Top 17 Ecommerce Marketing Strategies for 2023

Ecommerce continues rapid expansion, with projections of $7.4 trillion in worldwide ecommerce sales by 2025. This seismic market growth draws more competitors vying for customer acquisition. Brands planning 2023 ecommerce marketing initiatives must incorporate data-backed omnichannel strategies to attract potential buyers.

As a social media marketing consultant since 2013, I‘ve helped diverse ecommerce companies triple their profits through refined digital strategies. Below I detail 17 Marketing tactics optimizing for conversions across channels.

1. Curate a Seamless End-to-End Customer Experience

Rather than isolated campaigns aimed to garner sales, today’s savvy brands focus holistically on facilitating positive customer journeys.

From initial discovery through checkout completion and beyond, eliminate friction at all touchpoints:

On-site experience: Ensure easy navigation, detailed product specifications, striking visuals, transparent policies and pricing, and clear calls-to-action.
Mobile optimization: Over 72% of ecommerce traffic comes from mobile devices. Guarantee responsive design and quick load times.
Checkout process: Reduce fields, offer guest checkout, highlight trust badges and secure payment icons.
Order fulfillment: Fast and accurate fulfillment with proactive shipment status updates cultivates loyalty. Offer expedited shipping options.
Post-purchase experience: Share personalized order confirmations and delivery details via their preferred communications channel like email, SMS, web push or chatbot.

Brands differentiation happens through customer obsession – not just through marketing tactics. Align teams company-wide to identify and resolve experience gaps that sabotage conversion rates.

2. Activate Influencer Partnerships

Influencers attract captive, engaged social media audiences – making them powerful amplification partners for ecommerce brands.

Rather than passive sponsorships, collaborate deeply on content that spotlights products uniquely suited to that community. Provide assets and creative direction while giving influencers freedom to infuse their authentic style.

Micro-influencers with under 100k niche followers often resonate better for product showcases given higher engagement rates. Work with multiple partners for expanded exposure.

Follower Count	Avg. Engagement Rate
Mega influencers (1M+ followers)	1.7%
Macro Influencers (100k-1M followers)	3.4%
Micro Influencers (1k-100k followers)	5.1%

Tools like Ainfluencer simplify influencer discovery and campaign management based on audience demographics, content performance and UGC compliance.

3. Spotlight Products Via Short Videos

75% of brands leverage video for ecommerce marketing – especially short videos under 2 minutes long.

Video spotlights attention-grabbing visuals, motion, music and voice for emotive storytelling that flat product images lack. Videos posted natively on social platforms garner higher visibility through auto-play and algorithm prioritization.

Best practices for product video ads:

Hero shots clearly showcasing product features
Lifestyle context displaying real-world use cases
Influencer haul videos and vlogger endorsements
Stop motion style guides and demos
Behind-the-scenes branded content
Customer testimonials and user-generated reviews

Video converts browsers into buyers by building product familiarity and confidence. YouTube product listing ads then shepherd viewers to purchase.

4. Build an SEO Foundation

Search engines drive massive ecommerce discovery. Organic traffic from keywords ranks as the #1 source of site visits and outrageously valuable conversions.

Technical and content optimization best practices include:

Keyword research to identify buyer search terms
Content creation targeting those expressions
Metadata optimization of titles, URLs and descriptions
Image alt text, schema markup and link building
Site speed enhancements and mobile responsiveness
Analysis of rankings and traffic in Google Analytics

By delivering content that answers searchers’ product questions, brands attract qualified visitors ready to buy. SEO remains foundational for long term organic growth.

5. Structure Intuitive Site Architecture

On average, up to 20% of shoppers abandon sites due to confusing layouts and navigation. Losing 1/5th of traffic directly harms revenue potential.

