Promote your online store in the USA - 15 unique ideas

Promoting an online store in the USA can be overwhelming and particularly difficult. There's a lot of competition and shoppers are exposed to many many many options.

This guide is for you:

• if your business is based in the USA and your sales numbers are disappointing  
• if you’re trying to expand, launch a new product, or break into the American online shopping market 
• if you have exhausted conversions strategies and struggling to find inspiration or ideas to boost your revenue 

After working with more than 500 brands, our team has tried and tested various ideas on how to promote your online store in the USA.

These strategies have helped online stores that have sold and are steadily increasing their sales in America.

Let’s get into it.

1. Use an American-led copy    

American Eagle. Oaklandish. Coach New York. 

Many brands have capitalized on the ‘American’ or ‘Made in USA’ element to differentiate their products. 

While there’s no need to rename your entire brand (do consider it if you are launching a new brand), online stores can add some ‘American’ element to invoke a feeling of pride, nostalgia, or both.

How to promote your online store in the USA:  

For instance, if you are launching t-shirts with American mountain prints, then you can name the collection ‘Mountains of America’ and give each product a title after the specific mountain.

Apart from product titles, online store copy can reflect ‘American-ness’ with the use of slang, cultural and pop-cultural references, iconic figures, and more.          

2. Plan for the Black Friday sale – a year in advance  

Black Friday is the holy grail of American shopping events for both buyers and eCommerce stores. 

Spanning 50 states, Black Friday sales have recorded the highest number of conversions in major product categories.   

The downside? Shoppers are spoilt for choice. 

How to promote your online store in the USA:

So, start planning now or even a year in advance. 

Experiment with different website features and then when Black Friday is near -- you'll be ready with features that (you know) work for sure

• run sitewide discounts to see how your website performs when there is a surge in traffic and sales, and experiment with pricing/discounting strategies to know what works best
• keep trying email copies to arrive at a winning one 
• keep trying new product bundles and see what sells the fastest
• launch special edition product ranges to see how shoppers respond and curate the Black Friday collection accordingly, and 
• ask shoppers to sign up for a waitlist or loyalty membership to get early access to product deals and discounts.

A report says that more than 50% of shoppers browse through Black Friday deals on mobile, so make sure to test your online store and website for mobile shopping experiences.    

3. Appreciate community heroes 

Cause marketing helps to boost your brand identity. 

However, it isn’t merely enough to support causes and communities. It’s important to walk the talk.

How to promote your online store in the USA?  

Since the pandemic, community heroes like first responders, medical professionals & military personnel have gained respect for their work. For example, Madewell shows appreciation for community heroes by offering them discounts and conveniences. All they have to do is verify their ID to get started. 

Moreover, Sephora supported the Black Lives Matter cause by curating campaigns and collections to boost the presence of Black beauty brands. For example, Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty brought in hundreds of millions of dollars and waves of Black shoppers since it debuted at Sephora in 2017.  

4.  Celebrate the American culture  

Valentine’s Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas might be core holiday marketing days. However, don’t forget patriotic events.      

A survey showed that around 38% of respondents stated they were extremely proud to be an American. Many immigrants also have a special bond with the country, and the places they grew up in and worked at. 

How to promote your online store in the USA:  

Online stores can be on trend by combining their strategies with current news and events such as elections, patriotic day, and the super bowl.

During the 2020 presidential election, brands developed campaigns that urged people to vote. 

Babe Wine took a creative route by curating an election night survival kit complete with wine, tissues, a stress ball, and a "scream here" pillow. There was a huge demand for the limited edition kit which sold out in days.  

5. Don’t limit your inclusive marketing 

Many brands consider Pride Month when planning their campaigns for the year. However, shoppers are now becoming wary of brands that only do it for profit.

See how The Phulid Project celebrates and shows its commitment by celebrating pride all year round. 

How to promote your online store in the USA:  

Create inclusive marketing strategies catered to plus sizes and all genders. Make sure your product pictures utilize models of all skin colors.

Furthermore, join hands with charitable organizations and ask for donations at checkout. Create separate landing pages that talk more about these activities relevant to your online store’s vision. 

If you are unsure of which cause to support:

• Survey your shoppers to understand their values. It can be as small as asking them if they would be willing to donate 1$ at checkout to raise funds. 
• Pledge to raise funds for the ongoing crisis. For instance, at the time of publishing this article, unfortunately, many around the world are suffering due to the Turkey-Syria earthquakes, Chile wildfires, and Cyclone Gabrielle causing flood damage across New Zealand.  

6. Add a twist to the ‘celebrations’  

Most customers plan to shop for gifts, decorations, and more to make their celebrations and holidays special.  

However, not everyone celebrates. When such shoppers land on your eCommerce store and see the copy and campaigns relevant to certain holidays, they might jump ship. This often leads to high traffic and low conversions on online stores.  

How to promote your online store in the USA:  

Relate with shoppers on a personal level. While you should promote holiday campaigns, don’t forget to market other products. 

Highlight new products and add categories apart from the holiday product collection. 

In this instance, if you’re promoting Valentine’s Day, it’s a good idea to apply labels such as ‘trending’, ‘selling fast’, and ‘assured delivery before Valentine’s Day’. 

As for other products, you can create a new category or filter to promote them. See how Uncommon Goods has a self-care section for Valentine’s Day. 

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This way the brand has incorporated a trending topic and related to shoppers who are not looking to celebrate the day traditionally. 

7. Collaborate with ‘trends’ 

When Bridgerton was released, it had everyone hooked, including me. 

