As of 2024, there were approximately 5.23 million Shopify stores globally, with the United States dominating the market, boasting 57.65% of the total. Therefore, it is no surprise that e-commerce is becoming more competitive every day. 

However, many smaller or medium-sized eCommerce stores on Shopify still rely on traditional marketing strategies to reach their customers. The question is, how effective is this? Is there more you can do to stand out and attract more high-intent customers to your site? 

Some tried-and-tested Shopify marketing strategies can help you with this so that you gain more visibility and maximize ROI. To help you get started, we’ve compiled 12 proven Shopify marketing strategies in this blog post. 

And yes, we also recommend the most suitable tool you can use to automate operations and accelerate your products’ go-to-market while amplifying their impact. 

Let’s begin!

12 proven Shopify marketing strategies to boost your sales

1. Run abandoned cart recovery campaigns 

It’s common for customers to put something in their cart and leave your site without checking out. On average, 70.19% of carts are abandoned by customers. Reasons? Complex checkout process, additional costs, slow delivery or security concerns. 

To reclaim lost revenue, you must run abandoned cart recovery campaigns.
As an all-in-one, AI-powered customer engagement platform for Shopify stores, Plivo CX can help right from the beginning. The Journeys feature in this tool tracks customer behavior and allows highly customized and relevant messages to be sent to the customer at the right time.
 

For example, if one of your customers abandoned a product in their cart, they’ll receive a message to continue their checkout. You can curate these messages yourself or use the AI copywriter to do it for you. 

Either way, your customers will receive a reminder to complete their checkout, and you’ll save the revenue that you’d otherwise lose.

2. Add an Instagram feed to your store 

42% of consumers say that user-generated content is the most influential factor in making purchase decisions. Integrating an Instagram feed into your store is the best way you can capitalize on user-generated content to increase sales. 

You can add an “As Seen on Instagram” section that allows customers to see real-life usage of your products by influencers and other users. It enhances your store’s visual appeal and social proof.

See how ‘Farrow & Ball’ added an Instagram feed to their website to inspire visitors.

3. Use chatbots in your Shopify store 

Incorporating chatbots in your Shopify store can significantly enhance customer experience. Chatbots can handle multiple customer queries and provide quick answers to frequently asked questions. 

They can also guide customers through the purchase process, offer product recommendations, and assist with checkout. This significantly reduces interaction time, which can increase conversion rates.

Here are the top issues that chatbots can resolve without human intervention. 

Gartner also predicts that chatbots will become a primary customer service channel within five years. Therefore, now is a really good time to implement chatbots in your Shopify stores. 

Plivo CX offers an OpenAI-powered self-service AI chatbot that solves customer queries for you. It uses the custom data set you select, so you can always trust its relevance and accuracy. 

Also, you can build your chatbots in minutes with drag-and-drop workflows without requiring coding. 

4. Send engaging SMS to customers 

45% of customers prefer sales and promotional texts from brands they follow.  It makes SMS a great channel to communicate with and attract customers to your store. 

SMS is fast and reliable, which helps you deliver time-sensitive messages for flash sales, abandoned carts, and product launches to a huge number of customers at once. And there’s a great chance that they’ll open and read your text, as SMS has a 98% open rate.

Just make sure you get consent from your customers to send these text messages and only share relevant information with them. Even though text messages have great ROI, they can get annoying if you don’t follow certain guidelines for SMS marketing. 

That’s why Plivo CX comes packed with built-in channels that let you send personalized text messages to your target audience wherever they prefer. 

Plivo CX platform also leverages Plivo’s proprietary premium carrier network, which offers latency-free global reach to 190+ countries and secure delivery. To send messages to a specific target audience, all you need to do is just import your contacts via CSV or API, and you’re all set. 

What’s more, you can use the platform’s in-built AI Copywriter to craft highly impactful copy based on your marketing goal, parameters, timing, urgency and desired tone. 

