1. Be Open to New Trends

When deciding on which products to sell, be thorough and choose carefully. Think about what others around you are selling and what new can you bring to the market. Choose products that your clientele will like, rather than what you like. However, don’t get fixed up to specific products only. For instance, a half-sleeve t-shirt might be your biggest sale in summers but it won’t sell once winter arrives. Your sales might drop drastically if you don’t plan new stuff as winters approach.

In order to save your sales, be open to the latest trends. Play around with different products at different times of the year. So if it’s Christmas time, then selling decoration stuff, greeting cards, new year calendars, candles, fairy lights and similar stuff might be a good idea. What you need to think as an online seller is what your customer needs right now and target that need.

Customers are always on the lookout for new and latest stuff to buy. Children look for new toys; women look for the latest fashion items while men want the most recent gadgets to buy. As an online seller, you can lock more sales, if your online store is full of the hottest buying needs and trends.

2. Keep Track of Fellow Competitors

Once you have made up your mind on which products you will sell, conduct your own research regarding each product. Look for sellers and brands who are selling similar products. Take note of your competitors- what prices they are offering, what marketing strategy they are using, and what colors and materials are selling best on their stores. A learning experience like this can really push you forward as an online seller.

3.     Think Outside the Box

It is very easy to follow others’ footsteps and sell what everyone is selling. However, if you will think out of the ordinary, others might end up following you. So, for example, it’s Christmas time, and everyone is selling balloons and stockings, you should sell the same but think of other options as well. Focus your attention on people’s needs at this time of the year. Like, New Year is that time when many people make New Year resolutions. Consider listing Health and Wellness books, gym equipment and activewear, E-cigarettes, travel guides and kits, etc. to gain new customers. Since very less sellers might think like you, this can prove to be a winning strategy.

4. Ensure Customer Satisfaction

When you are selling online, be prepared for customer queries, phone calls, messages, emails, complaints, reviews and returns. As your sales shoot up, so will the customer interaction. As an online merchant, you should be ever ready to handle customer service and that too timely.

It is always a good idea to:

• Remember, your biggest support is your customer and you can’t afford to lose any. Therefore, give quick responses whenever possible.
• You must pick up phone calls and reply to messages even if it’s a holiday.
• Your return policy must be clear so that everything goes smoothly.
• Hire customer service representatives to deal with customer interaction.
• Download the marketplace app (Shopify, Amazon, EBayetc.) on your mobile phones so that a popup alerts you whenever a customer messages.
• Get software like eDesk to centralize all incoming queries across each marketplace and channel where you sell. In this way, you can improve customer support and hasten response times for a positive effect on your ratings.
• Collaborate with efficient delivery service (such as the USPS, UPS, FedEx etc.) to ensure on-time delivery. This will be particularly helpful at the time of rush hour such as Christmas orders.

5. Create Mobile Friendly Online Store

Do you know that Americans alone spend billions of dollars on their smartphones for online buying? According to Adobe Forecasts, this amount could go up to $14 billion-plus during the Christmas holidays only. 

As an online seller, you can benefit from these statistics. Do you want to know how? Well, first you should optimize your product listings for mobile devices.

Here is how you can accomplish mobile-friendly listings:

• Write short and simple sentences to describe your products. Long sentences can appear clunky and cumbersome on a smartphone screen.
• Make scannable web pages so that customer can skim through the page easily.
• Use zoomable HD images so that they are clear when they appear on small screens of mobile devices.
• If you are an Amazon seller, use attractive hero images as mobile buyers won’t see thumbnails.
• Remember mobile phones have portrait orientation. So it is advisable to use portrait images as they often look better on phone screens.
• If you are an eBay seller, place photos in the gallery rather than the description.
• Another tip for eBay seller is that you should review your font size. Make it 16 CSS pixels to eliminate the need to zoom the images.
• Also, it is better to use a viewport Meta tag on eBayso that the internet browsers can scale your listings for different devices (android, IOS etc.) automatically.