Implement a phased approach: Introduce new products in phases–starting with a limited range in a new category and gradually expanding based on performance and customer reception.

Test new products with pre-orders: Gauge customer interest by offering new items on a pre-order basis–allowing you to fund production with customer payments.

Start with limited-edition launches: Offer a small batch of new products as limited editions and assess demand before scaling production.

Limited-edition product range on eCommerce stores for product diversification | how to scale an ecommerce business | how to scale your ecommerce business | how to scale ecommerce website

2. Convert more of your paid traffic

Lucrative ads sure bring traffic to your landing pages.

But the real action happens after that–when your shoppers are mulling over–whether or not to buy the product.

Ease this decision-making process for them.

Align your ads with your landing pages: The audience should land on the product page of the product that you have displayed in the ad. Don’t have them hunt for the item they clicked for.

Make sure to offer more on the landing page than on the ad: Enrich your landing page with savings, quizzes and urgency nudges–will help with faster conversions.

Check how Tyme has added a trial offer, free shipping, return policy and social proof on the landing page.

eCommerce landing page for more conversions | | how to scale an ecommerce business | how to scale your ecommerce business | how to scale ecommerce website

Implement retargeting campaigns: Not everyone interested will buy on their first website visit. Switch to backup–retarget and follow them around. Eventually, they will come back and convert.

Recommend similar products on the landing page: In case the shopper is not happy with the details of the product, make it easy for them to explore other similar options.

3. Segment your email list before shooting emails

Sending the same email to your entire list is like casting a wide net in murky waters—inefficient and unlikely to yield the best results.

Your emails must speak directly to the distinct needs and behaviors of different customer segments.

Divide your list by purchase history to tailor offers to first-time buyers, repeat customers, and high spenders–add your product offerings in their emails accordingly.

Segment by engagement level so you can re-engage inactive subscribers with targeted win-back campaigns.

Use demographic data like age, location, or gender to create personalized content that resonates with each group.

Here’s how Lucchese created different emails containing their boots for men and women to send to the respective genders.

Different copies and visuals in emails for different segments of eCommece customers | | how to scale an ecommerce business | how to scale your ecommerce business | how to scale ecommerce website

Create segments based on browsing behavior to send targeted emails featuring products or categories they've shown interest in.

4. Get influencers to promote your brand

Influencers have the power to transform your brand's narrative by turning trusted voices into passionate advocates.

While choosing your influencers, follower count should not be the deciding metric.

Make sure you are checking the views, engagement rate and quality of comments.

You don’t want an influencer to promote your tech products whose audience is probably there to look at their aesthetics.

To get a clear idea of the views and engagement, check:

(Average views on their last 5 posts or videos/ 5) *100 = The number of eyeballs you might reach with your influencer campaign

Make sure to go through the comments to find if there is genuine interest in the niche the influencer is targeting.

And finally, check if the influencer sticks to the niche in at least 80% of the posts and stories.

influencer marketing for eCommerce stores example | how to scale an ecommerce business | how to scale your ecommerce business | how to scale ecommerce website

5. Build repeatability in your business

As they say, “Growth happens when your customers keep coming back”.

For this:

Test subscriptions: Give your customers a chance to try your products through trial packs before committing to a full subscription.

eCmmerce subscription model | | how to scale an ecommerce business | how to scale your ecommerce business | how to scale ecommerce website

Offer frequent buyer discounts: Implement a system where customers receive discounts or rewards after a certain number of purchases or spending thresholds.

Send reorder notifications: Your data will tell you typically when your shoppers reorder–use this to send notifications to them asking them to refill their stock.

6. Increase efficiency through automated reordering

Growth means demand changes, and this should never lead to stock-outs.

The best solution is to implement automated reordering.

Set a certain threshold and let your inventory management system automatically reorder when stock levels hit the threshold.

The biggest challenge in forecasting demand arises when we talk about new categories and the effect of seasonality.

To tackle this, start by clubbing similar categories and use predictive analytics to figure out your approximate demand for the season.

