet, make sure you optimize checkout for mobile, like using larger buttons and autofill functionality to complete purchases on smaller screens.
SEO can be a powerful addition to your marketing efforts and help you attract more organic traffic to your ecommerce site. Optimize your site content, social posts, and even product descriptions to be SEO-friendly and rank better in search results.
Here are several ways to approach SEO as you grow your ecommerce site:
Target relevant keywords: Tools like Google Keyword Planner can help you identify the most valuable search terms that relate to your offers. Plus, you’ll see what kind of keywords your target audience is searching for to find products like what you sell in your ecommerce store.
Improve load times: Slow-loading pages can damage the user experience and your SEO rankings. So, optimize for search and enhance the customer experience at the same time by improving load times for your site, including compressing large images and utilizing browser caching.
Create unique content: Blogs, product descriptions, social posts, and even your shop’s tagline are all channels for creating unique content that highlights your brand’s value, benefits, and features. Keep this content updated regularly and consider some outreach to build backlinks to further boost your SEO efforts.
Retargeting campaigns are extremely effective for recovering lost sales and improving your conversion rates. Re-engage prospective customers through tools like Google Ads or Facebook Ads Manager to create and display personalized ads that remind them of the products they viewed but didn’t buy.
Test out limited-time offers or discounts in your retargeting efforts to create that sense of urgency and encourage return visits.
With dynamic retargeting, you can show specific items someone browsed to remind them of their interest. Pair this retargeting approach with incentives or discount offers to engage shoppers further and convert them into paying customers.
Blogging isn’t just for brand storytelling — it’s a strategic tool for driving organic traffic, improving SEO, and building more trust in your brand. Prioritize creating content that answers your audience’s questions or solves their problems.
Get insights into your audience’s pain points or challenges and use this information to create in-depth guides, how-to’s, and helpful resources to further connect with your customers.
Ultimately, high-quality blog content can help you establish your brand as an authority in your niche. Over time, this trust can translate into sales, as customers will be more likely to buy from your business if they perceive your brand as knowledgeable and reliable.
Live chat is quickly becoming the norm for many ecommerce businesses due to the ability to provide support and higher-quality customer service instantly. The ability to immediately respond to inquiries makes a huge difference in overall customer satisfaction and conversion rates.
Customers often have questions before purchasing something, so implementing a live chat feature can help you address any concerns instantly. This is particularly effective for reducing cart abandonment since live chat can ensure customers are able to reach out for help if they encounter issues during checkout instead of leaving your site altogether.
Larger businesses with multiple teams can implement training for handling common inquiries fast, while smaller businesses and entrepreneurs can benefit from integrating AI-powered chatbots to provide 24/7 support for basic questions. This ensures customers always have access to assistance when they need it.
If it’s not already, A/B testing should be a part of your ecommerce efforts. Testing different variations of your marketing initiatives is integral to understanding what resonates with your audience and generates conversions.
A/B testing allows you to evaluate two versions of an ad, webpage, or other element so you can identify what performs the best and optimize your efforts accordingly. Headlines, brand taglines, CTAs, and even design elements can have an impact on how effective your marketing efforts are at connecting with and driving action from your audience.
When you use A/B testing, experiment with the basics first, such as headlines, content placement, CTA buttons, and product descriptions. Track the performance of your variations and then dig into the data to see what works best and what falls short so you can adjust and improve your efforts for greater success.
Conclusion
Ultimately, business success will depend on how you combine strategies, develop customer-focused initiatives, and follow ecommerce best practices — including optimizing for mobile, simplifying your checkout process, and using a mix of marketing approaches like paid ads and SEO.
Following these best practices can help you create a seamless shopping experience that will encourage customers to engage with your brand and support your growth long-term. Consider additional tools like Omnisend to simplify your email marketing and automation. With tools like these, you can streamline your efforts further and integrate the most effective approaches that boost sales for your store.
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There are a few variations of the three Cs of ecommerce, but many agree they all consist of these main concepts: content, convenience, and customer experience. Breaking it down, engaging content will attract and inform potential customers, while convenience reflects an easy shopping experience. Of course, customer service is integral for building trust and loyalty and driving repeat business.
How to make ecommerce better?
Improve your ecommerce efforts by focusing on performance tracking, optimizing for mobile, and simplifying checkout processes. Evaluate and adjust regularly through A/B testing to enhance the customer experience. Similarly, try tools that can help you streamline your efforts and support growth.
What are the four basics of ecommerce?
The four basics of ecommerce are products, payment, platform, and promotion. This means developing quality products, using reliable platforms to connect with customers, providing secure and flexible payment options, and promoting your store through ecommerce best practices like email marketing, paid ad campaigns, and SEO to generate more traffic and sales.
Bernard is the Sr. Director of Communications & Creative at Omnisend, with a passion for good research, helping ecommerce businesses with their marketing automation needs, and beating absolutely everyone in Mario Kart 64.
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