Last updated: August 2026 — originally published in January 2015. Increasing eCommerce sales does not necessarily mean increasing traffic. You can spend more on Google Ads, Meta Ads, SEO, influencers or marketplaces and [...]

Last updated: August 2026 — originally published in January 2015.

Increasing eCommerce sales does not necessarily mean increasing traffic.

You can spend more on Google Ads, Meta Ads, SEO, influencers or marketplaces and bring thousands of additional visitors to your store. But if your website converts poorly, your average order value is low or most customers buy only once, you are simply sending more people into a system that is already losing opportunities.

A better way to think about eCommerce growth is to focus on four main levers:

• Conversion Rate: turn a higher percentage of visitors into customers;
• Average Order Value (AOV): increase the average value of each transaction;
• Retention and Customer Lifetime Value: encourage customers to return and buy again;
• Acquisition: attract better-qualified traffic, not simply more traffic.

The basic principle is:

Sales = traffic × conversion rate × average order value × purchase frequency.

This is not intended as a perfect accounting formula. It is a useful way to understand where growth can come from.

When you improve several of these variables at the same time, relatively small gains can compound and have a significant effect on revenue.

The original video: what still matters and what has changed

The original version of this article was inspired by the video below and focused primarily on two objectives: increasing conversion rate and increasing average order value.

Those principles are still valid.

However, modern eCommerce also requires us to think about customer experience, mobile usability, automation, first-party data, retention, profitability, traffic quality and what happens after the first purchase.

That is why I have completely reworked the original 16 strategies.

Before you start: do not confuse revenue, sales and profit

An online store can increase revenue while simultaneously becoming less profitable.

This can happen when:

• discounts become too aggressive;
• advertising costs increase faster than margins;
• free shipping is offered without understanding its financial impact;
• sales shift toward low-margin products;
• returns and refunds increase;
• customer acquisition cost exceeds the value being generated.

So instead of asking only:

“How can I sell more?”

ask:

“How can I generate more economic value from every visitor and every customer?”

1. Reduce friction in the checkout

Every unnecessary step between the cart and payment creates another opportunity for the customer to abandon the purchase.

Review:

• the number of required fields;
• clarity of the information requested;
• form errors and validation;
• mobile usability;
• the number of steps required to complete the order;
• unnecessary distractions during checkout.

A checkout should ask only for the information genuinely required to complete the transaction.

Do not use the purchasing process as an opportunity to build the perfect customer database.

Allow guest checkout

If there is no strong reason to force customers to create an account before purchasing, offer a guest checkout.

You can always invite the customer to create an account after the transaction has been completed.

2. Make shipping costs and delivery times clear

One of the quickest ways to damage purchase intent is to reveal an unexpected cost at the final stage of checkout.

Shipping charges, free-shipping thresholds, expected delivery times and important conditions should be easy to understand.

Whenever possible, show shipping costs or an estimate before the final checkout step.

But price is not the only source of uncertainty.

Customers may also want to know:

• when the order will be dispatched;
• when it is expected to arrive;
• which delivery service will be used;
• whether tracking is available;
• what happens if nobody is available to receive the package.

Transparency reduces uncertainty, and uncertainty is one of the enemies of conversion.

3. Offer the payment methods your customers actually use

Not every customer wants to pay in the same way.

The right payment mix depends on your market, audience, average transaction value and country, but may include:

• credit and debit cards;
• digital wallets;
• PayPal;
• bank transfer where appropriate;
• installment payments or Buy Now Pay Later when economically sustainable;
• other payment methods relevant to the market you serve.

That does not mean adding every payment provider available.

The goal is to remove barriers for real customers, not to fill the checkout with logos.

4. Improve product pages, images and information

A product page should do some of the work that a knowledgeable salesperson would perform in a physical store.

Do not stop at:

Product name + image + price + Buy button.

A strong product page should help the visitor answer questions such as:

• Is this the right product for me?
• What problem does it solve?
• What are its most important features?
• Which sizes or variations are available?
• How is it used?
• What exactly will I receive?
• When will it arrive?
• Can I return it?
• Why should I buy it from this store?

Detailed photography, demonstration videos, technical specifications, comparison tables and FAQs can significantly reduce uncertainty.

5. Use reviews and social proof to build trust

You know your products. A first-time visitor does not.

More importantly, that visitor has no automatic reason to believe everything the company says about itself.

This is where social proof becomes valuable.

You can use:

• customer reviews;
• product ratings;
• customer photos and videos;
• testimonials;
• case studies;
• verifiable statistics;
• user-generated content.

Do not think of reviews only as stars next to a product.

The most useful reviews help potential customers understand how the product performs in the real world.

6. Make returns, guarantees and customer support easy to understand

An unclear return policy does not only discourage returns.

It can discourage purchases.

Customers should be able to understand:

• how long they have to return a product;
• which conditions apply;
• who pays any return costs;
• how the return process begins;
• how refunds or replacements work.