Now, let’s say that you are a fashion retailer and you introduced scarves to your collection. Use the historical data of let’s say gloves to find the probable demand for scarves during winter months.

Fix your reordering systems according to these numbers.

You can go a step further and implement a tiered inventory system as well. This adjusts reorder points based on product performance and supplier lead times – making your business even more efficient.

7. Sell experiences through your product bundles

Imagine if your customers left your store feeling they got more than they bargained for—every single time.

This is possible through really well-made product bundles.

Rethink how you present your products, making each bundle not just a sale, but a story that your customers can't wait to share.

Reinvent your flagship products: Bundle your best-selling items with exclusive add-ons or limited-edition products to create a premium version that customers can’t resist.

Curate experience-driven bundles: Combine products that create a complete experience, like a self-care kit that includes skincare, candles, and a journal, making the bundle more than just a collection of items.

Bundles that create an experience. Product bundling example in eCommerce business. | | how to scale an ecommerce business | how to scale your ecommerce business | how to scale ecommerce website

Leverage seasonal themes: Create bundles that align with seasonal trends or holidays, like a summer essentials pack or a holiday gift set, making them timely and relevant.

Introduce ‘build your own bundle’ options: Let customers personalize their bundles from a selection of items, increasing engagement and perceived value while allowing you to move less popular inventory.

Product bundling in eCommerce - customized bundles | | how to scale an ecommerce business | how to scale your ecommerce business | how to scale ecommerce website

8. Implement return management automation

Consider the impact of a clunky returns process: it can erode customer trust and increase operational costs.

By automating returns, you’re not just improving efficiency–you’re transforming how customers perceive your brand’s commitment to service and reliability.

Of course, deploying a returns management system is a no-brainer but there’s more you can do to take your eCommerce business to the next level.

Create rules-based workflows to handle common return scenarios, such as automatic refunds for defective items or exchanges for damaged products.

Integrate with inventory systems to automatically update stock levels and manage restocking, reducing manual entries and errors.

Implement customer notifications for each stage of the return process, from request to refund, to keep customers informed and improve their experience.

9. Make your loyalty programs aspirational

Loyalty programs are good but what’s better is when your program turns into a coveted status symbol.

Loyalty programs become status symbols when shoppers feel they have earned something that others don’t have immediate access to.

What would be great is if you design tiered reward levels: Create multiple tiers with increasing benefits, such as exclusive products or events, to encourage customers to strive for higher status.

Introduce limited-edition rewards: Provide rare, limited-edition items or experiences that can only be earned through loyalty points, creating a sense of exclusivity and urgency.

Collaborate with luxury brands: Partner with high-end brands to offer exclusive rewards or experiences that enhance the aspirational appeal of your program.

Incorporate experiential rewards: Include unique experiences like private shopping sessions, behind-the-scenes tours, or special events that turn loyalty into memorable moments.

Incorporate gamification elements: Add elements like badges, leaderboards, or achievement milestones to make participation exciting and rewarding.

10. Open social commerce as a sales channel

Social commerce isn’t about adding another sales channel; it’s about embedding your brand directly into the social experiences your customers love.

Utilize shoppable posts on Instagram: Tag products in your posts and stories, allowing users to purchase directly without leaving the app.

social commerce as a sales channel for eCommerce stores | | how to scale an ecommerce business | how to scale your ecommerce business | how to scale ecommerce website

Leverage Facebook Shops: Set up a Facebook Shop to offer a full eCommerce experience within Facebook, including product catalogs and a streamlined checkout process.

Engage with live shopping events: Host live streaming sessions on platforms like TikTok or Instagram, showcasing products in real-time and allowing viewers to purchase instantly.

Implement social proof with user-generated content: Encourage customers to share their purchases and experiences on social media, and feature this content on your own channels to build trust and drive sales.

Use targeted social ads with direct links: Create ads on platforms like Pinterest or Snapchat that link directly to product pages, driving traffic and conversions from highly engaged audiences.

