What to Do When Sales Suddenly Go Quiet
Every online seller has a week where the phone stops ringing. Panic is not a plan. Here's a checklist.
Rule out the calendar
Is it a slow week for the whole marketplace? For your category? For online retail generally? Check platform trends before assuming something specific to you changed.
Look at listing traffic vs. conversion
Are fewer people looking at your listings (a discovery problem) or the same number and fewer buying (a listing problem)? The fix is completely different.
Refresh the top listings
Update photos on the two or three listings that historically drive most of your traffic. Sometimes a listing just gets tired.
Message recent buyers
A short, friendly follow-up to your last twenty customers — 'How's the item been treating you?' — often produces a review or a repeat purchase, and rarely costs more than an hour.
Don't panic-discount
The urge to run a 40%-off sale is strong. Resist it unless it's actually part of a plan. Panic discounts erode brand more than they save revenue.
This article is part of the Suliit editorial series on online commerce for independent sellers and buyers. Suliit is a U.S.-based marketplace operated from Prince Frederick, Maryland.