With new competitors popping up everyday an ecommerce store owner can't just lower prices to stay competitive anymore. You need to differentiate yourself, give your store individuality amongst all the other stores on the web. Design plays a big role but more in terms of usability than look - it's about the customer's experience.

So take it further than design. How can a store owner enhance the customer's shopping experience? Think a bit outside the box and you'll be surprised what you can come up with. Here are three ideas I've had success with in both my wall tapestries and art decor and replica medieval swords and weapons stores.

A lot of sites cross-sell, which is something you should definitely do if you aren't already, but you don't see nearly as many offering groups of items. This is a great way to set yourself apart from your competitors and make shopping easier for your customers, win-win. Sometimes items just lend themselves to groups, for instance I sell a series of tapestries called The Lady and Unicorn Five Senses. I sell each individually but also offer the entire group of six at a discounted price. That makes it nice and easy for someone who wants all six.

If your products don't readily fall into groups, let your customers tell you what to do. Watch what products they buy together and try grouping them for sale. Plenty of customers who planned to buy only one item will buy the group instead because it is discounted. Grouping also helps eliminate price shopping. Creating a unique group of items makes it a lot harder for a customer to do price comparisons with other stores. You'll be making more money per order and helping your customers at the same time.

This is certainly a more widely used tactic but a lot more store owners can do it than actually do. If you're in a tight market this can be tough but if you can make it work you will get more sales. Apart from sale price, shipping is the biggest concern online shoppers worry about on the product level. If your prices are competitive but you see a lot of shoppers adding your products to their cart and then leaving it's because they found somewhere with a lower shipping cost.

Oddly enough lowering your prices isn't as good for sales as offering free shipping, even if they equal the same cost. Free shipping is an offer and customers like 'free' better than 'discount', it makes them feel like they're getting a better deal. I offer free shipping on orders over $50 in my tapestry store, I saw a 10% sales increase once that was implemented and that's nothing to sneeze at.

These are two different but related things. Customer rewards are usually more focused on repeat customers and giveaways are aimed at higher order volume. Rewards can come in as many different forms as a store owner can think of, some common ones are: Every 10th order is free, Receive 25% off your second order, Get a coupon for every friend you refer, etc. This tactic is designed to keep your customers coming back to you and you alone.

Giveaways also are limited only by your imagination. I would do something like 'Free Excalibur Letter Opener with Orders Over $150'. You can also incorporate it with cross-selling like 'Add a Sword to Your Order and Get a Free Belt Hanger'. This is a great way to increase your average order, set yourself apart from your competitors, and make your customers feel like they got a prize or bonus because they bought from you.

If you can do any of the above with your online store, I recommend trying them out. I continue to have success with these tactics. Grouping is probably the easiest to do right off the bat, so give it a shot. Anything that makes it easier for the customer will get you more sales.