Pinterest ads for eCommerce growth | | how to scale an ecommerce business | how to scale your ecommerce business | how to scale ecommerce website

11. Optimize your expenses

Optimizing expenses isn't just about cutting costs—it's about rethinking how you allocate resources to drive maximum value and support strategic growth.

Conduct a comprehensive expense audit to pinpoint areas where spending exceeds industry benchmarks or where inefficiencies exist.

Adopt zero-based budgeting by starting each budgeting cycle from scratch, justifying every expense, and reallocating resources to high-impact areas, ensuring that all expenditures support your strategic goals.

Negotiate better terms with suppliers and service providers by leveraging data on market rates and competitor pricing, which can lead to significant savings on recurring costs like inventory or marketing services.

12. Scale and train your support staff

In the journey to scaling your eCommerce business, your support staff are your frontline heroes—how you train and expand this team can make or break your customer experience.

As your business grows, scaling and training your support team effectively ensures that you maintain high service standards and customer satisfaction.

Develop comprehensive training modules.

Create detailed training programs that cover product knowledge, customer service protocols, and troubleshooting to ensure consistency in support quality.

You can also consider integrating chatbots and AI-driven support solutions to handle routine inquiries, allowing your team to focus on complex issues.

13. Outsource non-core functions

Outsourcing non-core functions can be a game-changer, but its impact goes beyond cost savings.

It’s about strategically redirecting your resources to where they drive the most value.

When you are scaling your eCommerce business, you can’t be scaling all of your team.

This is where outsourcing comes into the picture.

Outsource functions like human resources, payroll, IT, graphic design, and even CTO as a service to manage your technology strategy without the need for a full-time executive. Any department that doesn’t directly impact your business can be outsourced to improve efficiency.

14. Expand your product range to test buyer fit

“Who the h*ll’s gonna be interested in this?”

Had the fine people at Dr. Squatch thought this, then the incredibly sought-after Sydney Sweeney Bathwater soap wouldn't have existed.

So, you don’t need new products; you just need to test how many audiences the same product can have.

If you’re lucky, you get to become the next Subaru or Stanley. Here’s how to do it smartly:

Play with variations: Dr. Squatch didn’t scale with just “soap.” It scaled with variants like the Sasquatch Soap and Star Wars Soap. The best part? Each variant helped Dr. Squatch speak to a new tribe—Star Wars fans, outdoor lovers, pop culture nerds—all, without changing the product.

Test collabs: Consider co-creating limited-run SKUs with creators, other brands, or micro-communities – here are some product ranges Dr Squatch creates to scale as an eCommerce brand:

How to scale your eCommerce store: test new product variants and product-market-fit

15. Collect and display reviews—without lifting a finger

You don’t need to spend 3 hours every day updating product reviews by SKU. Instead:

Trigger review requests after delivery: Set up a time-based nudge—say, 5 to 7 days post-delivery—to ask customers to leave a review. Automate it through your CRM or post-purchase flow.

Pull key themes from reviews: Use automation to flag common keywords or patterns—whether it’s sizing, fit, or packaging. These insights can shape your next product tweaks without needing a full-blown survey.

Auto-surface the most relevant reviews: On your product pages, display reviews that match the shopper’s intent, like reviews mentioning “quick delivery” during the holiday season or “gentle on skin” for sensitive-use products.

Trigger follow-up nudges to reviewers, based on sentiment:

For glowing reviews, automate a thank-you email flow, along with an invite to refer friends or join your insider list
For critical feedback, trigger a personal follow-up

16. Run smarter discounts

All eCommerce brands that scale revenue have this in common: they don’t rely only on discounts to grow sales.

What they do instead: they discount when it matters, without losing margin. For example, you could:

Offer 50% off on shipping for cart abandoners: Or when shoppers actually show intent to check out, like repeat product page views or checkout visits.

Offer discounts on adding 5+ items: This way, you clear stock faster, and also incur a way lower shipping cost (because, most often, you can use a single packaging to fit multiple items).