5. Allow customers to create their own bundles 

For some products, such as T-shirts, makeup brushes, razors, etc., bundling is highly recommended. You can capitalize on this by offering pre-designed bundles or allowing customers to create their bundles. 

Sell these bundles at discounted prices compared to buying the same items separately. It increases the value for the customer and provides a sense of control, encouraging more purchases. 

You can create gift bundles for customers during holidays or offer subscription bundles to increase repeat purchases. To create bundles, you can head over to Shopify Bundles from the Shopify app store.

For example, see how Wild One, an animal accessory brand, curates kits for its customers. 

6. Sell directly on social media 

Leveraging social media platforms for direct sales can significantly boost your Shopify store's visibility and revenue. 

Social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok offer integrated shopping features, allowing customers to browse and purchase products without leaving the app.

Instagram shop

Instagram is highly visual, making it an ideal platform for showcasing products through images and videos. 

Best practices for using an Instagram shop

• Shoppable posts: Tag products in your posts and stories, making it easy for users to shop directly from your content.
• Collections: Organize products into collections to make browsing easier for customers.
• Instagram checkout: It enables users to purchase products directly within the app, providing a seamless shopping experience.

Facebook shopping

Facebook Shops allows businesses to create an online store that is accessible through Facebook and Instagram. 

Best practices for Facebook shopping

• Customizable storefronts: Create a visually appealing shop with customizable layouts and product collections.
• Integrated checkout: Allow customers to complete purchases without leaving Facebook or Instagram.
• Customer support via Messenger: Integrate Facebook Messenger to provide instant customer support and enhance the shopping experience.

TikTok shop

TikTok Shop allows businesses to sell products directly through the widely popular TikTok app. With TikTok’s algorithm-driven content discovery, products can reach a wide and highly engaged audience.

Best practices to use TikTok shop

• Shoppable videos: Tag products in your videos, enabling viewers to shop directly from the content they are watching.
• Live shopping: Host live shopping events where viewers can purchase products in real time.
• Creator collaborations: Partner with influencers to promote your products to a broader audience.

7. Sell through communities 

Building and leveraging communities can significantly enhance the success of an e-commerce business. A community fosters a sense of belonging and loyalty. While other brands may sell and forget, you can nurture your customers inside a community to become a top choice in your market segment.

Engaged communities often lead to organic word-of-mouth marketing. It also gives you an opportunity to collect valuable feedback and insights directly from customers. You can use that feedback to understand their preferences and improve your products. 

How can you sell through communities?

• Create exclusive offers: Offer exclusive deals and discounts to community members to incentivize purchases and make them feel valued. 
• Host events and webinars: Organize virtual events, webinars, or live Q&A sessions to engage with the community, showcase products, and offer special promotions. 
• Utilize social media groups: Use platforms like Facebook Groups, Reddit, and specialized forums to share valuable content, answer questions, and foster discussions within your communities.

8. Get active on Pinterest

Pinterest is one of the underrated social media channels that can help you increase your sales. Since the introduction of buyable pins, over 518 million active users can now shop on Pinterest. 

Pinterest is beneficial for your ecommerce brand as over 1 in 3 Pinterest users have an annual income of over $100k. This makes Pinterest a haven for luxury ecommerce brands. 

All you have to do is set up a business account on Pinterest and start creating a well-branded and cohesive presence on the platform. Use consistent fonts, logos and hashtags to grow your page. 

Here’s how you can start selling on Pinterest:

• Setup & verification: Link and verify your sales website on Pinterest, using rich pins or catalogs to upload your product library.

• Promoted pins: Use Pinterest's paid ads and promoted pins to boost visibility and drive traffic.

• Engaging content: Design shareable pins with infographics, quotes, and DIY projects. You can also utilize video pins for real-time product showcases.

• Community & analytics: Create a community with user-generated content, influencer marketing, and group boards. Also, utilize Pinterest Analytics to track performance and understand audience behavior.

9. Set up an affiliate program

Affiliate marketing is a powerful strategy for increasing sales and expanding your reach. By partnering with affiliates, you can leverage their audiences and marketing efforts to promote your products.

