With the end of the year on the horizon, there are still a lot of potential opportunities to boost sales before the ball drops on January 1st. From maximizing your holiday sales and increasing your marketing efforts to improving the security of your website, these are the ways you can boost eCommerce sales and help your business grow before the year ends.

Embrace the Holiday Season

The holiday season from about September to late January is retail's highest-grossing time of year, and your eCommerce site is no different. If you're not embracing the holiday season for all of its selling potential, you're already missing out on what could be hundreds (or thousands) of extra sales. Luckily, running an eCommerce platform means you can reap all the rewards of the holiday rush without the crowded storefronts and rude customers.

You should be increasing your marketing efforts threefold during the holiday season. Be sure to send promotional emails and use advocacy marketing to your advantage. Advocacy marketing is simply offering an incentive to customers who refer friends and family to your website. Customers will flock to the rewards you offer, and you could potentially double your sales if every customer refers at least one person!

Take advantage this season with holiday-themed ads as well. Be sure to advertise on popular platforms like Instagram and Facebook, and make those promotional emails personalized to further entice the customers to follow through on a purchase. The best POS system for your business will help with these marketing efforts and work with you to build a detailed customer database.

Increase Your Customer Service Efforts

If customer service hasn't been your priority lately, you're probably noticing a slip in sales numbers and satisfied customers. Make no mistake; customer service is a life or death thing for any business, whether you're eCommerce or a brick-and-mortar store. Your customer service level shows potential and current customers how much you value their business. If they don't feel valued, they aren't likely to return or recommend your brand to anyone else.

Increasing your customer service efforts starts with addressing any recurring issues that seem to come up in every customer review. Is your website slow? Are your representatives slow to respond? Do you not respond at all? If any of these issues are affecting your business, you'll want to address them quickly, so that your holiday rush is actually a rush and not a trickle.

Fix Your Website

Speaking of your website, are there problems with it? Does it load slowly, crash frequently, or is prone to cyber-attacks? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you're already falling behind in the eCommerce market. The best eCommerce sites are secure, quick to load, and aren't oversaturated with unnecessary graphics, videos, or other distracting visual elements.

Simplicity is key with an eCommerce site. Keep your designs as simple as possible without sacrificing functionality and aesthetics. This is best achieved by working with a professional designer/developer.

DIY sites are all well and good, but they won't allow you the level of customization you'll want for an eCommerce site. Choose a professional designer with lots of experience, and you'll see the difference.

Support Mobile Payments

Mobile payments are on the rise as more and more consumers purchase items via their smartphones or other mobile devices. Now, more than ever, you want to have an app to accompany your eCommerce site. Having your own app makes purchases simple, setting up an account a breeze, and increases the overall convenience of the buying process.

Developing an app will certainly cost you some money, but the investment is well worth it. You should see sales increase when your store is easily accessible via an app; and with the trend heading toward an increase in mobile payments, we'll be seeing more and more brands developing their own apps to take advantage.

Make Security a Priority

A trust seal or security badge on your site can not only help increase your sales and boost customer engagement, but they'll also help increase your reputation as a trustworthy retailer. Site security should be an absolute priority for your eCommerce business, as you'll be dealing with other people's personal information.

Trusting info like credit card numbers and addresses to a faulty security system is a good way to end up with a security breach, and potentially a slue of backlash and bad press, up to and including legal action. Keep your site secure with the best software available, and proudly display your security badges so customers know your site is secure.

Conclusion

Increasing eCommerce sales is a relatively simple process as long as you follow the tips we've provided. Don't forget about the security of your site or the importance of customer service!