Discount only low-cost items: This way, the demand for your high-priced items doesn't take a direct hit, even after the discount is no longer there.

17. Prep for self-service all the way

The best support rep you’ll ever hire? Your website.

Here’s how:

Build an FAQ section that actually converts: Don’t just answer where you ship. Add questions like “Is this safe for kids?” or “What’s the difference between X and Y?”—things your support team answers 10x a week.

Summarize key reviews by theme: A “Top mentions” section showing words like “true to size,” “great for gifting,” or “gentle scent” gives skimmers confidence, without them reading 100 reviews.

Add care guides and usage explainers: These don’t just help after the sale. They reduce returns and pre-sale hesitation too, especially for first-timers or gifting shoppers – like this eCommerce brand:

How to scale eCommerce business: scale self customer support with website

18. Create new sales channels strategically

Otherwise, you may just end up with channel conflict.

Here are some incredibly easy ways to scale your eCommerce brand:

Push only your bestsellers to new channels: These SKUs already convert, already have reviews, and are easy to support. Put them on marketplaces, curated retailer sites, or niche shopping platforms where discovery matters.

Don’t compete on pricing: Most online marketplaces offer you data on who’s ordered – a simple retargeting via email offering rewards is enough to drive people back.

Use real-life events as sales channels: Pop-up shops, retail trials, or wholesale partnerships can scale visibility fast. Just make sure you let people know that you hold these events.

19. Show the experts behind your brand

Think of the average buyer journey: A shopper discovers a product. Goes to your socials or does a quick search.

And this is exactly why having your own content line helps.

Here’s how to build trust and authority, all while scaling your eCommerce business:

Create content that educates, not just sells: Explain use-cases, comparisons, ingredient deep-dives, or behind-the-scenes of your process. Teach something useful, and your shopper comes back smarter and sold.

The best part? You can repurpose these narratives on your product pages, ads, and blogs:

Turn your team into faces: Founder videos, team Q&As, and packing BTS—these give your brand dimension. They show there are people behind the product.

Use personal channels + community platforms: That could be your own YouTube channel, newsletter, or a private shopper group. Scale isn’t always about going viral—it’s almost always bringing familiarity on repeat.

20. Turn loyal shoppers into a community

Your product might bring people in. But it’s your community that keeps them coming back, talking, and advocating.

The advantages? Word of mouth, referrals, and more – all without paying an extra dime.

All you need to do is:

Launch a private community space: A Facebook group, Slack channel, or WhatsApp broadcast list—give them a VIP space. Your goal here is to open up two-way communication to ideate, research, and create with your community. Here’s one example from Mejuri – their ‘Fine Crew’:

‍Repurpose highlights from your community: Continue your branded influencer collabs but also, tease highlights in your social stories, YouTube videos, and email newsletters.

‍Curate and repost on your socials: For example, you could create a branded hashtag or host challenges – then all you need to do is curate the best ones, and repost.

21. Plug the gaps in your analytics

Scaling an eCommerce brand isn’t just about tracking how well your campaigns perform or how much sales you bring in.

What you also need to know:

Which products and shopper segments have the biggest contribution margin: meaning which product SKUs or shopper segments net you the most margin after COGS, returns, and fulfillment.

How much cash flow do you have: For example, if there’s a sudden surge in orders, will you have to pay out of pocket or will the revenue from orders cover inventory holding, shipping, taxes, and other miscellaneous costs?

How much margin do you actually need: A 30% margin may just work when you launch your business, but if you have to scale, you will need a healthy margin, or else you won’t be able to sustain upfront costs that exist, even when you don’t get orders (like warehouse fees, raw material costs, the cost of shelf life).

22. Standardize shipping for profitability

When scaling eCommerce brands, sales keep going up. But your backend still looks like it did when you were making $5K a month.

And that’s where scaling gets expensive. To scale, you need to:

Use fulfillment to increase availability: Map where most of your orders come from and explore localized fulfillment options—be it a lean 3PL, micro-warehouse, or even same day delivery via platforms like DoorDash or Instacart zones.

