How do you increase sales? Here's what you need to pay attention to!
E-commerce
8 August 2025
Increasing sales is the goal of many shops, both stationary and online. This does not only apply to selling products, but also to different types of services. Find out how to increase sales as a retailer and what you need to pay special attention to with different forms of business!
Increasing sales as the primary goal of any business
Every entrepreneur should define his or her business goals precisely before starting a business. Of course, these can vary depending on the size of the company, the target group, the financial possibilities or the industry in which one operates. Examples of business goals include:
- Financial targets - some of the most important, which relate to the overall health of the company and whether it will be able to sustain itself in the market. Some of the most common are achieving or improving profitability, increasing revenue, reducing costs or introducing sustainability practices;
- Customer-facing objectives - these in turn target the external situation, i.e. the company's image and customer relations. These include building brand awareness, improving customer satisfaction, increasing market share, building a competitive advantage, etc;
- Internal objectives - as the name implies, these relate to what happens inside the company. This could be reducing employee turnover, the overall development of the company, improving the organisational culture, creating qualified managers or increasing satisfaction among employees.
Without a doubt, one of the fundamental intentions for any type of business is to achieve high sales figures. After all, they are what determine growth, success or failure. So, if something is not going your way or you are just about to plan the whole enterprise, then check out how to improve sales in your shop!
How to design a business model conducive to increasing sales?
Before going into the various ways to increase sales, let us explain what the essence of designing a business model is. The business model itself is a kind of long-term plan that takes into account many aspects of running a business. In the case of services and sales, it can also be referred to as a sales strategy. To develop it, you need to answer four key questions:
- Who is the target customer? This is one of the key questions that must be constantly sought to be answered. Only by knowing exactly who your audience is, their needs and capabilities, can you create an effective strategy.
- What kind of product do we offer? It's not just about defining the name, but what customer needs it addresses or what gaps in the market it is meant to fill.
- How will we deliver it to customers? In this way, you can analyse which sales paths will be most effective. However, this will not be possible without answering the first question.
- Why do we do what we do? This relates not only to the business sense itself, but also to the question of why our customers should buy the product and pay a certain amount for it. This includes not only their needs, but also whether their decisions are influenced by the reputation of the brand, the prestige of the product, the formation of trends, etc.
Developing a business model is one of the operational activities of a company. It does not have to be created at the very beginning, although this obviously makes it easier to start. It can also be developed after the company has been in existence for a few years or at any other arbitrary time when there is a need to change strategy.
What factors can add up to increase sales?
A successful salesperson should constantly observe the market, current trends and consumer behaviour. However, in order to find out how to increase sales in your company, you also need to familiarise yourself with the most important factors that shape sales performance to some extent. What do they include?
- The general market situation - the economy also influences consumer behaviour. It shapes prices, as well as demand and supply for specific goods or services.
- Seasonality - certain products or services are more popular at certain times of the year. For example, snow shovels are much more frequently purchased during the winter season, while there is an increased interest in air fresheners in autumn (especially in large cities, where smog increases at this time).
- Population growth in an area - this can be caused by, for example, the construction of a new housing estate or the creation of new jobs. A greater flow of people also increases the number of potential new buyers.
- Corporate image - building brand awareness is an extremely important aspect of doing business. However, it must be remembered that caring for the image is a continuous and long-term activity, and any slip-up will very quickly destroy the trust customers have built up over the years.
- Internal company activities - sales growth can also be influenced by newly introduced marketing techniques, the creation of a strong and qualified team of employees or investing in modern tools.
Knowledge of these factors alone will achieve nothing if it is not followed by continuous analysis of the results and learning from the reports. You should also be wary of rash decisions. Sometimes, giving up an activity because it does not seem to generate any income will prove to be the wrong step.
An example of this is giving up having your own website and switching to selling on social networks. On the surface, this may appear to be a big saving, but once the owners of a particular social network give up the sales option permanently, suddenly everything you have built up on it will disappear.
How to increase sales in a stationary shop?
Stationary shops are still very popular and there are no indications that online shops will replace them any time soon. Therefore, retailers should focus on measures to increase sales. The fact that they do not sell online does not mean that they do not have to use the potential of the web. Having a presence on social media or even having their own website is likely to bring in more customers. What other ways are worth considering?
