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eCommerce Business: Best Ways to Improve Your Bottom Line

Salim Omar • Jun 04, 2021

How Do You Make a Profit without New Customers?

When your eCommerce sales are slow or stagnant, it pays to look for strategic ways to generate profits. You don’t necessarily have to find new customers; instead, coming up with creative marketing strategies to impress the ones you already have and looking for ways to decrease your overhead costs.


Let’s take a look at the most effective strategies that can help you improve your profit margin without a regular influx of new customers:

Upsell and Cross-sell to Your Existing Customer

Many eCommerce stores are adapting sales strategies from brick-and-mortar stores. You’ve probably noticed that most stores have magazines and candy right next to the cash register. If you want to upsell to potential customers, offer them a range of products on the landing page that might lead to impulse purchases.


Once you gain your customers’ trust, you can offer a greater variety of products to increase your average sales. Focus on add-ons or accessories that might appeal to customers who are purchasing your main product. For example, if you sell bicycles, you could offer helmets and water bottles as cross-sell products.

Resell to Your Existing Customers

If you’ve had even one customer in the past, focus on building trust, which will result in repeat purchases and more sales.



If you’re just starting an eCommerce business, your sales strategies should revolve around how to influence customers to spend more money on your products or services.


But if you already have a customer base, it’s time to segment these customers for promotional messages through email and re-targeting. 

Bring Down Your Cost of Sales

For an eCommerce business, the cost of sales boils down to shipping costs and the actual cost of products sold. Bringing those costs down means more money in your pocket.


One of the best ways to save on expenses is to negotiate with your suppliers to bring down the product cost. For instance, you may get a better deal from your supplier by paying invoices in advance or increasing your order limit. And don’t forget that you can always switch to your suppliers’ close competitors for better offers!


Saving on shipping expenses also helps your bottom line. Ideally, you should have multiple shipping options from reputable carriers such as FedEx, UPS, and USPS. Although it depends on the order destination, opt for the carrier that offers the cheapest rate. See our Blog Post "How Your eCommerce Businesses Can Reduce Shipping Costs" for more info.

Revise Your Pricing Strategy

On the surface, it may be tempting to simply increase prices. However, there is more to pricing strategy than meets the eye. After all, no eCommerce store owner wants to lose their customers to close competitors. The key is to increase pricing to an optimal level by utilizing A/B testing.

Minimize Overhead Costs

It’s a simple equation—your gross profit margin minus overhead costs equals profit. That means the more you spend on overhead costs, the less profit you make. When it comes to overhead costs, spend money only when you think it will lead to a higher return.


Remember to focus on overhead costs that revolve around marketing, administrative, and payroll expenses. These expenses are investments, so treat them as such by making sure you get the highest possible return on them.

Try Paid Traffic

Paid traffic is an affordable way to execute a variety of campaigns and take your eCommerce business to the next level. Of course, paid traffic is not a guarantee of sales, but it is an affordable, practical way to expand your reach and potentially acquire new customers for your eCommerce store.


If you have a tight budget, dedicate small, specific amounts to paid ad campaigns. A good starting point would be to initiate ad campaigns under $50. If one campaign isn’t working out, move on and create a better one.


More eCommerce store advertising means more online visibility and is one of the most efficient ways to boost sales. But before you initiate an ad campaign, you should understand your budget and your ideal customer base, and know which advertisement outlets will work for both.


This in turn will help you narrow down your advertisement options and enable you to make better predictions. Google Ads or Facebook Ads are both user-friendly and popular with eCommerce business owners.


Whatever ad outlet you choose, make sure to monitor your website traffic through analytics software like Google Analytics. It will paint a clear picture of your eCommerce store visitors. You can also retarget your ads to reach out to more potential customers and visitors.

a man is typing on a laptop computer with a graph on the screen .

Improve Your Conversion Rate by Testing

Whether you’re a new or established eCommerce business owner, consistent A/B testing of your main products gives you valuable information about how your visitors react to your prices and price increases.


A/B testing isn’t rocket science. You just need to measure your gross profit and conversion rate to get the results. Opt for increased gross profit, even if it means fewer sales. Fewer transactions and more profit per transaction should be the goal. Think of it as a virtuous circle: fewer transactions means fewer returns, fewer customer calls, and less time on order processing.


You should roll out more than 50 changes to see if it impacts your key metrics. You should also be able to isolate different A/B tests to find out more sales issues and patterns. You can use the same data to make more logical and calculated decisions in the foreseeable future.

Harness the Power of Video Content

It is no secret that new and existing customers prefer to watch videos when making a purchase decision, and professional marketers agree that video results in a higher return on investment than other types of marketing. Video is a perfect way to demonstrate the uses, features, and benefits of your products to potential customers.


Once you have video content on your eCommerce site, you can expect users to spend more time on product pages. Video content also allows eCommerce businesses to increase engagement and spark more interest in their products. In the digital age, video resonates with consumers, and they are more likely to remember the content even when they move to other activities.

a woman is sitting at a table in a cafe using a laptop computer .

Prioritize Your Value Proposition

Whatever strategy you use to boost sales and earn more profit, make sure to keep your value proposition front and center by letting new and existing customers alike know what makes you stand out from the market.



Think of your value proposition as the key that distinguishes you from close competitors and influences consumers to make purchase decisions. If you create an impeccable value proposition, you can expect more sales from your eCommerce website.

Final Thoughts

Acquiring new customers isn’t always easy, and it takes time to establish a robust market position, but you can still maximize your profits by controlling costs and marketing creatively to your existing customers.


It takes courage and commitment to become an eCommerce business owner. No matter how good your product is, making a profit can still be hard work. But with the strategies above, and an accounting firm that can help you implement them, you can streamline your business and watch it grow. eSenshi understands the ins and outs of eCommerce and we are well equipped to become your trusted advisor! Contact Us today to learn more.

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