Protect your margins with smarter shipping rules: Free shipping can’t be your default. Build shipping systems that apply rules by SKU, location, and weight. This ensures you’re not paying $15 to ship a $20 product across the country.

Plan ahead for supply chain hiccups: For example, you can stock up best-selling SKUs ahead of time, use shipping softwares to monitor rates, or draw up agreements in advance to reduce downtime and avoid supply chain challenges.

Standardize packaging and boxing in your order management system: Set fixed rules for packaging—box sizes, inserts, label placement, and sealing. This saves time, reduces errors, and ensures consistent CX—whether you’re shipping 10 orders or 1000.

TIP – Liquidate return stock to free up revenue – for example, you can create "open box" or "gently used" sections on your store, with a ‘no-returns’ policy.

23. Don’t ignore SEO

Discoverability is a huge part of scaling. And there’s literally no limit.

Good SEO can position your brand across multiple shopper journeys. Here’s what to do:

Unpack your product’s angles: What different needs does your product solve? For whom? If you sell protein powder, you’re not just targeting gym-goers—you’re speaking to new moms, older adults, vegans, and meal skippers. Each audience needs its own landing page, content clusters, and keyword plan.

Use Google’s Business tools: Even if you’re fully D2C, Google treats listings seriously. Add product images, videos, reviews, hours of availability, and connect it to Google Merchant Center to show up in “Shopping” results.

Create YouTube-first content: Reviews, tutorials, comparisons, behind-the-scenes—all of this ranks not only on YouTube, but on Google too. Add shopping links to these videos and sync them into your product pages.

Don’t ignore internal links: Make sure you’re connecting related product pages, blogs, FAQs, and bundles internally. It helps Google understand your site, and it keeps users moving through a funnel.

Speak to search intent by buyer persona: Some people search “best protein powder for beginners,” while others search “vegan protein without bloating.” Both are your audience, but they’re not looking for the same thing.

24. Market it like a fast-moving consumer product

SEO is the cheapest way to scale eCommerce brands (but also the slowest).

But, more often than not, scaling an eCommerce brand requires marketing strategies that give a push. Here’s how:

Sell an emotion, not a product: Shinesty doesn’t just sell loud underwear—they sell a lifestyle. Liquid Death sells water, but what people buy is rebellion. So, ask: what emotion does your brand bottle up?

Land guest posts, podcasts, and press: Think of every piece of coverage as a trust badge and a traffic driver. And sometimes, all it takes is reaching out with a sharp POV.

Capitalize on big moments: Launches, collabs, or features (even Shark Tank-style moments)? Plan pre-buzz and post-hype campaigns that turn a 48-hour window into 30 days of reach, and make sure people know it when they arrive at your store. Here’s how Parker Baby shows their social proof:

25. Nurture shoppers diligently

This is where most brands go wrong: they forget that people’ve got the memory of a goldfish.

Getting shoppers to sign-up is half the battle won; you have to keep sending things they’ll remember.

Here’s how:

‍Auto-create shopper accounts: Whenever shoppers sign-up through your pop-up, purchase something. This way you can save browsing history and offer deep personalization through recommendations, offers, and payment plans.

Offer opt-in variety beyond email: Let people follow you on the channel they prefer—whether it’s SMS, WhatsApp, or even a private content feed. Being on their phone is as good as staying on top of mind. But, don’t be nosy, sending messages at weird hours of the night.

Ask them to add you to their contacts: In the last email/message of your welcome flow: Yep. Simple, old-school. But when someone adds your number/email, your messages won’t go to spam.

Host occasional “event moments”: Even if virtual—like behind-the-scenes drops, early access invites, or meet-the-founder Zooms. These don’t scale logistically, but they scale emotionally.

Invite them to celebrate micro-moments: The goal here is to create recall – you could automatically trigger:

Birthday and anniversary emails
“Wow! It’s 1 year already” messages
Product milestone triggers (“Your 5th order? You’re elite now.”)

