How To Create A Sense Of Urgency In Your Online Store

Most of the time, when people are shopping online, they don’t need something in too much of a hurry. If they need something urgently, they’ll rush to the store to get it, as that’s quicker. Yet, if you can create a sense of urgency with your e-commerce store, you’ll find you get more sales even if that urgency is not warranted. With that in mind, here are some ways to create a sense of urgency in your online store that could make a big difference to your bottom line. 

Use Text Marketing 

Text message marketing is one of the best ways to create a sense of urgency in your online store. You can send out 2-way SMS gateway messages that tell previous customers your sale is ending, that you only have a few items left in stock, and so on. Knowing their spending habits already makes this an easy thing to do, as long as you have permission to contact them in this way. 

Getting a text always has more of a sense of urgency than an email or a post on social media. It’s something people pay attention to; think of how you react when your phone indicates a text has been received. In many cases, you’ll look at it right away, no matter what else you might be doing. If your customers do that with your texts, you could sell more. 

Mention Deadlines

Deadlines are a great way to offer a sense of urgency in any situation, including in your online store. If you create deadlines for special offers, such as sales or free shipping, or for certain limited items, people will rush to buy – no one wants to be left out. 

It’s important to think carefully about the deadlines you’re choosing if you want to go down this route. If they are too far in the distance, you’ll lose the sense of urgency and people won’t buy right away and might forget all about your offer. If the deadline is too close – and it’s the first time anyone has heard about what you’re offering – they might feel they are already too late. You’ll need to work out the right middle ground to entice people to buy what you’re selling before it’s too late. 

Tell People Who’s Buying

Another way to create a sense of urgency is to let your potential customers know that you have other customers, and that they are buying whatever product it is you have for sale. This doesn’t mean you have to email out a list of your clients (which would be a bad idea considering privacy laws and what your own privacy policy says), but there is a way you can impart some information without falling foul of the law, and still creating a sense of urgency. 

Have you ever noticed a display on a website that pops up as you’re browsing to say that someone has just bought what you’re looking at? Perhaps with just a first name and an initial, to give you a sense that this is a real person. For many people, this makes them feel both more comfortable making the purchase because other people are, and excited to make the purchase before it’s too late and you run out.