Almost every business has a primary goal to boost sales and maximize profit margins to become a market leader. Leveraging the reach and usage of the internet, there's no doubt that most businesses also have an online presence.

However, with so much competition in the digital world already, it may be complicated to get a competitive edge and quickly make sales online. Customers want social proof before making an informed buying decision since online scams are quite prevalent. Although some brands may be tempted to buy Google reviews, your business should automatically generate word-of-mouth recommendations and user-generated content to turn prospective customers into loyal customers.

If you're on the hunt for 8 proven tips on increasing online sales, keep reading this article!

Tip #1: Drive Traffic through Social Media

Since there are around 59% of social media users worldwide, it can be ideal for driving quality traffic to your eCommerce website. You certainly don't have to be on every social media platform. Simply assess which platform has the most relevant audience and create your account accordingly.

In order to drive traffic to your online store, you can collaborate with relevant social media influencers. People trust them for their knowledge and authority in the niche. Therefore, they tend to blindly invest in brands recommended by them.

In addition, you can host giveaways on your platform and make signing up for newsletters a must for entrance. Lastly, make sure you create valuable content related to your products or services, such as tutorials, to attract social media users.

Tip #2: Optimize Your Checkout Process

If the checkout process brings a lot of hassle to the customer, they will simply abandon their cart. Abandoned carts equal lost sales, and you certainly don't want that.

Therefore, you must make the checkout process a breeze for your customers. Make sure that the cart is visible at all times. Rather than having the customer redirect to multiple pages, add all the requested information on one or two pages.

It would be even better if you could give them an autofill form option or allow them to save their personal information for the next order. While doing so, ensure you don't ask them to create an account. This can be a massive turn-off for customers!

Moreover, allowing several different payment options such as debit card, credit card, Google Wallet, PayPal, and Venmo will significantly help you boost sales.

Tip #3: Leverage Testimonials and Case Studies

Adding testimonials on your homepage is a great way to catch the eye of the customers the first time they visit your website. In addition to this, you can also add case studies for credibility.

For example, if one of your customers decorated their personal space using your furniture items, you could ask them to share the picture and add it to your homepage to give a human touch to the brand.

If your customers allow you to add their pictures and social media handles with reviews, this would be even better because this will show your reviews are legitimate.

Tip #4: Provide Enticing Offers

To help you drive an increased number of online sales, you should offer your customers deals that are too tempting to say no to. For instance, you could offer them free shipping for a certain order value, discounts, or free samples with their purchase.

This will ultimately help you with future sales. Providing free samples will give them a taste of your products, so they can order the regular sizes down the road. In addition, offering free shipping with a price limit such as $30 will lure the customers into purchasing more to reach the value for attaining free shipping and boosting average order value.

Tip #5: Never Compromise on Customer Service

No matter what, you should always provide the best customer service. For this, you can make a live chatbot available 24/7 to answer the commonly asked questions. If the query isn't resolved, the chatbot should automatically assign the chat to one of your live support team members.

Solving a customer query quickly will make sure your customers are happy. Moreover, if they receive a defective product or a wrong item, you should positively address this issue and be apologetic. You will earn loyal and returning customers to increase your online sales.

Tip #6: Lower the Risk of Buying

As online buying has drawbacks, such as frequent scams and the inability to see and better understand the product in person, individuals dread purchasing and wasting their hard-earned money. This can quickly drive them away from an online store.

You can reduce the risk of purchasing by offering them a money-back guarantee or return policies. For instance, if you deal in pillows, you could offer your customers a 60-day free trial, so prospective buyers can invest in your products with peace of mind and boost your sales. Here, it's better to assess your competitors' refund policies and offer something even better.

Tip #7: Optimize for Mobile

Do you know that most people prefer making a purchase through their mobile phones due to the convenience? Therefore, it's imperative for you to optimize your online store for mobile phone users.

In other words, you should keep navigation simple and allow mobile payment options like ApplePay. Your eCommerce store should also load faster and make the checkout process a cinch.

Tip #8: Implement FOMO Marketing Techniques

If you want a quick surge in online sales, you can create FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) in your potential customers. Since they wouldn't want to miss out on an amazing deal, they would be inclined towards making a purchase.

You can create a sense of urgency through various offers, such as: using a timer or showing a limited stock widget, offering gifts for a limited time, offering limited-time sales on the best-selling products, or free shipping for only a certain time.