26. Prep your website to scale

Your eCommerce business can’t afford to get stuck in maintenance mode. But you also don’t need to redesign your entire site.

All you need to do is ask: “what will be the direct impact on my sales?” and “does it need my immediate attention?”

Here’s how you do it:

Account for every instance with back-up: Ask yourself:

Does your site speed take a hit on traffic surges
Do you have out-of-stock flows set-up
Do you have live support options set-up
Set up email captures on upsells
Do you have suppliers on back-up to restock fast if SKUs sell out
Do pages break on mobile

Run small A/B tests fore going big: For example, you could run a clearance/flash sale two months before the holiday season hits to test what kind of subject lines, PDP layouts convert better.

Read feedback every week: That’s not just support tickets or reviews—it’s ad comments, email replies, survey results. Your customers are telling you what to fix, feature, or focus on.

Also read: Why A Website Redesign Won't Increase Your eCommerce Conversion Rate

Allbirds–How they scaled their eCommerce business

eCommerce growth story example| | how to scale an ecommerce business | how to scale your ecommerce business | how to scale ecommerce website

Key strategies for scaling:

1. Niche Focus & Brand Differentiation

Sustainability: Allbirds positioned itself as a brand that prioritizes sustainability, using eco-friendly materials like merino wool and eucalyptus

Unique Value Proposition: They marketed their shoes as "the world’s most comfortable" with a minimalist design, appealing to eco-conscious consumers

2. Direct-to-Consumer Model

DTC Strategy: By starting as a direct-to-consumer brand, Allbirds controlled the customer experience, from website navigation to post-purchase service. This approach allowed them to collect customer data directly, enabling them to refine their products and marketing efforts

3. Performance Marketing & Social Proof

Performance Marketing: Allbirds invested heavily in digital advertising, particularly on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, targeting eco-conscious and fashion-forward consumers

Social Proof: They leveraged customer reviews, influencer partnerships, affiliate programs and press coverage to build credibility and drive word-of-mouth marketing, which played a significant role in scaling

Affiliate program eCommerce | | how to scale an ecommerce business | how to scale your ecommerce business | how to scale ecommerce website

4. Expanding Product Line

Diversification: Initially, Allbirds started with just one product—the Wool Runner. As they scaled, they introduced new products like the Tree Runner, clothing, and accessories, appealing to a broader customer base while staying true to their brand values

Limited editions: They also introduced limited edition colors and collaborations, creating urgency and exclusivity, which drove repeat purchases and tested product-influencer-fit as well as product-market fit

5. International Expansion

Global reach: As their brand gained popularity, Allbirds expanded internationally, launching localized eCommerce sites in key markets such as the UK, Canada, and Australia, adapting their marketing to resonate with local audiences

6. Emphasis on Customer Experience

Easy Returns & Exchanges: Allbirds implemented a hassle-free returns policy, which helped reduce the friction of buying footwear online. They also offered a 30-day wear test, where customers could return the shoes even if they had worn them outside

eCommerce return policy example | | how to scale an ecommerce business | how to scale your ecommerce business | how to scale ecommerce website

Loyalty & referral programs: They incentivized repeat purchases and customer referrals through loyalty programs, which helped in scaling their customer base organically

Outcome:

Rapid growth: Allbirds achieved a $1.4 billion valuation within just a few years of its founding, growing from a niche DTC startup to a global brand

Sustainable scaling: The company maintained its commitment to sustainability while scaling, which resonated strongly with modern consumers and contributed to its enduring success

The next step

98% of visitors who visit an eCommerce site—drop off without buying anything.

Why: user experience issues that cause friction for visitors.

And this is the problem Convertcart solves.

We've helped 500+ eCommerce stores (in the US) improve user experience—and 2X their conversions.

How we can help you:

Our conversion experts can audit your site—identify UX issues, and suggest changes to improve conversions.

How to Scale Your eCommerce Business: 26 Proven Strategies (+ A Case Study)

26 Strategies on How to Scale eCommerce Business

1. Diversify your product range with minimized risk