Ecommerce sites should guide users on intuitive paths to products. Ensure:

Main and secondary menus have clear taxonomy
Logical categorization of inventory
Consistent layouts across pages
Prominent search bars to locate specific items
Persistent calls-to-action like cart and account links
Symmetrical grids and white space to avoid congestion
High contrast colors and legible fonts

6. Get Shoppable on Instagram

As Instagram morphs into a digital mall, over 130 million users tap shoppable posts to effortlessly browse and buy.

Convert your company‘s Instagram grid and Stories into storefronts using:

Shopify‘s Instagram channel or simplified tools like ShopTAGG
Swipe-up links and shoppable stickers
Geotagged locations at brick-and-mortars
Highlight reels of new arrivals or styling inspiration
Live broadcasts from stores and pop-up events

Instagram Shopping also allows creating an immersive product catalog visible to broad audiences.

7. Optimize Email Capture

Despite social saturation, 80% of customers want to receive brand emails when providing permission.

Email nurturing fuels repeat business through personalized recommendations and exclusives. Populate sign-up forms across channels:

Website pop-ups and homepage banners
Social media link-in-bios and posts
Direct channel outreach
Retargeting ads
Integrations with loyalty programs

Provide instant perks like discounts or free gifts as a "thank you" for sign-ups. Export subscriber lists for retargeting to re-engage dormant customers.

Podcast ad spending grows over 30% annually, and for good reason. Hyper-targeted placements during hosts’ organic endorsements convert interested listeners into active shoppers.

Match your niche to podcast topics directly serving your customers – whether via their careers, lifestyles or interests. For example, a craft supply ecommerce site would perform well advertising on creative podcasts discussing DIY projects.

Effective podcast ads highlight:

User-friendly product benefits
Discount codes or free shipping
Quirky and benefits-focused copy
Clear calls-to-action

Podcast ads outperform all other digital ad formats for recall, favorability and purchase intent. Listeners perceive them as trusted recommendations from hosts they know and like.

9. Launch Loyalty and Referral Programs

Loyalty and referral programs incentivize repeat purchases and organic word-of-mouth advocacy.

Members earn perks like free products, discounts, early access to sales, or free shipping through ongoing participation across channels. Gamifying activities with points-based reward tiers fosters engagement via satisfaction from "leveling up”.

Refer-a-friend promotions encourage sharing your brand within existing customers’ networks by gifting credits or exclusive products to both parties.

Loyalty Program Data
67% of customers participate in programs if available	Forbes
Members have a 79% retention rate on average	Yotpo
Referred customers have 16% higher lifetime value	ReferralCandy

The ultimate goal is transitioning one-time buyers into lifelong brand ambassadors.

10. Launch an Affiliate Marketing Program

Affiliate programs reward external partners with generous commission for promoting your ecommerce store to new audiences.

Interested publishers apply to join the program then share special affiliate links for trackable referrals. Whenever followers click those links and complete key transactions like email opt-ins, purchases or app installs – the affiliate earns a percentage of revenue.

Popular program compensation models include:

Pay-per-click
Pay-per-impression
Pay-per-lead generation
Pay-per-acquisition
Multi-tier revenue share rates

Successfully collaborating with aligned content creators, loyalty platforms and complementary brands unlocks exponential growth.

Despite some 60% of marketers using paid ads – many neglect platform strengths catering to ecommerce.

Thoroughly testing conversion-focused objectives on channels where your audience already spends time browsing can reveal cost-efficient customer acquisition.

Facebook and Instagram present advanced audience segmentation for brands selling mass or niche products. Dynamic ads automatically showcase catalog items to interested shoppers.

Pinterest provides robust targeting dimensions for consumers open to inspiration. Shoppable pins directly link products.

TikTok allows brands to join viral trends and embed store links for frictionless buying.

Continually assess performance indicators like cost per purchase to allocate budgets delivering positive ROI across paid social efforts.

12. Setup Retargeting Across Google

Showcasing relevant products when previous visitors return amplifies conversions for lingering demand.

Google Universal App Campaigns feature ads across platforms like YouTube, Discover feeds, Gmail and Search based on prior browsing behavior. Shoppers receptive to messaging after an initial visit convert at 3 times the rates.

