With the lockdown restrictions finally coming to an end, it’s worth taking a look at the eCommerce industry and its growth. The industry has seen a huge increase in small businesses and stores once on high streets, shutting up shops and taking their establishment online to survive through the pandemic. According to internetretailing.net, “eCommerce grew by 46% in 2020 – it’s the strongest growth for more than a decade.” This blog identifies the three go-to e-commerce software, eBay, Etsy, and Shopify, which individuals use on a business level rather than selling a personal item on one occasion. We will also discuss expert tips on how to list the perfect listing for your products while keeping them fresh and customer-friendly!
eBay
From a broken laser pen to a $168 million superyacht there’s not much eBay hasn’t sold. No matter what you selling, eBay can be a great platform to expand or even kickstart your business altogether. So, whether you are a beginner or simply want to improve on the foundations you have already built, this expert guide will help you in maximizing your potential eBay sales!
What to include in your eBay product listing
Below you can find our Top 4 tips on what should be included and considered in your eBay product listing.
1. Be Clear
The most simple factor but also the most effective in making your product listing clear and uncomplicated and letting your customer exactly know about the product you are selling. By doing this with all the relevant sections you can make it easy to read and digestible for your audience.
2. Keep images at the top of your listing
Often, sellers tend to dot their images throughout their listing to break up the text, however, this is the opposite of what you should be doing. Due to the saturation of the e-commerce industry, most product images can help get your potential customer to be attracted to your product. In most cases, the image is the main factor that contributes to their decision so it’s recommended that you keep all imaging at the top of the listing. This will enable your customer to scan through the images before reading the product description.
3. Invest in an Inventory Management Software
If you are intending on selling your products over multiple international eBay sites or plan on selling large amounts of stock it can be extremely time-consuming in managing all your stock. Investing in inventory management software it can be a great way of editing, controlling all of your product listings from one central system. It also helps you to cut costs and make your business processes more streamlined.
4. Promote your brand
If you have reached a good standing in your recent sales activities, eventually you will have the ability to use the promoted listing tools. If you fall within these categories it’s recommended that you take advantage as it can help to improve your brand exposure across your listings. Promoted listings will push your product higher than other sellers in your niche.
Tip: When uploading your listing you will also be given the option of having it set at a base price or as an auction. If your products are more unique and rare then having an auction could be incredibly beneficial
Shopify
Just like other e-commerce sites, you don’t need to be concerned about the negatives when posting a listing on Shopify. The truth is e-commerce platforms are incredibly good at what they do in 2021. Instead, focusing on the positives will be incredibly beneficial to trump any negatives you might encounter. In the case of Shopify, there are plenty.
- Easy to set up and manage a listing
- Visually appealing as an online store
- Great site loading speed
- Mobile and app integration
Before getting to the nitty-gritted parts on what to include in the listing of your products, you will need to set up Shopify account. The good news is it can take less than 15 minutes to create an identity so you can get started. They also provide a free trial so you can gauge whether their service will be best suited to your needs
- Begin by setting up a free trial which is self-explanatory upon entering their site. You will be sent a link by email to get started
- Follow the link and create or add your chosen business name. The name will even be populated onto your Shopify store’s URL!
- Next, answer the question of what you selling and your current revenue. Make sure the product question is answered accurately but the revenue doesn’t have to be exact.
- Finally provide your address details
Make your product page standout
Unless you are selling an extremely unique or rare product your more than likely going to have multiple if not hundreds of competitors vying for your customer’s money. Below you can find some tips on how to get ahead of the curve in enticing your customers.
1. Take inspiration where you can find it
Whether you have a few years under your belt or brand new to the scene, it’s important that you take inspiration from your competitors or other stores that are excelling in your niche. You can take away many different things such, product descriptions, image shots, page structure, etc.
2. Offer free shipping
Most “e-customers” are hardwired to hate extra fees. Even when it is as important as delivery fees it’s still a deterrent for many individuals. The way you can counter this is by simply increasing the base cost of the product which is less likely to flag up in your customer’s mind.
3. Not everyone optimizes for mobile – make sure you do!
Studies from business insiders suggest that a staggering 79% of e-commerce spend is on mobile. This is a clear indication that optimizing your store for app purposes is extremely important for your product exposure. When listing on the app make sure to have a look as if you were a customer to identify any issues they might find on your site (ie bugs, typos, structure, etc.).
4. Channel your inner photographer
Just like with eBay and Etsy most customers are initially attracted to the image. For that reason making sure your images are unique and of high quality is extremely important. Taking original photographs of your product can also help the customer subconsciously build trust with you as they will feel you are avoiding cutting corners.
ETSY
ETSY was founded in 2005 as the internet began to develop and flourish. ETSY now boasts 60 million items on its marketplace and is still growing healthily. ETSY focuses on the more creative products that are often made by hand and more personalized in style. Etsy is often used as a side hustle rather than a main career due to the time constraints of making unique products, however, this doesn’t mean you can’t make it full time. Luckily, we’ve brought together some expert tips on how to optimize your listing to maximize your sales in a fun and productive way.
Creating a Store on Etsy
Before posting your product listing you will need to follow their quick and easy process of setting up a FREE account where you will need to provide information such as your name, email, and password. Once you have provided all the relevant information you will then need to verify your account.
Once you have logged on click ‘open an ETSY shop/shop manager’ in the top corner on the right. Below are the five steps you will then need to follow to get started.
- Shop preferences
- Name your shop
- Stock your shop
- How you’ll get paid
- Set up billing
Tip: Make sure to take your time choosing a business/product name and product information. This will help in setting up your shop effortlessly.
Creating the Perfect Listing
Now for the fun part! Creating an optimized product listing is what will lead to the eventual sale of your product. Take a look below at some of our top, expert tips for inspiration.
1. Your pictures are your shop window
The first picture of your listing is most definitely the most important part of your ETSY listing. Most e-commerce customers will mainly focus on the images ESPECIALLY with Etsy as they are mainly handmade authentic products. You only get one moment to create a first impression so make it count! Create an attractive image that can also be used as a thumbnail. If you have access to a professional camera then it’s recommended you use it!
2. Pricing and offers
Everyone loves a bargain! Setting a fair and competitive price is also another way of attracting your customers and prying them away from competitors. You will also find that Etsy has constantly got deals advertised throughout their pages so take advantage and offer monthly deals on specific products.
Whether you are using Etsy, Shopify, or eBay it’s worth noting that all these tips benefit every one of them in one way or another. Optimizing your product listing consistently is often overlooked and can leave your post looking outdated and not looked after. Tapping into your customer’s subconscious is extremely important!
Author Bio:
Afonso Martins-Pereira
I am a professional writer for PostageSupermarket. I have been writing content within the e-commerce and postal industries for the past 5 years.