Strategies and tactics to generate urgency in eCommerce (Part 2)

The truth is that it's a fascinating topic, like everything related to neuromarketing or behavioral marketing. That's why we've decided not to make you wait any longer and quickly prepared a new post with more advice and solutions to apply urgency to your online store, as well as a brief reflection we'd like to share with you.

The first two strategies on this list directly refer to the products we sell in our online store. After all, that's what the public is looking for (besides a good shopping experience).

One of the most potent drivers is exclusivity, obtaining a product that isn't available to everyone due to price or, in this case, a limited offer.

If we're not manufacturers, to launch a product in a new color or with unique features, we can play with packaging, seek an agreement with a third party to use their license, or simply create a bundle pack by adding an extra product.

Don't forget to place a stock marker on the product page so that all users know how many units remain. This greatly stimulates the feeling of urgency.

I won't delve too deep here since it's essentially similar to the limited series option mentioned earlier. The significant difference lies in creating the promotion at a specific seasonal moment.

Products might be Christmas-themed, summer-themed, or associated with current events.

Imagine a World Cup football being held in your country. Wouldn't it be exciting to launch products related to this event that all media and social networks are discussing? And remember, by definition, everything seasonal has limited validity.

What stresses us most about online shopping? What truly creates a feeling of urgency? Of course: waiting for the order to arrive.

That's why you can use delivery times as a strategy. Not all offers have to be a direct discount on the total price; we can play with shipping deadlines.

Progressive discounts are a great strategy to boost sales in your online store. This tactic involves offering incentives that increase over time, encouraging customers to make quick purchase decisions.

First, set up a tiered discount structure. For instance, start with a 10% discount for the first hour of the offer, add an additional 5% for the next two hours, and so on.

This progression encourages customers to buy immediately to take advantage of the maximum discount.

Then, add a visible countdown timer on your website. This clock displays the remaining time for the current offer and emphasizes the time-sensitive nature of the promotion.

Moreover, highlight the cumulative savings customers can achieve by buying quickly. For instance, communicate, "Save 15% if you purchase in the next 3 hours." This emphasizes the advantage of making a quick purchase decision.

 Using all the channels at our disposal is one of the best possible strategies. Those that offer the possibility of having a direct impact on the user with communication that provides the best possible opening ratio will always stand out.

Thus, both email marketing and SMS marketing represent an excellent opportunity to inform current customers of offers about to expire or coupons expiring in the next few hours.

These are already captured customers, making it easier to achieve recurrence. This way, you can generate urgency in your online store even outside of it.

In the previous post in this series, which I recommend reading, we mentioned virtual queues as a strategy. The principle behind waitlists is similar but easier to implement.

The moment you suggest a pre-booking or mandate joining a waitlist, you make potential customers feel the urgency to get ahead of others.

This has an added benefit from the eCommerce perspective: you'll know in advance the stock you've "sold" before even putting the products up for sale.

This is the reflection I made reference to at the beginning. To what extent is it ethical to generate urgency to sell more online? Does it make sense even when it's "artificially"?

Some may have reservations, but objectively, it's just another sales argument. The customer gets a product of the same quality and, in many cases, depending on the marketing strategy or tactic, benefits from a discount or some "extra" compensation.

It's merely an accelerator of decision-making.