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What is e-commerce marketing?

A practical roadmap to help your e-commerce brand grow with confidence

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E-commerce marketing isn't just about driving sales, it's about connection. Whether you're selling sneakers, skincare, or smart home gadgets, your ability to show up at the right time with the right message can be the difference between a one-time buyer and a loyal customer.


Today's digital space moves fast. Mobile-first shopping, short-form video, and engaged niche communities have changed the rules. A cookie-cutter approach doesn't cut it anymore. To about community-building, storytelling, and showing your value in real, relatable ways.


This guide is a practical roadmap to help your e-commerce brand grow with confidence.


What is e-commerce marketing?

E-commerce marketing is the strategy behind promoting and selling products online through digital channels. From attracting new shoppers to retaining loyal customers, it's all about using platforms, content, and data to guide people through the buying journey.


This includes:

  • Email campaigns that build loyalty

  • Content marketing through digital channels

  • Paid ads to drive immediate traffic

  • Real-time data insights to optimize performance

  • Search engine optimization to boost visibility


What sets e-commerce marketing apart from traditional methods is its flexibility and measurability. Every click, view, and purchase tells a story and the smartest brands are using that story to refine and personalize their outreach.


Why it matters

Online shopping isn't a trend. It's the new normal. Having a clear e-commerce marketing strategy is essential to stay competitive.


When done right, e-commerce marketing:

  • Increases brand visibility across search and social

  • Connects with the right audience at the right time

  • Converts casual visitors into loyal customers

  • Strengthens retention through personalized experiences


By building a digital-first strategy, you create a scalable system that keeps working for you, day or night, local or global.


Key e-commerce marketing channels

Let's explore the most powerful channels for building an e-commerce brand.


Email marketing

Email is still the king of ROI. It's personal, cost-effective, and when done right, incredibly powerful.


Use it to:

  • Promote new products and exclusive offers

  • Send friendly reminders for an item left in an online cart (they work).

  • Suggest other items based on a customer's latest purchase.


According to HubSpot, sending emails to specific groups of customers drive a 760% increase in revenue over emails that are just blasted out to everyone in the email list.¹


Content marketing

Content is how you build authority, create videos, drive inbound search, and engage customers who are still exploring their options. It positions your brand as helpful, not pushy.


Great e-commerce content includes:

  • Buying guides and posts on social media that actually help users

  • Product tutorial videos that solve real problems

  • Customer stories and user-generated content that shows your product in the wild


Good content doesn't just sit there. It ranks, it converts, and it compounds over time.


In fact, 62% of TikTok users click to a brand website after discovering a product on TikTok.²


Social media marketing

Use social to:

  • Launch products with raw, real video content (skip overproduction)

  • Collaborate with creators who genuinely align with your brand

  • Jump into trends if they make sense, not just because they're hot


Winning e-commerce strategies that work

Success in e-commerce marketing comes down to strategy. These are three tactics that deliver results:


1. Use data to drive decisions

From bounce rates to heat maps, every data point reveals something about your customers. Use tools like TikTok Measurement Solutions to understand what's working and what's not.


2. Collaborate with influencers

Creators are today's word-of-mouth marketers. Their content feels real and that makes it powerful.


Choose influencers who align with your brand values and let them showcase your products authentically. Whether it's a tutorial, haul, or review, their storytelling builds trust and drives conversion. Check out TikTok One Creator Marketplace for creative inspiration and partnership opportunities.


3. Prioritize SEO

SEO ensures your content and products are discoverable in the moments that matter. It's not just about keywords. It's about relevance, structure, and speed.


Tactics include:

  • Optimizing product titles and meta descriptions

  • Building internal linking across collections

  • Creating search-driven blog content


Building a full-funnel strategy

A strong e-commerce strategy doesn't stop at awareness, it covers the full customer journey.


Start with:

  • Market and competitor research

  • Audience segmentation based on behavior and intent

  • SMART goals and KPIs

  • Cross-channel campaigns aligned to your funnel


Explore how TikTok's e-commerce solutions help brands turn inspiration into action with shoppable video, dynamic product ads, and real-time optimization.


E-commerce marketing metrics


Conversion rate (CVR):

Formula: (Total Conversions ÷ Total Website Visitors) × 100 Example: If you had 500 conversions from 10,000 visitors, your conversion rate is (500 ÷ 10,000) × 100 = 5%. Why it matters: Your conversion rate reveals the effectiveness of your entire e-commerce strategy, from UX design to messaging to checkout flow. A high conversion rate signals you're resonating with your audience.


Customer acquisition cost (CAC):

Formula: Total Marketing & Sales Spend ÷ Number of New Customers Example: Spending $5,000 to acquire 100 customers gives a CAC of $50. Why it matters: CAC helps you understand how efficiently you're scaling. If your CAC is too high compared to your Customer Lifetime Value (CLV), your growth could be unsustainable. A good rule of thumb: aim for a CLV that's at least 3x your CAC to stay profitable.


Average order value (AOV):

Formula: Total Revenue ÷ Total Number of Orders Example: $20,000 in sales from 500 orders = $40 AOV. Why it matters: Higher AOV means more revenue per customer. You can increase AOV through strategies like product bundling, free shipping thresholds, and upsells. On TikTok, value-based optimization allows you to specifically target people likely to spend more.


Customer lifetime value (CLV):

Formula: AOV × Purchase Frequency × Average Customer Lifespan Example: $50 AOV × 4 purchases/year × 3 years = $600 CLV. Why it matters: CLV shows how much each customer is worth over time. Knowing this helps determine how much to invest in acquisition and retention. Studies show increasing CLV by just 5% can boost profits by 25–95%.³


Return on ad spend (ROAS):

Formula: Revenue from Ads ÷ Cost of Ads Example: $10,000 revenue from $2,500 ad spend = 4.0 ROAS. Why it matters: ROAS is your marketing ROI metric. A ROAS of 4.0 means you're earning $4 for every $1 spent: strong performance. Benchmarks vary by industry, but a minimum ROAS of 2–3 is often needed just to break even.


Gross merchandise value (GMV):

Why it matters: GMV is the total value of all transactions (sales) you make on a platform. GMV Max is an AI-powered solution for TikTok Shop merchants, designed to maximize gross merchandise value and ROI. Simply choose the products, creative, and budget, and GMV Max will take care of the rest.

Your e-commerce questions, answered

What strategies work best for small brands?

Focus on high-ROI channels like SEO and content marketing. These strategies build long-term value and don't require large upfront ad spend.

How can I boost visibility with SEO?

What builds customer loyalty?

Beyond email, what channels matter?

How can I use social media?

What metrics should I track?

How do I personalize customer experiences?

Why is mobile optimization important?

How does content marketing attract customers?

Sources ¹https://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/32028/25-clever-ways-to-grow-your-email-marketing-list.aspx ²TikTok Marketing Science Global Creators Drive Commerce Study 2022 conducted by Material ³https://hbr.org/2014/10/the-value-of-keeping-the-right-customers This document is the property of TikTok Inc. and is intended solely for informational purposes. The recipient shall not distribute, exhibit or otherwise use this document for any other purpose. TikTok undertakes no obligation or responsibility to update any of the information contained in this document. Past performance does not guarantee or predict future performance.