10 ways UK eCommerce retailers can drive consumer spending

“Retail disruption” has been a well-used term over the course of the last decade. But despite headwinds such as Brexit, a pandemic, and the UK cost-of-living crisis, the eCommerce sector has thrived against a challenging wider economic climate.

Only recently have high inflation, geopolitical tension and supply chain woes threatened to derail the progress of online retailers. And while consumers have been squeezed and sales targets have come under pressure, there’s hope on the horizon.

In this article we’ll be focussing on the green shoots in the economy and the ways UK eCommerce retailers can adapt and continue to thrive.

Talk to our team today to learn how Whistl can help your eCommerce business to drive sales

The state of UK retail: eCommerce at a crossroads?

The RetailX UK Top 500 2024 report highlights the crossroads facing the UK economy and online retailers. Low growth resulted in the UK economy falling into a technical recession in the second half of 2023 with retail decline (-0.9%) in Q4 one of the most significant factors.

However, that doesn’t tell the full story. In December 2023, eCommerce sales were up 7.7% on the previous year. Meanwhile, figures from January 2024 were also slightly higher (+1%) year-on-year.

Should inflation continue to fall, this will likely further loosen consumer purse strings. But in the meantime, online retailers will need to focus on providing value and optimising the customer experience to push sales in a challenging landscape.

10 ways UK online retailers can drive consumer spending

• Obsess over your product line

It might sound obvious but what you sell paints a picture about your business. Whether you ship low-value items or high-end products, ask yourself whether your inventory is reflective of your wider strategy. Is your stock listing consistent or disjointed? Your product listing should provide clarity to consumers so that they buy from you and return in future.

• Re-focus on your value proposition

What you put out into the marketplace exists across many touchpoints. Your website, product descriptions, email marketing, and even your promotions and loyalty schemes each tell a story about your brand. Take the time to evaluate these vital elements of the customer journey and assess the efficacy of your messages and channels. Performing this exercise will help you re-focus on activities that are performing well and pause or stop those that aren’t, which is a quick-win for cutting unprofitable streams while boosting consumer spend.

• Explore new sales channels

Consumer behaviour has become increasingly unpredictable but one way to cover more bases is to review your current selling channels and consider expanding to new online marketplaces. A diversified approach will ensure your products are more widely seen and available, increasing your bottom line. Utilising powerful marketplace shipping software and choosing the right delivery partner will enable you to create seamless integrations, increase your delivery options and make efficiencies to areas such as label production and order processing.

• Provide a subscription option

Subscriptions have proved to be a win-win for businesses looking to build predictable revenue and consumers that want to manage their spending. UK consumers spend a cumulative £2 billion each year on subscriptions, albeit the model has needed to evolve during the cost-of-living crisis. We now see variable subscription models, from fixed-fee offerings to those based upon usage and subscriptions which provide a mixture of basic and premium services. It’s important to weigh up your options and what will be required to grow your eCommerce subscription business.grow your eCommerce subscription business.

• Expand into new markets

Cross-border eCommerce is expected to exceed $3.3 trillion by 2028, up from $1.6 trillion in 2023. Therefore, there will be plenty of opportunities for UK online retailers to tap into demand from overseas. Staying up to date with regulations around international parcel shipping and exporting goods may initially appear daunting, but partnering with a consolidator such as Whistl can take the complexity out of the process by offering a single point of contact and collection, as well as a wide range of fully tracked, untracked, economy or express international parcel delivery options.

• Offer preferred payment methods

Signposting and offering preferred payment methods saves time and reduces cart abandonment. Research from ConsumerX/RetailX found that 55% of UK online shoppers had used a third-party checkout in the past year with 49% saying a preferred payment method is a “very important” factor when deciding where to buy. Not only does offering a preferred payment method boost conversion and enhance the customer experience, it’s also likely to increase loyalty and trust. Traditional and well-known methods such as credit/debit card payments and PayPal remain popular. However, you should also consider the preferences of overseas buyers if you wish to grow international sales.

Learn more about international consumer buying behaviours, trends and insights with Whistl

• Have an easy and reliable returns process

Parcel returns are a core part of eCommerce buyer journey with 71% of UK consumers returning items at least some of the time. While the demand for free returns still exists, this is being slightly tempered by retailers that are adapting their returns policies to include fees. However, convenience remains a non-negotiable. Both retailers and consumers want hassle-free and trackable returns processes, ideally with drop-off or collect-from-home options. Ecommerce businesses that can provide a fully-managed way to return a parcel will reap the benefits of increased upselling opportunities, improved customer satisfaction and loyalty.

• Maintain online presence and discoverability

As you might expect, the UK’s leading online retailers continue to invest in technology and marketing to drive interest and sales. Whatever the size of your eCommerce store, maximising your digital assets to build presence and discoverability remains vital in such a competitive landscape. As well as staples such as Shopify and WooCommerce, tools such as Route and Trellis provide AI-powered content creation, listing generation, dynamic pricing and even intelligent cross-selling features.

• Optimise your UX and CX

Your User Experience (UX) and Customer Experience (CX) are closely aligned and especially important when trying to retain customers and grow market share. Consumers visiting your store will arrive with the expectation that you can provide a slick and trustworthy process. But where to begin? The Unified Commerce Benchmark for Speciality Retail found that 51% of shoppers think the checkout is the area retailers should focus on fixing to improve experience. Further up the funnel, enabling easy navigation, clear and accurate product availability, and personalising search suggestions are other ways to enhance your CX.

• Be proactive

Get ahead of the game and start acting on the points above. Ecommerce owners that adopt multi-channel strategies, optimise front and back-end processes, and maintain a focus on customer value will thrive. There are signs of encouragement for eCommerce businesses that have suffered from a reduction in demand. But there’s no room for complacency as the UK retail landscape continues to undergo change.

Looking at ways to drive consumer spending and boost profitability? With Fulfilment, Parcels and Cross-Border Solutions, as well as contact centre support, The Whistl Group is uniquely positioned to support your entire customer journey.

Get in touch with the eCommerce experts to discover what we can do for you.