Suddenly, there were Bridgerton trends in makeup, clothing, and music. Everyone was doing a Bridgerton-themed something. Restaurants created regal cocktails, shops curated pastel displays, and many brands added the regency lingo to their social media.  

How to promote your online store in the USA:  

For online store brands, such trends can be a great way to collaborate and highlight their products. 

Kitsch officially collaborated and released an exclusive edition of Bridgerton x Kitsch Satin Pillow Scrunchies:

Customers loved the elegant prints that exude romantic vibes with lush floral patterns and swoon-worthy lavender hues. The reviews talk about how the scrunchies have helped them get "no more frizz" and one customer wrote that they are perfect for "bedtime and lounging around the house" (a fav pastime of every elegant lady of the ton)

8. Connect your socials 

As of 2022, the United States has the third-largest social media audience worldwide. It’s home to over 302 million social media users at a social networking penetration rate of 90 percent.

Many shoppers also discover products and brands through social media. 

How to promote your online store in the USA:  

See how IKEA encourages customers to share photos on Instagram with #MyIKEAUSA or tag @IKEAUSA so that they can feature on the brand’s website or Instagram. 

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You can add a category section specific to social media with titles such as ‘As seen on Instagram’, ‘Tiktok Favourites’, or ‘Influencer Picks’. Furthermore, add snippets of reviews to the category pages or product pages to increase conversions.   

9. Americans love ‘samples’ 

My family had a tradition of ‘Costco Sunday’. Once a month, we would go to our local Costco with a list of things to buy, walk around and browse, put many many things that were not on the list into the cart, and devour something delicious on the food court. 

However, the highlight of our shopping trip would be the famous samples. Sometimes, we would fill up more on the samples than the hot dog and soda combo. 

As an eCommerce business owner, the Costco sampling strategy can help increase conversions. 

How to promote your online store in the USA:  

While free samples are the way to go, you can implement samples without hurting your revenue.   

You can add a limit, for example, offer customers samples and free shipping, only if their cart is worth a certain $$$. 

Furthermore, experiment with paid samples. For instance, makeup and cosmetic products react differently to different skin types. Therefore, shoppers might hesitate to buy a product right away. 

See how Kosas implements paid try-outs with multiple product variants in one sampling card:  

They also offer a site credit with the paid samples which customers can cash in for future purchases. 

10. Apply default free shipping plus convenience 

Today, even most customers know that free shipping is not really ‘free’. However, it’s a default move implemented by most eCommerce brands.     

How to promote your online store in the USA:  

Offer different shipping options to let customers decide their delivery timeframe. Let them also see shipping details that outline how a particular shipping method works.      

If you’re based in the USA or have a low shipping threshold to the USA, you can add it to your web pages   

Furthermore, you can offer in-store pick-ups and curbside pick-ups so customers can get their products without any hassle.   

11. Plan seasonal campaigns 

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Who doesn’t love the autumnal drinks at Starbucks? For those of us in the USA, pumpkin spiced latte signals the change of season.

How to promote your online store in the USA:  

eCommerce brands can curate collections based on seasons. For instance, summer/spring collection, back-to-school collection, autumn collection, bestsellers for the rainy season, etc. 

Such campaigns breathe fresh air into a brand’s website range and social media pages. Shoppers also know that the brand is keeping it relevant to the current news and trends.   

12. Use persuasion triggers to encourage the next step

A study found that it takes an average of 8 touches to generate a conversion. 

Persuasion triggers can help online stores go as far as converting buyers into long-term, loyal brand advocates. 

Here are some ways to create a more frictionless experience and promote your online store in the USA:  

- Display labels such as ‘Low Stock’, ‘X customers just bought’, or ‘Recently Restocked’

- Show error messages in forms

- Provide them with explainer videos

- Use live chat support to provide real-time assistance

- Introduce flexible payment options

- Eliminate sales barriers with social proofs

- Streamline product discovery with recommendations

- Enable guest checkouts

13. Offer a cross-device shopping experience 

Many customers switch between their devices before completing a purchase. 

All of us have done it. 

How to promote your online store in the USA:  

To support this type of shopping behavior, eCommerce stores can implement the following features and promote your online store in the USA:

• Provide a sign-in option for returning customers to save carts where they can access their previously saved items
• returning customers can easily use a saved card to complete their transactions on the spot.

14. Add a fun & functional footer 

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The footer brings a closing note to a web page. While some brands are doing away with it, the footer works as a bottom navigation tool that provides customers with useful information that offers closure to their customer journey.

How to promote your online store in the USA:  

Create a positive experience by showing the following elements in the footer trust badges, store guarantees, contact details, email opt-in in the footer, and social media buttons. 

15. Offer multiple payment options 

Studies show 56% of shoppers want multiple payment options on a website during checkout. 

The various payment methods are credit cards, debit cards, cash, e-wallet, digital/mobile wallet, prepaid card, retailer/bank financings such as ApplePay and PayPal, and Buy Now, Pay Later. 

You can also offer different discounts or deals with different payment methods.

How to promote your online store in the USA:  

As stated earlier, mobile shopping is popular in the USA. In 2020, mobile payments in eCommerce stores grew by 29% in the US.

Avoid manual data entry with a card scan method. Since most customers use mobile to complete their payments, you can offer an option to scan their card and automatically update the details through character recognition.

Ready for it?  

Now, you know what to expect and how to promote your online store in the USA through different marketing strategies. If you aren’t sure and want to know how else to promote your eCommerce store, get a free audit and talk to our sales team.