Google also offers free Website Retargeting tagging visitors for follow-up commercial content. Pair with Smart Shopping campaigns indirectly showcasing your ecommerce catalog to likely buyers.

Google Retargeting Stats
62% increase in conversions	Wordstream
800% higher CTR than other search ads	Impact Plus

Retargeting works by re-engaging past visitors with relevant offers instead of cold interrupting new audiences. Prior site activity signals readiness to purchase.

13. Recover Abandoned Carts with Emails

A staggering $18 billion worth of goods get abandoned annually in online shopping carts. Don‘t let this revenue slip away!

Setup automatic emails urging cart abandoners to complete checkout. Communicate urgency using discounts with brief expiration windows along with free shipping or complementary gift offers.

Personalize messaging with specific item details and recommendations from their wishlists. Schedule reminder sequences between 1 to 5 days post-abandon for optimum reconversion.

Abandoned Cart Recovery Stats
Email conversion rate of 25-40%	SeeWhy
68% abandon with intent to return	Listrak

Remarketing reignites urgency to minimize permanently missed sales – at maximum margins.

14. Produce SEO-Focused Blog Content

Ecommerce blogs publishing evergreen expert advice serve dual revenue purposes:

Ranking for organic traffic from related product searches
Building authority and trust as industry thought leaders

Helpful articles that preempt shoppers’ questions demonstrate your commitment to education over hard-sells. Don’t simply market products – provide genuine value.

Address common pain points around selection, usage, complementary purchases, maintenance etc. Interlink related products naturally throughout content to pique interest. Promote each piece across email, social media, and site menus.

Quality over quantity will efficiently attract and inform motivated customers year after year.

15. Partner Locally for Cross-Promotions

While ecommerce scales globally – 78% of small business owners still affirm that word-of-mouth referrals generate the best new customers. What better referrals than from trusted community partners?

Proactively forge relationships with complementary neighborhood businesses to co-market through:

Local event sponsorships
Cross-channel promotions (in-store displays, email lists etc.)
Community fundraisers
Discounts for each other‘s customers and employees

This fosters goodwill and jointly spotlights you as go-to options for area shoppers aligned with your ethos and offerings.

16. Launch VR or AR Experiences

Emerging technologies like virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) enable next-level simulated showrooms from anywhere.

Shoppers can preview furniture placement in 3D room renderings of their actual spaces prior to large purchases. AR allows digitally testing makeup colors or accessory pairings in real-time through mobile cameras.

VR/AR Stats for Ecommerce
Ikea AR app boasts 98% positive rating with 43% higher conversion	Recurse
$3.3B projected VR retail market size by 2030	Emergen

Novel tech providing personalized and practical try-before-you-buy modeling exceeds expectations around convenience. Meeting customers where they are – now often in the metaverse – builds inimitable affinity.

17. Provide Exceptional Omnichannel Support

Stellar customer support staffing all contact options provides prompt resolutions that earn loyalty – especially for VIP big spenders. Make it effortless to get knowledgeable assistance:

24/7 chatbots answering simple queries
Email support with guaranteed response times
Prominently displayed helplines and social media handles
Proactive back-in-stock or shipment notifications
Feedback forms after purchases
Real-time order tracking and simple returns processing

Empower service reps to resolve issues with flexibility extending discounts or expediting replacements when appropriate. High-touch care for online customers emulates quintessential brick-and-mortar hospitality.

The ecommerce landscape moves lightning-fast. Consistently refining your marketing technology stack while obsessing over customer-centric experiences is imperative for adaptability.

Hopefully this deep dive on 17 Conversion-focused ecommerce marketing strategies – from influencer collaborations to VR simulations – ignites ideas on elevating your 2023 acquisition and retention efforts.

What other inventive ecommerce marketing tactics are you currently testing? Which show the most revenue promise? Let me know in comments!