By Matthew Carlin, Digital Director at Smart Marketing Works
The UK’s e-commerce market accounts for just under a third (30.7%) of total retail spend in 2025, according to a forecast by EMARKETER, and is reported to be the fourth largest in the world, after China, the USA and Japan. The trend for growing e-commerce is only expected to increase, and for retailers to stand out in a competitive market, they must be ready to adapt.
As flooring retailers, you are ideally positioned to take advantage of digital trends, whether you are modernising your website or adopting a new approach to paid advertising. For online retailers and bricks-and-mortar retail stores alike, expanding your digital marketing strategies will help you influence purchasing decisions and stand out from the crowd. A clever marketing approach builds trust in your brand, generates leads, and converts sales.
To sell your flooring products, first sell your story
An impactful message is what sets retailers apart, and must be clearly communicated throughout your marketing – from designing websites to logos, email marketing to digital advertising, and all point-of-sale (POS) materials. What makes you different, and how can you capitalise on that to connect with an audience and secure sales? The right marketing strategy is crucial.
It also pays to have a better understanding of your audience. Lead capture, a process of gathering contact information from those who have shown interest in your product or service, is a resourceful way to collect information that can help tailor your approach to sales and marketing, increasing the likelihood of conversions.
As retailers are increasingly prioritising customer lifetime value (CLTV) over one-off conversions, marketing that embraces loyalty-led strategies can help to build long-term relations. To retain and develop these connections is often more cost-effective than to constantly acquire new ones.
Power your business with a smarter website that puts the user first
Good website design is all about the user experience (UX). With the right techniques and principles to improve conversion rate optimisation (CRO), user friendly web design ensures that the first point of contact won’t be the last.
This starts with an effective landing page – a website should grab your attention, but not be distracting. Useful calls to action (CTAs) should work together with the graphics, text and layout to sell your flooring products.
The majority of shoppers have completed an online purchase with a smartphone, so a modern website also has to be easy to navigate across platforms and devices. As no one likes lagging, an optimised website with a suitable content management system (CMS) and regular support and maintenance is important to ensure your e-commerce runs smoothly.
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is also a productive investment to increase organic traffic – visitors who find your website naturally through search engines. This sustainable and long-term strategy will use keywords, content creation, internal links, and meta title and description optimisation to help you rank higher, which in turn helps to grow leads.
Turn clicks into customers with pay-per-click (PPC) marketing
Pay-per-click (PPC) marketing is a digital advertising model where advertisers pay a fee each time their ad is clicked. This is a resourceful way to regain control over your marketing budget by only paying for real, measurable results that help to propel your retail business forward.
In PPC campaigns, ads typically appear on search engines, social media platforms, or websites within relevant content. Advertisers select particular keywords related to their products or services, and also have options to target their audience, allowing them to specifically target potential customers searching for these terms.
Effectively managing a PPC campaign requires constant monitoring and adjustments. Advertisers need to analyse performance metrics and refine their strategies based on data regarding clicks, conversions, and the overall return on investment (ROI).
While PPC can deliver quick results by driving traffic immediately after launching a campaign, it also requires careful budgeting to avoid overspending. When executed well, it can be a powerful tool for increasing brand visibility and generating sales in an efficient way for both time and cost.
For more advice on how to level up your e-commerce and marketing as a flooring retailer, contact Smart Marketing Works by email at info@smartmarketingworks.com or call 01785 819933.