Affiliate marketing is cost-effective because you only pay for actual conversions. This means you can achieve a high return on investment (ROI) with minimal upfront costs. 

How to set up an affiliate program:

• Define your goals and budget: Determine what you want to achieve with your affiliate program, such as increasing sales, boosting brand awareness, or improving SEO. Set a budget for commissions and bonuses.

• Choose an affiliate platform: Select a platform that fits your needs and budget. You can choose from ShareASale, Rakuten, and Commission Junction. These platforms provide the tools necessary to manage affiliates, track performance, and handle payments.

• Create attractive commission structures: Offer competitive commission rates to attract high-quality affiliates. Consider tiered commissions, where affiliates earn higher rates as they drive more sales.

• Develop marketing materials: Provide affiliates with banners, product images, promotional content, and guidelines to ensure consistent messaging and branding. 

• Set Up tracking and analytics: Use tracking software to monitor affiliate performance and sales. This ensures transparency and helps you measure the success of your program. 

10. Set up shoppable product suggestions on the homepage 

Shoppable product suggestions on your homepage reduce the number of clicks to make a purchase. Your customers can land on your website, see a product they like and instantly buy from the homepage. 

Displaying popular or recommended products on the homepage also encourages impulse buys. For example, check out this enticing homepage by Felix & Norton. 

They display their ravishing cookies on the homepage so their customers get instant cravings as soon as they land on the website.

To create personalized product suggestions, implement dynamic content that adjusts product suggestions based on user behavior and preferences. Tools like Shopify’s built-in personalization apps can help automate this process.

11. Personalize seasonal promotions 

Seasonal promotions are a powerful way to boost sales and engage customers by aligning your marketing efforts with specific times of the year. They drive urgency and encourage customers to make purchases within a limited timeframe. 

You can create a content calendar ahead of time and plan your campaigns accordingly. Look at the trends to make your seasonal campaigns more relevant to your target audience. 

Design promotions that offer unique value, such as discounts, limited-edition products, or bundled deals. For example, Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales often feature significant discounts that attract a large number of shoppers.

For instance, a recent study from Accenture shows that 61% of consumers will focus on shopping items that they can use even post-holidays. So, utilize this trend in your marketing messages and highlight how your product adds value to your customers even after the holidays. 

Here’s how you can personalize your seasonal messages: 

• Use targeted email and SMS campaigns to highlight these benefits and the urgency of the offers to drive engagement. You can use Plivo CX to automate the process. 
• Use Plivo’s email marketing and SMS marketing tools to automate and personalize these communications.
  
  

You can also use Plivo CX’s Campaigns feature to create and manage your seasonal promotions, ensuring they reach the right audience at the right time. 

The best part is that you don’t have to rely on a team of writers to draft seasonal content. Once more, use AI copywriting to develop engaging and persuasive promotional messages that resonate with your target audience.

Automate your Shopify marketing strategy and boost sales with Plivo CX

All these marketing strategies work, but they take time to set up. If you do it manually, you’ll need to hire writers, email marketers, and social media marketers just to begin the process. 

If you don’t want to build a team upfront, try Plivo CX to automate the key steps of your marketing process. The platform comes with all the necessary tools to get your marketing strategies up and running, such as:

• Multichannel messaging: Reach out and engage customers via SMS/MMS, email, and WhatsApp.
• Audience management: Tools for segmenting and managing audiences effectively
• Campaign automation: Automate and schedule marketing campaigns for more convenience
• AI-powered copywriting: Generate and personalize creative content for campaigns with AI 
• Analytics and reporting: Measure campaign performance and customer engagement to strategize better
• Integration capabilities: Seamlessly integrate with existing systems

With Plivo CX, you can kickstart your marketing strategy in no time. The platform automates the process while you sit back and monitor results. 

With a deal this good, there’s no time to waste. Request a demo to Plivo CX now and start marketing your Shopify store.