The same principle applies to warranties and customer support.

Hiding important information inside pages of legal language does not build confidence.

Clarity does.

7. Improve UX, speed and especially the mobile experience

A beautiful website is not necessarily an effective eCommerce website.

The more important question is:

How easy is it for someone to find, evaluate and purchase a product?

Review:

• navigation;
• menus and categories;
• filters;
• internal search;
• page speed;
• readability;
• button sizes;
• product pages;
• cart experience;
• checkout;
• the entire journey on a smartphone.

Small friction points that seem insignificant on desktop can become major barriers on mobile.

8. Use upselling and cross-selling with a purpose

Once a customer has decided to buy, you can help them build a more complete purchase.

Cross-selling means recommending complementary products.

Someone buying a camera, for example, might also need:

• a memory card;
• a carrying case;
• an additional battery;
• a tripod.

Upselling means recommending a higher-value or more complete version of the product being considered.

The guiding rule should be:

The recommendation should increase value for the customer, not simply increase the value of the cart.

9. Create bundles that solve a real need

Bundles can increase average order value while also simplifying the purchasing decision.

Instead of forcing a customer to choose five separate products, you can package them around a clear use case.

Examples include:

• beginner kits;
• complete kits;
• gift bundles;
• professional sets;
• maintenance kits;
• starter packs.

A good bundle is not simply three products placed next to each other.

It should have an obvious reason to exist.

10. Use free shipping strategically to increase AOV

Free shipping can be a powerful incentive, but shipping is not free for the business.

This is why a minimum-order threshold can often make more sense than offering free shipping on every purchase.

If your current average order value is, for example, €56, you could analyze the impact of introducing a slightly higher but still achievable threshold.

The objective is to encourage customers to add another relevant product without destroying profitability.

The threshold should therefore be based on data rather than intuition.

Consider:

• current AOV;
• gross margin;
• average shipping cost;
• order-value distribution;
• real cross-selling opportunities.

11. Personalize recommendations and offers

Two customers with different interests, behavior and purchasing history do not necessarily need to see the same offer.

Personalization can affect:

• recommended products;
• categories;
• email communications;
• bundles;
• promotions;
• content;
• the order in which products are displayed.

Artificial intelligence has made some of these capabilities more accessible, but the basic principle has not changed:

Personalization works when it increases relevance, not when it demonstrates how much data you have collected.

If a recommendation feels random or intrusive, it does not improve the customer experience.

12. Recover abandoned carts without turning every recovery into a discount

An abandoned cart does not necessarily mean the customer has decided not to buy.

They may have been interrupted, wanted to compare prices, had a question or encountered a problem during checkout.

An automated cart-recovery sequence can remind customers about:

• the products left in the cart;
• important product benefits;
• reviews;
• return policies;
• availability;
• frequently asked questions.

A discount can be useful in some situations, but it should not always be the first response.

If customers learn that abandoning the cart reliably produces a coupon, you may be training them to behave exactly that way.

13. Build the relationship after the purchase

Many eCommerce businesses invest heavily in generating the first order and very little in generating the second.

That is a missed opportunity.

After the purchase, email and automation can be used to:

• confirm and reassure the customer;
• explain how to use the product;
• provide support;
• request a review at the appropriate moment;
• recommend complementary products;
• remind customers when it may be time to reorder;
• introduce relevant new products;
• reactivate inactive customers.

The period immediately after a purchase is also one of the best opportunities to reinforce trust.

14. Focus on retention and Customer Lifetime Value

Not every customer has the same economic value.

A customer who places a €100 order may initially look less attractive than someone who spends €200.

But what if the first customer comes back five more times and the second never returns?

This is why it is useful to look beyond AOV and consider Customer Lifetime Value: the value generated by a customer across the entire relationship with the business.

Retention can be improved through:

• post-purchase experience;
• customer support;
• loyalty programs;
• benefits for returning customers;
• subscriptions where they fit the product model;
• email and marketing automation;
• simplified reordering;
• personalization.

The first sale is important.

But in many business models, the economics become far more interesting when customers return.

15. Attract qualified traffic, not simply more visitors

Only now do we return to acquisition.

SEO, Google Ads, Meta Ads, marketplaces, influencers, affiliate marketing, email and content marketing can all bring potential customers to an online store.

But visitor volume alone tells you very little.

A channel delivering 100,000 visits can be less valuable than one delivering 10,000.

At a minimum, analyze:

• conversion rate by acquisition source;
• customer acquisition cost;
• revenue generated;
• profit margin;
• average order value;
• new customers;
• returning customers;
• Customer Lifetime Value.

When using paid advertising in particular, do not stop at CPC and platform-reported ROAS.

Try to understand which campaigns are producing better customers, not just cheaper clicks.

If Google Ads is part of your acquisition strategy, you can also read my guide on how to maximize Google Ads performance.

