Online Buyer Retention for Ecommerce: 5 Proven Strategies for Brands ---- 4 min read

Loyal buyers are at the heart of any successful Ecommerce Business. Studies show that increasing Ecommerce Buyer Retention by 5% can lead to an increase in profits as high as 25%. Even with a clear understanding of the significance of Buyer Retention, Ecommerce Brands often struggle to retain their buyers.

Thankfully, there are strategies to help brands boost their overall Ecommerce Buyer Retention. Before decoding strategies, let us first understand the Importance of Buyer Retention for Ecommerce Brands:

• Cost-Effectiveness: Acquiring new buyers can be a costly endeavor. On the other hand, retaining existing buyers is often more cost-effective. Studies have shown that it can be up to five times more expensive to acquire a new customer than to retain an existing one. By focusing on Buyer Retention, eCommerce brands can optimize their marketing budgets and achieve a higher Return on Investment.

• Increased Customer Lifetime Value (CLV): CLV is a crucial metric that represents the total revenue a brand generates throughout their engagement with their customers. By fostering Buyer Retention, eCommerce brands can enhance their CLV significantly. Loyal customers are more likely to make larger and more frequent purchases, extending their CLV and positively impacting the brand’s overall profitability.

• Upsell and Cross-Sell opportunities: Buyer Retention fosters trust and familiarity between buyers and brands making it easier for brands to identify buyer needs. This offers eCommerce brands relevant upselling and cross-selling opportunities, enabling them to suggest complementary products or upgrades that align with customers’ preferences, leading to increased Sales and buyer satisfaction.

• Customer Insights and Personalization: Retention Marketing enables brands to gather invaluable customer insights, facilitating a profound understanding of their preferences and behaviors. Armed with this knowledge, brands can curate shopping experiences tailored to target shoppers. The resulting personalization not only boosts customer satisfaction but also fortifies brand-customer relationship, ultimately leading to elevated Retention Rates.

Let us now look at Ecommerce Buyer Retention strategies to delight your buyers and keep growing Revenue.

Leverage Live Shopping

Live Shopping plays a pivotal role in enhancing buyer retention. By offering real-time interactive experiences, live shopping engages buyers on a deeper level, fostering confidence in your products, along with a sense of excitement and urgency to make impulse purchases. It enables direct communication with hosts, encouraging personalized recommendations and instant answers to queries via live chat, thereby building trust.

The benefits do not end here!

Live Shopping Shows often feature exclusive deals, limited-time offers, and interactive Q&A sessions, creating a sense of exclusivity and incentivizing repeat participation. Such engaging experiences strengthen emotional connection between buyers and brand, leading to increased loyalty and a higher likelihood of repeat purchases.

Read More: Upselling and Cross-Selling in Ecommerce: 5 Strategies to Succeed.

But how to get Started?

The best way to get started is by adopting an effective Live Shopping Platform like Channelize.io. Channelize.io is an end-to-end Live Video Commerce enabler that enables E-Commerce Brands globally to add Live Shopping Experiences within their Websites and Mobile Apps. The Platform can be easily integrated within existing websites and apps with Pre-built integrations for Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, PrestaShop, Wix, Shoplazza and more, and via API, SDKs, and UI Kits.

Adopt Email Marketing

Leverage the power of email to connect with your e-commerce customers effectively. Send a warm welcome email as soon as a new customer makes a purchase, expressing gratitude for their order. Take this chance to offer upselling and cross-selling options.

For shoppers who haven’t made a recent purchase, maintain their engagement by sending recurring emails, ensuring they stay connected with your brand.

Read More: BFCM and Holiday Season – Live Shopping Strategies for Fashion and Accessories Brands

Offer a Customer Loyalty Program

Leading eCommerce businesses swear by loyalty programs due to the remarkable results achievable through a well-designed approach. Whether offering exclusive discounts, free shipping, subscription services, or free gifts, captivating loyalty programs simplify buyer retention.

Implement a purchase frequency-based loyalty program that encourages buyers to make recurring purchases from your brand. Ensure that the rewards or incentives are compelling enough to entice customers to participate.

To add even more fun to your loyalty programs, incorporate gamification. Utilize a points-based system or host exclusive contests that not only earn customer loyalty but also attract a wave of new customers.

Read More: How Brands can create Thriving Online Communities with Live Shopping.

Develop a comprehensive Customer Onboarding Program 

Customer onboarding programs are crucial for eCommerce subscription brands. Getting a prospective customer to sign up is only half the battle, especially if you operate on a monthly subscription model).

Onboarding is the first step in your retention strategy, starting with an informative welcome email.

Know More: BFCM and Holiday Season – Live Shopping Strategies for Skincare & Beauty Brands

Leverage User-Generated Content

Leveraging user-generated content like Short Videos and Testimonials presents a brilliant opportunity to skyrocket customer engagement and foster long-term loyalty. By encouraging shoppers to create content on your behalf, you receive high-quality material while providing them with incentives – a mutually beneficial arrangement.

Initiate the process by devising a branded hashtag or keyword that aligns with your brand’s essence, tailored for the user-generated content campaign. Encourage social media followers and website visitors to participate by posting content using this hashtag. Entice them with incentives, such as showcasing the finest pictures on your social media platforms or website homepage. Ensure the campaign is entertaining and captivating to maximize its impact.

Read More: The Live Shopping Calendar for BFCM and Holiday Season 2023

Bottom line: Ecommerce Buyer Retention doesn’t have to be Complicated

For established eCommerce brands, your buyer base is the greatest asset you have.

Delivering a better experience for your current crop of buyers, as opposed to looking for new ones, is one of the most powerful growth strategies around.

But no matter where you are on your eCommerce journey, Buyer Retention can help boost your Revenue, and more importantly, your Profitability.

To recap the Ecommerce Buyer Retention strategies we discovered in this article are:

• Leverage Live Shopping
• Adopt Email Marketing
• Offer a Customer Loyalty Program
• Develop a comprehensive Customer Onboarding Program
• Leverage User-Generated Content

If you choose Live Shopping as a strategy to implement, then feel free to Book a FREE DEMO with us or contact us at info@channelize.io to get started.