- Establish loyalty programmes (loyalty cards) that bring bonuses to loyal buyers;
- Streamlining the sales process using technology such as self-service cash registers;
- Organising promotional and discount campaigns;
- To advertise and reach a targeted audience;
- Applying psychological aspects of selling such as those relating to price notation - £59.99 in the eyes of the customer is much closer to £50 than £60.00.
Let us take as an example how to increase sales in a grocery shop. In this industry, organising tasting events that allow customers to test a sample of the product can be an effective measure. This not only increases brand awareness, but also the chance to convince them of something new. Sales techniques such as:
- Cross-selling - involves placing goods with similar themes next to each other on the shelves;
- Up-selling - refers to direct selling where a customer adviser is present. This method is based on offering the customer more expensive and at the same time better (e.g. in terms of performance or quality) products than those for which the customer came;
- Placing products at the checkout - in most stationary shops, various products or even aisles of products are placed at the checkout. This is to encourage customers to reach for something, for example when standing in a queue.
Ways to increase online sales
Selling online allows you to continuously analyse and monitor consumer behaviour. This allows you to efficiently draw conclusions and implement new solutions. How do you increase sales in an online shop?
- Organise sales events - this is one of the most common and effective ways to increase sales performance. Reducing product prices usually attracts a larger group of customers, which translates into increased sales;
- Build an expert image online - you can gain this, for example, by maintaining a blog with interesting, factual content;
- Ensure the credibility of your online shop - work with trusted partners, offer different delivery and payment methods. Nowadays, delivery by InPost Parcel Machine is almost a necessity that consumers demand;
- Bet on innovative solutions to improve sales - this applies to outsourcing services. Fulfilment, which streamlines the sending of orders to customers, is gaining popularity. At InPost, you will find such an option in the offer for companies;
- Ensure your website is aesthetically pleasing and fast - a site that takes too long to load will quickly deter customers from shopping. Also make sure that your shop's website has been adapted not only to the PC version, but also to mobile devices.
How to increase sales of the service?
Considerations on how to increase sales in a shop apply not only to goods, but also to services. In fact, most of these ways also translate to the service sector. What seems to be the most relevant in this case?
- Customer research - this is one of the most important aspects. The marketing of services is governed by slightly different rules because, unlike products, the customer cannot test them beforehand. They only form an opinion after purchasing. This is why it makes sense to rely on consumer surveys. This data can be used to improve offers and services;
- Creating a unique space - the quality of the service provided in stationary establishments is also influenced by the environment. It is therefore advisable to ensure that the location also offers the customer the opportunity to relax, use free Wi-Fi, have a coffee/tea or even buy snacks;
- Making it easier to register for a service - more and more people are choosing those facilities where an online registration system is available. This is a great convenience for clients as they can see all available appointments.
Marketing as a way to increase sales
One of the main methods on how to increase sales in a shop is to invest in marketing activities. These include those online, in the public space or using traditional media. These include:
- Presence and activity on social media profiles;
- Content marketing;
- Positioning and SEO activities;
- Reklamy online i offline;
- Unusual options such as advertisement on a parcel machine;
- Placement of advertising banners.
However, it is worth remembering that only a few companies in the world can afford to invest in all areas of operation. Mostly, however, this practice is rarely applied. It is therefore best to adapt the chosen methods to the target group. It is therefore necessary to analyse exactly where they go online most often or which communication channels they use.
How do you increase sales with InPost?
As you already know, one way to increase sales is to invest in marketing. Without promotional activities, your potential customers will not even know about the existence of your shop. At InPost, we offer online retailers various forms of promoting their services or products. You can opt for:
- Display of banner ads (inpost.co.uk website, InPost Mobile app, newsletter, Parcel Manager service website);
- Design of a display advertisement to be shown on the screens of Parcel Machines®;
- Covering such a machine with your own advertising;
- Product sampling.
Marketing alone, however, is not enough. Increasing sales often also comes from establishing yourself as an expert in the industry and gaining trust among consumers. One way to achieve this is to work with reliable partners, of which InPost is certainly one! Our services are used by millions of people, which is why we have created an offer specifically for companies. Sending your customers goods from InPost will help you meet their expectations of fast delivery. And by integrating your online shop with our system, you will save time and money on order processing.
You already know how to increase sales online and in stationary outlets. Remember also that, as a retailer, you should constantly analyse the results of your actions, the situation on the market and study consumer opinions
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