16. Test improvements and measure the whole system

The final strategy may be the least exciting and the most important.

Do not rely entirely on opinions.

“I like this button better.”

“This homepage looks more modern.”

“This banner should work.”

These are hypotheses.

When you have sufficient traffic and data, controlled tests can help you evaluate changes to:

• headlines;
• images;
• calls to action;
• product pages;
• information hierarchy;
• bundles;
• free-shipping thresholds;
• promotions;
• checkout;
• trust messages.

But avoid the opposite extreme as well: continuously testing insignificant details.

Changing the color of a button will not fix a weak value proposition, uncompetitive pricing or a poor shipping policy.

Fix the big problems first. Optimize the details afterwards.

The four levers of eCommerce growth

We can summarize the entire guide using four numbers.

1. Conversion Rate

What percentage of visitors become customers?

Orders ÷ visitors × 100

2. Average Order Value

How much is the average order worth?

Revenue ÷ number of orders

3. Purchase frequency and retention

How often does a customer return?

This helps move the analysis beyond the value of one transaction toward the value of the relationship.

4. Customer Acquisition Cost

How much does it actually cost to acquire a new customer?

Not a click.

Not an add-to-cart action.

Not necessarily a “conversion” configured inside an advertising platform.

A customer.

An example: why small improvements can compound

Imagine an online store with:

• 50,000 visits per month;
• a 2% conversion rate;
• an AOV of €70.

It generates:

50,000 × 2% × €70 = €70,000

Now suppose we increase:

• conversion rate from 2% to 2.4%;
• AOV from €70 to €77.

With exactly the same amount of traffic:

50,000 × 2.4% × €77 = €92,400

Traffic has not increased.

But theoretical revenue has increased from €70,000 to €92,400.

And this calculation still does not include any improvement in repeat purchasing.

This is why an eCommerce business should not be managed simply as a machine for buying more traffic.

Where to start: a practical eCommerce checklist

If you manage an online store and are not sure which of these 16 strategies to address first, use the following sequence.

1. Measurement: Are tracking, revenue, orders and acquisition sources accurate?
2. Checkout: Are there obvious friction points?
3. Mobile: Is purchasing from a smartphone genuinely easy?
4. Shipping: Are costs and delivery times clear?
5. Payments: Are important payment methods missing?
6. Product pages: Do they answer the customer’s main questions?
7. Trust: Are reviews, returns and support easy to find?
8. AOV: Could bundles, cross-sells or a free-shipping threshold help?
9. Abandoned carts: Is there a recovery process?
10. Retention: What happens after the first order?
11. Acquisition: Do you know which channels produce the best customers?
12. Testing: Are you measuring the impact of important changes?

You do not need to implement 16 new initiatives in one day.

Find the point where the business is losing the most value, improve it, measure the result and then move to the next constraint.

Frequently asked questions about eCommerce growth

How can an eCommerce business increase sales?

The main levers are increasing qualified traffic, improving conversion rate, increasing average order value and encouraging repeat purchases. Focusing only on acquiring more visitors can increase costs without necessarily improving profitability.

How can I increase my eCommerce conversion rate?

Reduce friction in the purchasing journey, improve product pages and UX, make shipping and returns clear, provide appropriate payment methods, increase trust and analyze where users abandon the funnel.

How can I increase average order value?

Common strategies include cross-selling, upselling, product bundles, free-shipping thresholds, quantity incentives and relevant product recommendations. Each tactic should also be evaluated against gross margin and profitability.

Is it better to acquire new customers or retain existing ones?

A healthy eCommerce business usually needs both. Acquisition expands the customer base, while retention and repeat purchases help generate more value from customers who have already been acquired and can make customer acquisition costs more sustainable.

Which KPIs should an eCommerce business monitor?

Useful KPIs include revenue, margin, conversion rate, average order value, customer acquisition cost, repeat purchase rate, Customer Lifetime Value, cart abandonment, return rates and performance by acquisition channel.

Can artificial intelligence increase eCommerce sales?

AI can support personalization, product recommendations, customer service, analysis, advertising, content and automation. But AI does not replace a sound strategy. Automating a poor checkout, a weak offer or inaccurate data simply makes an ineffective system operate faster.

Conclusion: before looking for more traffic, look for the leaks

When the original version of this article was published, the central idea behind the video was already right:

You do not necessarily need more visitors to increase sales.

You can create significant growth by generating more value from the traffic and customers you already have.

Today I would add one more step.

Sustainable eCommerce growth comes from connecting:

acquisition → conversion → order value → customer experience → retention → repeat purchase.

If you look at only one part of that system, you miss much of what determines the economics of the business.

So before increasing your advertising budget, ask:

Where is my eCommerce business losing value?

In acquisition?

On product pages?

During checkout?

In average order value?

Or after the first purchase?

Finding that leak is often the best way to decide which of these 16 strategies should come first.