Online Sales and Digital Commerce

Every online sale passes the same steps, and each step can lose a buyer. If you can see the steps, you can find the weakest one and fix it first. You draw your own path with first guesses and later replace them with real counts.

• Name the six steps: find, view, add to basket, pay, receive, review.
• Write the number of people at each step so you can see where they drop away.
• Find the biggest drop between two steps and mark it as the weak step.
• Fix only the weakest step first, then measure again.
• A common mistake is to work on getting more visitors when the page loses most of them at payment.

Activity. Draw your path with guessed numbers at each step.

Standard to meet. Draw six steps with numbers and mark the weak step.

Pick items that you can deliver on time and still earn a margin after all fees. Samples and a comparison table keep you from promising what a supplier cannot do.

• Check margin after payment fees and any other fees.
• Order samples from two suppliers and test them yourself.
• Record price, lead time and quality in one table.
• Choose the supplier whose lead time you can honestly promise.
• A common mistake is to pick the cheapest price and then wait weeks, so weigh lead time as much as cost.

Activity. Compare two suppliers in a table with samples.

Standard to meet. Build a table with price, lead time, quality and margin after fees.

A simple, clear shop beats a clever one. You build three product pages that show what the buyer needs: photos, size, price, stock, delivery and returns. You test them on a phone first.

• Show photos, size, price and stock on each product page.
• Make delivery time and returns rules visible before checkout.
• Test every page on a phone and on a computer.
• Ask five people to find the delivery information and time them.
• A common mistake is to hide the delivery cost until the last step, which makes buyers leave.

Activity. Build three product pages and test them on two devices.

Standard to meet. Complete the pages and pass the phone test with at least four of five people.

Money and personal data need care. You use a licensed payment partner, show the full price clearly and publish the policies that buyers expect. You place test orders before you open.

• Use a licensed payment partner and never store card numbers yourself.
• Write short privacy, delivery and returns pages in plain words, and check the current consumer rules for distance sales, such as the cooling-off period, with your local authority.
• Show the total price including tax and delivery before the buyer pays.
• Ask consent before you store an email address, and say what you will use it for.
• A common mistake is to add delivery only at the last step, so show it in the basket.

Activity. Place three test orders and check the total, the policies and the confirmation.

Standard to meet. Test orders complete; policies live; totals correct.

Without visitors there are no sales. You choose two free channels, publish useful content on a steady plan and track where each visit comes from. Tracking tells you which channel to keep.

• Pick two free channels such as search, social posts or an email list.
• Write one useful post a week that answers a buyer question.
• Use a different link for each channel so the source of each visit is known.
• Record visits and orders per channel every week.
• A common mistake is to post only about the product, so give how-to help that people want to read.

Activity. Run two weeks of posts with a link for each channel.

Standard to meet. Track visits and orders per channel. Meets the standard when your record shows: pick two free channels such as search, social posts or an email list; every number has its currency or unit; a peer has read it and a mentor can follow your reasoning.

During the trial you record every day and fix the weakest step every week. A steady habit shows what really changes results.

• Log visits, orders, costs and questions every day.
• Answer each message within one day.
• Pick the weakest step each week and make one change.
• Write each change with the date so you can see its effect.
• A common mistake is to change many things in one week, so you cannot tell what worked.

Activity. Run 30 days with a daily log. Apply this module to your own project. Work through each point in order (Log visits, orders, costs and questions every day; Answer each message within one day; Pick the weakest step each week and make one change; Write each change with the date so you can see its effect; A common mistake is to change many things in one week, so you cannot tell what worked), and keep one dated record per point (photo, table or short note). Share it with a peer and ask for one improvement.

Standard to meet. Log complete; at least three changes made and dated.

Numbers show where to act. Three simple measures are enough: conversion, cost per order and repeat buyers. You build a one-page report that someone else can follow.

• Conversion = orders divided by visits, as a percentage.
• Cost per order = spend divided by orders.
• Repeat rate = buyers who order again divided by all buyers.
• Put the three measures on one page with a short comment under each.
• A common mistake is to report totals only, so always show the rate as well.

Activity. Build a one-page report with the three measures.

Standard to meet. Calculate three measures correctly and comment on each.

You keep what works and drop what does not. Comparing channels by cost per order gives a fair basis for the choice, and a short plan sets the next 30 days.

• Compare channels by cost per order, not by visits.
• Choose one channel to grow and one to test.
• Write three goals for the next 30 days with numbers.
• Present the results and the plan to your review room.
• A common mistake is to grow a channel with many visits but few orders.

Activity. Present results and a 30-day plan. Apply this module to your own project. Work through each point in order (Compare channels by cost per order, not by visits; Choose one channel to grow and one to test; Write three goals for the next 30 days with numbers; Present the results and the plan to your review room; A common mistake is to grow a channel with many visits but few orders), and keep one dated record per point (photo, table or short note). Share it with a peer and ask for one improvement.

Standard to meet. Justify the decision with numbers. Meets the standard when your record shows: compare channels by cost per order, not by visits; every number has its currency or unit; a peer has read it and a mentor can follow your reasoning.