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How to Maximize eCommerce Site Traffic to Grow Revenue

Maximizing site traffic should be a priority for all eCommerce brands. The Site Speed Summit, a virtual eCommerce event that took place on September 15, 2022, featured a panel discussion that addressed the best ways of doing this. 

Rob Garf, VP and GM of Retail at Salesforce moderated a discussion called Love the One You’re With between Matt Ezyk from Pet Supermarket, Christian Pena from Ralph Lauren, and Sai Samivelu from Joann Fabrics. With digital traffic declining in the current market, the point of the panel was how to make the most of the eCommerce site traffic you already have. If online brands want to meet revenue goals, they must convert and make loyal, longtime customers out of the shoppers that visit their sites. However, this might not be easy. Garf opened the session with this statistic from a Salesforce Commerce Cloud research report: 

50% of consumers will switch brands this holiday season 

Although this is sobering, there are strategies brands can use to maximize site traffic by building long-term loyalty among current customers. 

Maximizing site traffic depends on customer loyalty 

If brands want to maximize their eCommerce site traffic, they must develop loyal customers by building an emotional connection with them. Garf noted that providing convenience and building trust with shoppers are the basic building blocks to accomplish this goal. The panelists agreed, offering the following strategies to achieve customer loyalty: 

  • Provide a fast eCommerce site; if pages don’t load in less than 4 seconds shoppers will bounce. 
  • Use omnichannel to meet shoppers where they are; don’t make shoppers repeat themselves.
  • Personalize the shopper experience; customers expect you to know them.
  • Focus on making the user experience great – no friction.
  • Pay attention to your mobile app; Salesforce research shows that over 70% of online transactions are via mobile devices. 

Garf also shared that loyal customers buy about 30% more on average than new customers, further emphasizing the point. 

Customer loyalty depends on eCommerce site performance 

It’s evident that the best way to build customer loyalty is to provide shoppers with great online experiences, and this is dependent on fast, performant eCommerce sites. Yes, shoppers expect 3rd party technologies that allow for personalization, user chat, and options like buy-online-pick up-in-store (BOPIS), but not at the expense of speed. Nowadays, a great user experience requires high functionality and fast page load times. As Ezyk shared, “Site speed is the foundation of everything you want to do in the future. It’s the basis of making sure 3rd parties perform like you think (they will).” 

The problem brands face is that the 3rd party technologies that provide functionality also drag site speed way down. In a market where shoppers demand both, brands are faced with an interesting challenge. Optimizing 3rd parties is the easiest and fastest solution. Joann Fabrics has deployed YOTTAA to accomplish this. Samivelu says, “Performance is ongoing…it’s the foundation. We use YOTTAA lazy loading and image caching because we have heavy content. We have a lot of 3rd parties, so we need (YOTTAA’s) sequencing. We can turn off a 3rd party if it’s impacting functionality.” 

Maximize your eCommerce site traffic 

If you want to learn more about how to maximize your eCommerce brand’s site traffic before holiday season, watch to this great panel discussion for yourself. You’ll find out how leading online brands Ralph Lauren, Joann Fabrics, and Pet Supermarket are building customer loyalty by making sure their eCommerce sites are as fast and functional as possible. 

WATCH NOW 

If you want to find out if your eCommerce site is fast enough to build customer loyalty, request a FREE Site Performance Snapshot from YOTTAA 

FREE Site Performance Snapshot